Entertainment, TV, Television - Marine Corps Times

In Tyler Perry’s ‘House of Payne,’ comedy rules

Tyler Perry summed up an overcrowded life. “There’s so much in my head,” he says.

There are characters, stories, memories, more. Now they all seem to be pouring out.

Perry, 37, has created theater pieces and (starting with “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”) movies. Now, breaking most current rules, he has a cable situation comedy.

“House of Payne” debuts at 9 p.m. June 6 on TBS, with a classic setup.

Curtis Payne is a working guy who would be happy to be left alone. Instead, his living room is often jammed.

There’s his wife Ella, their college-age son Calvin and their nephew C.J.— plus C.J.’s wife, son and daughter.

Such a multigenerational world is becoming rare in modern life.

“It’s still very common in African-American homes,” Perry says.

Curtis loves these people and derides them. In the old tradition of George Jefferson, Archie Bunker or Fred Sanford, he’s quick with insults.

“And he doesn’t care about being politically correct,” Perry says.

Like those past characters, Curtis often is confronted. In the opener, the 6-foot-5-inch Perry guest-stars as his most famous character, the towering and no-nonsense woman named Madea.

This will strike some people as old-fashioned and some as a loving tribute to past glories. Perry talks about a boyhood watching Norman Lear comedies (including “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons” and “Sanford and Son”), plus “What’s Happening!!” and more.

He’s a Southerner, born in New Orleans and now living near Atlanta. He does not, however, offer bucolic memories.

“My father was not an easy person to live with,” he says. His mother, however, is fascinating. “My mom was a Madea type,” Perry says fondly.

She has many of Madea’s traits, except for height. But despite being 5 feet 4 inches, she compensated.

“She would say, ‘I will get up on a stool and slap you,’ ” Perry says with a laugh. “She still says that.”

Some comedy and drama ideas are taken from Perry’s own life; others are borrowed.

“I have a lot of friends with families,” he says. “I’ll go to their houses, just for material.”

That soon flows out.

The theater pieces came first. In 2005, Perry starred in “Madea Goes to Jail” — which he also wrote, produced and scored — and had another cast doing “Meet the Browns.” Each week, a reported 35,000 people saw one of his shows.

Then there were his movies. “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” opened in 2005, reaching No. 1 at the box office; in the first week of DVD sales, it sold 2.5 million copies.

None of this went through the normal channels.

“I realize that Hollywood is its own little bubble,” Perry says.

He stays out of the bubble and ignores the buzz.

“The buzz is that situation comedies are dead,” he says.

In his crowded head, they’re still alive. He’s doing “House of Payne” in the Lear style:

• Not looking for familiar names. Few viewers will recognize LeVan Davis (who stars as Curtis) or the others.

• Often hiring theater actors. That includes several from his tour. “They did 300 shows for me, so I know they’re good.”

• Letting the scenes unfold like a play, while four cameras tape the action.

There’s one difference, though: Lear taped one episode a week; Perry does two or three. After testing it in 10 cities, TBS has ordered 100 episodes.

Yes, 100. Perry has a writing staff, of course, but he also has the key advantage: There are already a lot of characters and stories in his head.

On the tube:

— What: “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.”

— When: 9 p.m. Wednesdays, starting June 6.

— Where: TBS

— Did you know? This is one of six summer series for TBS or its sister channel. On June 18, TNT returns “The Closer” and debuts “Heartland”; it debuts “Saving Grace” on July 18. TBS debuts “The Bill Engvall Show” on July 17 and returns “My Boys” on July 30.