UPDATED: Tyler Perry has announced the first two films in his four-picture deal with Amazon Studios: “Black, White & Blue,” a police brutality drama, and “Divorce in the Black,” which focuses on a broken marriage.
Perry will write, direct and produce both projects, with “Black, White & Blue” set to star Kat Graham (“The Vampire Diaries”), Tyler Lepley (“Harlem”), Meagan Tandy (“Batwoman”), Josh Adeyeye (“Ruthless”), RonReaco Lee (“First Wives Club”), Jimi Stanton (“Your Honor”), Shannon LaNier (“God’s Not Dead 3”) and Nick Barrotta (“The Oval”).
The story follows a woman named Fela Blackburn (Tandy), whose life is shattered when she loses her husband, Rodney Blackburn (Adeyeye), at the hands of a police officer.
Here’s the logline: “Determined to get to the bottom of the incident and seek justice, she leans on her best friend, Marley Wells (Graham), who is a lawyer, and her husband, Tony Wells (Lepley), who is a former cop turned private investigator, to use their influence to find the truth. But as the truth unfolds, Fela learns that her entire world is rooted in lies and betrayal.”
Meanwhile, “Divorce in the Black” stars Meagan Good (“Harlem”), Cory Hardrict (“All American: Homecoming”), Joseph Lee Anderson (“Young Rock”), Taylor Polidore (“Snowfall”), Shannon Wallace (“City on a Hill”), Richard Lawson (“For Colored Girls”) and Debbi Morgan (“Power Book II: Ghost”).
Good stars as Ava, a young bank professional who is devastated when her husband Dallas abandons their marriage. The logline explains that Ava is determined to fight for the relationship “until fate intervenes, revealing Dallas’ wicked deeds that have trashed their marriage, and once upon a time sabotaged Ava’s destiny to be loved by her true soulmate.”
Tyler Perry Studios executives Angi Bones and Will Areu will produce both films alongside Perry, with Jamall Ellzy also producing “Black White & Blue” and Dianne Ashford producing “Divorce in the Black.”
While it’s Good, Tandy and Graham’s first experiences as Perry’s leading ladies, the casts of both projects are populated with alumni of his projects. For example, Lepley starred in more than 100 episodes of Perry’s hit soap opera “The Haves and the Have Nots,” while Adeyeye stars in his BET+ series “Ruthless” and Barrotta is known for “The Oval.” Lee first appeared in 2009’s “Madea Goes to Jail” and will appear in both “Black, White & Blue” and theKelly Rowland-led thriller “Mea Culpa” for Netflix.
Perry’s pact with Amazon does not mean he’s working exclusively with the streamer. He’s also currently directing “Six Triple Eight,” a WWII dramastarring Kerry Washington and Oprah Winfrey for Netflix, and his last few films, “A Jazzman’s Blues,” “A Madea Homecoming” and “A Fall from Grace,” were released by the streamer.He also created the “Madea” franchise, whose 11 films about a tough-talking, gun-toting grandmother have grossed more than $550 million at the box office.
