Tyler Perry, author team up to create faith-based programs

Mogul and DeVon Franklin sign deal for Netflix shows.

Another week, another new deal for Tyler Perry.

The busy Atlanta media mogul has signed a new partnership with producer, author and motivational speaker DeVon Franklin to create faith-based films for Netflix.

Perry last week signed a deal with Asylum Entertainment to create unscripted programming, which could include documentaries and reality shows. Last month, he also extended a deal with Paramount Global to create new seasons of eight existing shows plus a ninth new show. And he has an existing multifilm deal with Amazon.

The first film for Perry and Franklin will be called “R&B,” a modern-day retelling of the biblical story of Ruth and Boaz. The film’s official synopsis describes this as “one of the most iconic love stories in the Bible” and “tells the story of a young woman who escapes the Atlanta music scene to care for an elderly widowed woman and in the process finds the love of her life and gains the mother she never had.”

This new deal deepens his relationship with Netflix, where he has released multiple films including his most recent movie “Mea Culpa” with Kelly Rowland. He has two other Netflix projects in the immediate pipeline: historical drama “Six Triple Eight” with Kerry Washington and a drama series “Beauty in Black.”

“I’m so excited to be working with DeVon on this and future projects,” Perry said in a news release. “I think in this polarizing world, and at a time where the world seems to be growing colder every day, we both share the common goal of wanting to spread some good. And there’s no better place than Netflix.”

Franklin noted that “Tyler and I have been great friends for over 15 years, so when he called me to team up on movies that can uplift the human spirit, I jumped at the chance and we couldn’t have a better partner than Netflix to help us inspire the world.”

Faith-based projects are near and dear to Perry’s heart going back to his early plays, and religion is often intertwined into his many movies and TV shows.

Perry grew up in a Christian home, crediting his mother and grandmother for his faith in Jesus. In 2017, he wrote what he called a spiritual guidebook called “Higher Waiting.”