TBS Extends Run of 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne', Cable's Biggest Sitcom Hit of All Time

TBS Extends Run of 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne', Cable's Biggest Sitcom Hit of All Time

TBS Orders 20 Additional Episodes, on Top of 26 Ordered Recently, To Take Series Well into the Future on the Network

SANTA MONICA, Calif, and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Debmar-Mercury, the television syndication and distribution arm of Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) , the leading next generation studio, announced yesterday that TBS has ordered an additional 20 episodes of the powerhouse comedy "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." The order will bring the number of episodes in the series to 172, a remarkable total for any sitcom. TBS has ordered a total of 46 new episodes of "House of Payne" in recent weeks. "House of Payne" and its spinoff, "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns", continue to rank as the top sitcoms on cable.

"House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns" also rank as ad-supported cable's top two original sitcoms of all time among adults 18-49, viewers and households. So far in 2009, the shows are television's top two series in delivery of African-American adults 18-34. "Meet the Browns" also ranks as television's #1 program among African-American viewers and adults 18-49. New episodes of "Meet the Browns" have averaged 3.2 million viewers this year, while new episodes of "House of Payne" have averaged 3 million viewers.

"Tyler Perry has created the first sitcom in history to reach this many episodes in just two years, an amazing achievement that only a handful of top comedies have been able to achieve after many, many years," Debmar-Mercury Co-President Mort Marcus said.

"TBS's extension of this great program affirms the value of this groundbreaking sitcom model, which Tyler quickly turned from a dream into a phenomenal success," added Debmar-Mercury Co-President Ira Bernstein.

"House of Payne" - which is owned by Perry, distributed by Debmar-Mercury and licensed by TBS - debuted in 2006 with a test run of 10 episodes. After early results showed promise, TBS ordered a then-unprecedented 100 episodes. TBS later ordered an additional 26 episodes, followed by a deal for 26 more and then the 20-episode order announced yesterday.

Debmar-Mercury has utilized its groundbreaking approach to launching shows into distribution and syndication for four different series. Following in the footsteps of "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns", Debmar-Mercury announced last week that TBS has ordered 10 episodes of the new Ice Cube sitcom "Are We There Yet?", slated to premiere in June 2010, with the option for an additional 90 episodes. Debmar-Mercury announced two weeks ago that it is using the same approach to launch the new Jon Heder sitcom from writer-producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy ordered by Comedy Central. Debmar-Mercury also launched "The Wendy Williams Show" into nationwide syndication to strong initial ratings last week.

Since making his film debut in 2005 with Lionsgate's DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, Tyler Perry has become a multimedia phenomenon with a roster of hugely successful film, stage, television and book projects. Five of Perry's seven films have debuted at #1 at the North American box office, including his most recent movie, MADEA GOES TO JAIL, which was based on his most popular play. Perry is working on two new films, I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF and WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO, scheduled to be released by Lionsgate in September 2009 and April 2010, respectively. In 2008, Perry unveiled Tyler Perry Studios, a 200,000-square-foot studio situated on the former Delta Air Lines campus in Atlanta, where his films and television shows are filmed.

Debmar-Mercury, a worldwide media company specializing in syndication, network, cable and ancillary markets, produces and distributes "The Wendy Williams Show"; distributes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and spinoff "Meet the Browns"; distributes a new, untitled comedy debuting in 2010 from Gary Sanchez Productions' Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy; distributes strips "Family Feud", "South Park" and "True Hollywood Story", as well as weeklies "American Chopper", "Deadliest Catch" and "The Dead Zone"; and a movie library featuring titles from Revolution Studios and Lionsgate. In September 2007, Debmar-Mercury established a London-based international television distribution unit focused on acquiring international formats for U.S. and worldwide distribution, as well as licensing U.S. television formats to the global market. Debmar-Mercury is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) , the leading next generation studio.

   www.lionsgate.com   For corporate inquiries, contact:    Peter D. Wilkes   310-255-3726   pwilkes@lionsgate.com  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: alynch@lionsgate.com

Source: Lionsgate

CONTACT: Peter D. Wilkes of Lionsgate,+1-310-255-3726,
pwilkes@lionsgate.com

Web Site: http://www.lionsgate.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment