Netflix Nabs One Of The Biggest Directors With Multi-Year Deal

The creative partnership between Tyler Perry and Netflix should come as no major surprise to audiences, as the streamer has a history of producing multi-picture deals with big-name talent. Netflix has previously partnered with Hollywood mainstays such as Adam Sandler, Halle Berry, Mike Flanagan, and even TikTokers such as Addison Rae, for long-standing deals that span multiple projects concurrently. For Tyler Perry, this deal arrives as he already has two active productions with the streamer, including a World War 2 drama titled Six Triple Eight, and an action thriller titled Mea Culpa.

The only thing that is truly surprising regarding Tyler Perry’s first-look deal with Netflix is the fact that the news comes so soon after the multi-hyphenate creator announced a separate exclusive deal with Amazon Prime Video. Perry’s Amazon commitments are still on track to be fulfilled, with the star set to write, direct, and produce four films for the streamer over the course of several years. With any other filmmaker, the threat of juggling both commitments at once may serve as a daunting task, though Perry is known for rapid production turnarounds and helming multiple projects per year in both film and television.

Though Tyler Perry’s Netflix partnership was only just formally announced, the news was first teased by Endeavor and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel earlier this month, who revealed to a crowd at Bloomberg Media’s Screentime conference that he had closed deals with both Perry and David Ellison. Ellison serves as the head of Skydance Animation, which recently inked a multi-picture streaming deal of their own with Netflix following the streamer’s decision to close its in-house animation branch. Perry refused to elaborate on the Netflix deal until the information was officially announced, though he expressed excitement at the prospect of working with the streamer, while maintaining commitment to his deal with Amazon.

The first two films which Tyler Perry is set to helm at Amazon are already under way in pre-production, with announced titles including Divorce in the Black, and Black, White, & Blue. Like many of Perry’s projects, the films will both focus on themes of racial identity and societal impact on the black experience in America. In addition to Tyler Perry’s non-Netflix adventures, the star will also serve as the subject of a documentary-series set to premiere next month titled Maxine’s Baby.

Maxine’s Baby will chronicle the rise of Tyler Perry from a homeless starving artist to a multi-millionaire Hollywood mogul with concurrent Netflix and Amazon streaming deals. Though Perry’s catalogue has been criticized for a number of reasons by consumers, it seems clear that the filmmaker contains a great deal of range, offering something for just about any audience member to enjoy in his massive growing filmography.