TV briefs: BET picks up 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne,' Weather Channel storm names, CNN debate ratings
By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, October 14, 2015
BET has acquired all 254 episodes of "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." The show will begin airing on the network November 1.
The sitcom aired on Atlanta-based TBS from 2006 to 2012. This was Perry's ground-breaking entry into television. He also designed a new model where he paid the first 10 episodes out of his own pocket and tested them in multiple markets, including Atlanta. TBS then committed to 90 more, ultimately commissioning far more. (FX tried the model briefly with multiple shows but got a bit burned by Charlie Sheen's "Anger Management" and the entire 10/90 concept has petered out.)
After "House of Payne," Perry had hits on TBS in "Meet the Browns" and "For Better or Worse." But with TBS shifting away from black comedies, he jumped to OWN, where he now has multiple shows, most notably the network's most popular show "The Haves and the Have Nots."
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The CNN Democratic debate drew a healthy 15.8 million viewers Tuesday night. While that is nowhere near as large as the first two Republican debates (which drew 24 million on Fox News and 23 million on CNN respectively), it's the most ever for a Democratic debate. The next GOP debate on CNBC is scheduled for October 28.
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Atlanta-based The Weather Channel has named its winter storms for 2015-16 with help from Bozeman High School's Latin Club in Bozeman, Mont. Local meteorologist Bryan Norcross tweaked the list, which includes some trendy names such as Yolo, Regis and Jonas. Yolo has been especially mocked.
According to the Washington Post, "beginning in 2014, names were given only to storms that would generate warnings for a population of 2 million, or an area of 400,000 square kilometers."
Since the Weather Channel began launching winter names in 2012, the system has not become universally accepted and are not cleared by the World Meteorological Organization, which names hurricanes.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
