Netflix is doubling down on its commitment to the ever-busy Tyler Perry.
The streaming service announced Monday that it was adding a multi-year, first-look series deal to its ongoing partnership with Perry. The first series under the new pact is titled Beauty in Black, a 16-episode hour-long drama, written, directed and produced by the man himself. Per Netflix, the project follows two women who lead very different lives — one struggling to make a living after being kicked out by her mother, the other running a successful business — and find themselves entangled in each other’s worlds.
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The news comes some four months after Perry revealed his first-look film deal with the service, which has him writing, directing and producing features including the upcoming World War II period film Six Triple Eight, starring Kerry Washington, and legal drama Mea Culpa, fronted by Kelly Rowland. Past efforts from the prolific filmmaker include A Jazzman’s Blues, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, as well as A Madea Homecoming, the 12th installment in his long-running Madea franchise. (Perry also has a relationship with rival streamer Amazon, which announced a deal in 2022 where he’d also write, direct and produce four features released on Prime Video.)
As far as Perry’s television footprint is concerned, he has had his TV business at many outlets, from his early 10/90 efforts at what were formerly the Turner networks to his more recent entries at Paramount Global, where he’s had a stake in the BET+ streaming service. In fact, Perry signed a multiyear content partnership with Paramount back in 2017. He was also among those who expressed interest in a potential majority stake in the larger BET business last year, though the company ultimately decided to take down its “For Sale” sign.
Not long after, Perry revealed publicly that he was “disappointed” in the way that Paramount Global had handled the bidding process, noting: “The way it happened was disrespectful in a lot of ways.” Though he didn’t disclose what exactly had occurred, he did add, “Don’t try to get me to pay for something that’s not worth anywhere near the value” that Paramount claimed it was. When asked if he’d reconsider should BET be put up for sale again, Perry said, simply, “No.”
