Tyler Perry Gets Set to Conquer OWN
By Victoria Leigh Miller | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 20 hours ago
- hulu videos - Oprah Winfrey reprises her role as Sofia from The Color Purple in a recent send-up of the 1985 drama, this time featuring Tyler Perry as Madea....
OK, not really -- the network's head honcho is still Oprah Winfrey -- but the actor will be all over the cable channel this month as his two new scripted series launch on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Perry even got into character to promote his upcoming OWN shows: Check out his granny character, Madea, here as she hunts down Oprah's "The Color Purple" alter ego, Sofia, to ask how the heck she can find the OWN channel!
Tyler Perry's double shot of new OWN shows,"The Haves and the Have Nots" and "Love Thy Neighbor," premiere on May 28 and 29, and you can expect an extravaganza.
In addition to a heavily promoted two-night premiere, Perry will be featured on the May 26 episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter," where Oprah will join the entertainment guru at his home to talk about his life and career, as well as delve into the creative process behind his two new scripted shows, which are the first-ever for her network. A press release for the network's upcoming events reveals that immediately following the "Next Chapter" chat, it's off to Atlanta for "Tyler Perry Comes to OWN: Behind The Scenes," a backstage peek at Perry's studios and a look inside the "Perry process."
Wow, that's a whole lot of Perry for a network named after Oprah.
According to The Wrap, OWN has only aired interviews and reality shows since its January 2011 launch, making the Perry projects a big switcheroo for the network.
Perry's drama "The Haves and the Have Nots" will follow the lives the wealthy Cryer family and their maid, Hanna (hello, "Downton Abbey"!), while the comedy "Love Thy Neighbor" will channel "Alice" -- or maybe "Cheers" -- at a family-owned neighborhood restaurant called Love Train Diner. (Let's go with "Cheers," because we have a hunch that Love's is a place where everybody knows your name.)
"Love Thy Neighbor" is based the Mama Hattie character (played by Patrice Lovely) from Perry's plays (you can see a trailer here), while "The Haves and the Have Nots" is based on Perry's 2011 musical play of the same name.
Meanwhile, is Tyler Perry grooming himself to become Oprah's competition someday? In an Access Hollywood interview, he said of his partnership with OWN, "I have something that the Oprah Winfrey Network needs, and they have something that I need. I'm still working my way towards my own network. I thought this would be a great moment for me to stop and learn."
Tyler Perry's "Oprah's Next Chapter" interview airs on Sunday, 5/26 at 9 PM ET on OWN.
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