Tyler Perry strikes new deal with BET after failed multibillion-dollar bid for network

Tyler Perry has signed a new deal with BET Media, Paramount’s media company. Per the new partnership deal, Perry will deliver hundreds of new episodes to BET and BET+, spanning existing and new series.

BET has also picked up new seasons of eight current and one new series from him, according to Deadline. That includes an eighth season renewal for Tyler Perry’s Sistas, a sixth season renewal for Tyler Perry’s The Oval, and fifth season renewals for Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.

Renewed on BET+ include Tyler Perry’s ZATIMA, Tyler Perry’s Ruthless, All The Queen’s Men, and Tyler Perry’s BRUH, Deadline added. Perry’s upcoming crime drama, “Tyler Perry’s Route 187,” was also picked up and is scheduled for 2025.

Perry’s initial deal with Paramount was set to expire this year; he originally signed that deal with Paramount’s predecessor Viacom in 2017. This new deal replaces that deal. The previous deal required him to produce approximately 90 episodes annually of original drama and comedy series for BET and other Viacom networks.

Perry has exceeded that agreement, producing over 700 episodes of series for BET as well as streaming platform BET+, of which he is a minority owner.

In 2023, the billionaire actor and business mogul expressed interest in buying BET after Paramount opened discussions over the sale of a majority stake in the firm.

The station has been home to some of his shows, like “Sistas,” “The Oval,” and “House of Payne,” among others. If he had acquired BET, he would have control over the brand that airs his shows.

According to Perry, his desire to purchase the station is for it to return to black ownership. He said to ET in April, “I think there was sadness when Bob sold it, and I think there’ll be happiness when it’s black-owned again. Even though Shari (Redstone) exists, what is it? Viacom and Paramount? They’ve done a phenomenal job with it.”

“They didn’t let it fall by the wayside; they didn’t let it go into dust. They nurtured it and took care of it, and to see Shari in this position saying, ‘I think it should be returned to a black owner?’ I figured, ‘OK, see, that’s my kind of person.’”

Despite receiving bids from $2 billion to $3 billion, Paramount later said it was no longer interested in the sale of a majority stake in BET Media Group, which consists of the BET channel, BET+, VH1, and BET Studios.

Perry recently voiced his dissatisfaction with the bidding process at a Bloomberg summit at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta.