BET Seals New Multi-Year Deal With Tyler Perry; Renews ‘Sistas,’ ‘The Oval’ and Other Shows, Orders ‘Route 187’

Michael Schneider
·3 min read
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Tyler Perry has struck a new multi-year deal with BET Media Group that includes the renewal of eight of his shows for BET and its BET+ streamer. BET has also ordered another new scripted series from Perry, “Route 187.”

As part of the new content deal, BET has renewed “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” for its eighth season, “Tyler Perry’s The Oval” for Season 6 and “Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living” for a sixth season. Also renewed is “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” for its sixth season on BET (and 12th overall, having previously run in syndication and TBS). The deal additionally includes new seasons of BET+ series “Tyler Perry’s Zatima,” “Tyler Perry’s Ruthless,” Tyler Perry’s Bruh” and “All The Queen’s Men.”

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As for “Route 187,” the new scripted series greenlit as part of this multi-year deal, will be executive produced, directed and written by Perry. It’s believed to be a crime drama about violence that takes place on a bus route.

This new BET deal, which is non-exclusive, replaces Perry’s previous ongoing relationship with the company, which he partnered with in 2019 to create content for both the cable network and its new streaming service, BET+ (and which expires this year).

The pact also comes soon after Perry expanded his deal with Netflix, adding TV series to the mix. The streamer’s multi-year, first-look series pact with Perry replaced a previous multiyear content partnership Perry had sealed with Paramount Global in 2017 (when the company was known as Viacom).

At BET, over the course of the last four years, Perry created hit series like ‘Sistas” and “The Oval” (which recently hit its 100th episode). Those shows then spawned spinoffs including “Zatima” (featuring “Sistas” characters) and “Ruthless” (from “The Oval”). Under that pact, he produced more than 700 episodes of TV (and more than ten series) at BET and remains a part owner of BET+.

“Tyler Perry is simply without rival as a creator of content that powerfully resonates with audiences across genres, formats, and platforms,” said BET Media Group president/CEO Scott Mills. “Our programming partnership with Tyler – undoubtably the largest deal ever in the industry with a Black creator – has been hugely successful; delivering the number one series across all TV among Black audiences and five of the top 10 series on cable among Black viewers. We are thrilled to extend our extraordinary relationship with Tyler and to continue to be the home of the largest and most diverse collection of new Tyler Perry content for years to come.”

Perry was also among the moguls looking to purchase BET when Paramount Global briefly flirted with selling the company.

“Scott Mills and his team at BET have been incredibly supportive throughout our time working together, and I’m excited to continue bringing these stories to the screen. I’m grateful to our loyal audiences for watching week after week and engaging these stories,” Perry said in a statement.

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