Tyler Perry has just recently announced that he’s made a deal with OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in an exclusive deal. He will be creating two scripted shows for OWN that will be airing in 2013, likely bringing much needed diversity to television. The actor-director has recently become a huge brand, both in terms of movies and television shows. His movies generally open to a minimum of thirty million dollars in the US, and his television shows receive steady viewership and unwavering support from most of the African-American community. However, Perry has recently opened up about wanting to represent a more diverse base of characters and actors on television, so it’s likely that he will be using this new venue to do just that.
Of the partnership, Winfrey says, "It's a dream realized to partner with Oprah and bring scripted programming to OWN. She has accomplished so much with the network and I’m excited to work with her to be a part of its continued growth." It’s also likely that Winfrey agreed to the deal because her viewership has been lagging in the past few months and creating a partnership with Tyler Perry is likely to bring in many more viewers.
