Originally posted Friday, December 20, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Christmas holiday season does not slow down Tyler Perry at all.
The prolific media mogul just recently started production on “House of Payne,” according to the Georgia film office, which tracks productions.
That show originally aired on TBS from 2006 to 2012 and was Perry’s first foray into television. He did a test run of ten episodes, then received a commitment of 100 episodes, which he shot in one calendar year. Ultimately, the show aired 254 episodes in its first run.
A spin-off called “The Paynes” aired on OWN in 2018 and 2019 for 38 episodes. BET never said whether it was going to pick it up now that Perry has a new deal with Viacom, which owns BET. But it now appears some incarnation of the show is going to ended up on BET’s streaming service BET+.
Perry also recently started production of something called “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living.” Perry has not released any information about that show or whether it’s a comedy or drama but the Georgia film office also said it is destined for BET+, which debuted in the fall.
Perry recently debuted two new shows on the main network of BET: the relationship show “Sistas” and the White House soap “The Oval.”
He has also started production of "Tyler Perry's Young Dylan" for his first show on Nickelodeon, another Viacom channel. He announced he was developing the show in early August on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which discovered the kid Young Dylan.
"I'm excited to work with Brian (Robbins) and the team at Nickelodeon and find creative ways to reach new audiences," Perry said on the show. "I love creating comedy television and can't wait to work with the talented Young Dylan."
According to Variety, the project, which Perry writes, tells the story of a family whose world is turned upside down when their nephew, an aspiring hip-hop star (Dylan), moves in unannounced.
Perry left OWN and in 2017 signed the deal with Viacom because it offered more places for Perry to place his shows.
Last month, he shot two other series for BET+: "Tyler Perry's Bruh" examines the world of dating, career and friendship for 30-something college friends. The other "Tyler Perry's Ruthless" is a spin-off of "The Oval" and follows a young woman into the dark underworld of a fanatical religious cult.
So he now has six shows for BET or BET+ and one for Nickelodeon on top of “The Haves and the Have Nots,” the most popular show on OWN.
His new Tyler Perry Studios has been in operation for more than two years but he only recently officially “debuted” the studio once all 12 main stages were finally finished.
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