Director-actor-screenwriter-producer Tyler Perry is partnering with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network to develop series programming and other projects for the cable channel.
Two scripted series from Perry are set to make their debuts in mid 2013. He will executive-produce, write and direct both, which will be the first original scripted series for OWN.
The partnership between Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, announced Monday, amounts to the biggest programming bet made by OWN since its premiere in January 2011. The network has struggled to define itself and draw an audience since then, though it has started to show some progress in the ratings in recent months. Winfrey’s partner, Discovery Communications, expects the network to turn a profit in late 2013.
Tyler Perry will take a small equity stake in OWN, though the amount and the other financial details of the deal were not disclosed. OWN called it a “multi-year deal.”
In the future, OWN will be Mr. Perry’s “singular destination for all new television series and projects,” the network said Monday in a news release. The network plans to premiere two new scripted series made by Perry sometime in mid-2013.
Tyler Perry confirmed the deal and had this to say,
“As I sit here in Atlanta, it’s raining an abundant rain. It makes me think of my mother. She loved the rain and I do too. It is befitting that this announcement would be made on a day like today. Yes it’s true, Oprah and I have joined forces. We’ve formed a partnership for OWN and I’m super excited about it. I’ll fill you in more as we get closer to the airing of my shows. I have a lot of questions for you about this, so stay close, OK? I need your help.”
The deal with OWN signals that Perry has ruled out the creation of a cable channel of his own. Last year, The New York Times reported that Perry and the distributor of his films, Lions Gate Entertainment, were considering creating such a channel, tentatively called Tyler TV. One option for carriage at the time was a takeover of the TV Guide Network. Winfrey and Discovery Communications created OWN the same way, by taking over the Discovery Health Channel.
“You have one of the most talented producers in Hollywood who has walked away from other opportunities, and he is betting his television future on OWN,” said David Zaslav, the chief executive of Discovery, in an e-mail. “In a business where content is king, that is a huge endorsement — and no question that Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey make a pretty powerful consumer and brand proposition.”
Oprah was said to have lost the ability to make creative decisions at the network do to poor ratings and sagging advertising sales. Majority stake holder Discover Communications made the move a few months back. Undoubtedly, Oprah hopes that this deal with Perry can help keep the network on the air. So it appeals all bets are on Tyler.
Perry’s current home on cable, TBS, will continue to broadcast repeats of his shows “House of Payne,” “Meet the Browns” and “For Better or Worse.”
