Oprah Winfrey knows a winner when she sees it. She’s doubled her episode order of Tyler Perry’s “Love Thy Neighbor” from 26 to 52. Winfrey knows that Perry saved her OWN network when all else failed. Even her interview with Lindsay Lohan wasn’t enough to generate ratings. Winfrey is running three scripted shows from Perry on OWN, and they are all massive hits. She’s also ordered up four more episodes of “The Have and Have Nots.”
Here’s the press release: Los Angeles, CA – OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today that it has ordered an additional 26 episodes of the network’s popular comedy from Tyler Perry “Love Thy Neighbor” (Wednesdays at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) bringing the total season order to 52 episodes.
The current cycle will have its two-episode finale tonight with the new episodes premiering in January 2014. As previously announced, Tyler Perry’s sitcom “For Better or Worse” will take over the timeslot beginning Wednesday, September 18 with two back-to-back half hour episodes at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. “For Better or Worse” comes to OWN with all new episodes for season three.
“Love Thy Neighbor” is set at a family-run diner, where feisty matriarch Hattie Mae Love (Patrice Lovely) has her hands full not only managing her customers but also her family drama. Since its debut on May 29, the series is averaging over 1 million total viewers, a .88 W25-54 and is Wednesday night’s #1 original series on all of television for African American viewers.
In addition, the network has ordered an additional four episodes of the Tyler Perry drama “The Haves and the Have Nots” on top of the 16 additional episodes ordered in June. This brings the total order for “The Haves and the Have Nots” to 36 episodes for its first season. The series continues to break ratings records each week with its most recent broadcast on Tuesday, August 20 scoring its highest rated episode to-date in the network’s key demo of women 25-54 (1.76 rating).
