Originally posted Tuesday, August 6, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
“The Paynes,” a spinoff of “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” will no longer air on OWN after the network committed to 38 new episodes last year, an OWN confirmed Monday night.
But is it truly dead? Tyler Perry is now developing shows for Viacom's BET.
Two new ones are currently in production at Tyler Perry Studios: a relationship drama “Sistas” and a presidential drama “The Oval.”
There are rumors online that he might produce new “The Paynes” episodes for BET. But a Tyler Perry Studios spokeswoman declined to comment, neither confirming nor denying that rumor.
Perry certainly has a soft heart for the Paynes because “House of Payne” was his first TV show ever on TBS. It ran 254 episodes from 2006 to 2012 and helped him establish himself in the TV world and led to his move to OWN. It’s also why he brought the new “Paynes” show back in the first place.
The last new episode aired November 30, 2018 on OWN.
He has two other shows remaining on OWN that still have episodes yet to air: “The Haves and the Have Nots” and “If Loving You is Wrong.” “The Haves and the Have Nots” has been Perry’s most successful project for OWN to date.
“If Loving You is Wrong” has episodes in the can for 2020 but it’s not expected to come back after that.
Perry inked a mega-deal with Viacom two years ago.
“The Paynes” last year averaged 791,000 viewers, counting DVR usage up to a week after the original airing. This compared to other Atlanta-produced OWN shows “The Haves and the Have Nots” (2.707 million), “If Loving You Is Wrong” (2.112 million), the now cancelled “Love Is_” (1.245 million) and “Iyana: Fix My Life” (886,000) and “Ready to Love” (568,000).
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