Back in the fall, Tyler Perry signed a multi-year deal with Oprah’s OWN network that included two scripted programs set to air sometime in 2013. At the time, both of those scripted programs were still in the early stages of developments, but now The Haves and Have Nots and Love Thy Neighbor have earned titles as well as premiere dates on OWN.
Perry has mostly been excited about putting together comedies for television, which is why it’s a little surprising The Haves and Have Nots will be an hour-long drama. The Haves and Have Nots will offer shades of Downton Abbey with its plot, which will follow a wealthy family living in Savannah, Georgia and the people who work for the very wealthy and extremely dysfunctional family, The Cryers. Dukes of Hazzard’s John Schneider will star in the project. That program will hit the network on Tuesday, May 28 at 9 p.m. ET.
Love Thy Neighbor sounds a little more like the TV fodder Perry is used to putting together. The half-hour comedy will star Jonathan Chase, Andre Hall, Kendra C. Johnson, and Patrice Lovely, in a series that will focus on a family-owned diner, which doubles as the hub of a community. Love Thy Neighbor will premiere with back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, May 29 at 9 p.m. ET.
To supplement the new programs, Oprah is also putting together a special episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter, which will feature an in-depth interview with Perry on May 26 and will be followed by a behind-the-scenes look at Perry’s new scripted programs.
