BET NETWORKS AND TYLER PERRY STUDIOS ANNOUNCE PERRY'S FIRST ORIGINAL SERIES, "THE OVAL," TO LAUNCH THE CONTENT CREATOR'S EXCLUSIVE PROGRAMMING FOR THE NETWORK

WRITTEN, DIRECTED, AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY TYLER PERRY, "THE OVAL" WILL STAR ED QUINN, KRON MOORE, PAIGE HURD AND DANIEL CROIX HENDERSON

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR "THE OVAL" BEGINS THIS SUMMER AT TYLER PERRY STUDIOS

New York, NY- Thursday, June 20, 2019 - BET Networks and Tyler Perry Studios announced today that a new original drama, "The Oval," the first series under Perry's exclusive, multi-year content partnership deal with Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) will begin principal photography this summer at Tyler Perry Studios. Starring Ed Quinn, Kron Moore, Paige Hurd and Daniel Croix Henderson, "The Oval," will introduce viewers to the new first family moving into the White House. This picture-perfect couple has it all! Money, status, and pure bliss flank the Mr. & Mrs. However, behind closed doors, they are anything but flawless. With lies, cheating and messy mayhem running amuck, in the new scripted series, we see next level corruption up close and way too personal, directly from the White House. Please believe, you could not write this... but Tyler did!

With over 75 hours of new original content slated to premiere on BET over the next year, Perry's future line-up will also include another drama series, two comedy series, and a live holiday-themed production.

"I've been hard at work on 'The Oval' and can't wait to share this story with audiences," said Tyler Perry. "I've set out to create a show that tells the story of a family placed in the White House by people of power while also highlighting the personal side and everyday lives of the staff who run the inner workings of the nation's most iconic residence."

First wave announcement of series regulars include:

ED QUINN will play HUNTER FRANKLIN

Hunter Franklin is the newly elected President of The United States.

Kron Moore will play VICTORIA FRANKLIN

Victoria Franklin is the First Lady of the United States. Her husband has just been elected President.

PAIGE HURD will play GAYLE FRANKLIN

Gayle is the beautiful and spoiled daughter of the President and First Lady. She is a wild child who is rebellious and defiant.

DANIEL CROIX HENDERSON will play JASON FRANKLIN

Jason is the son of The President and First Lady. He is a troubled young man.

"The Oval" is written, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry. Michelle Sneed will also serve as Executive Producer of the series for Tyler Perry Studios.

About Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry is an established American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, playwright, author and philanthropist. Tyler started his career writing plays, many of which later became the inspiration for his film projects and included the introduction of the iconic character, Madea. Tyler's first feature film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, debuted at number one nationwide in 2005. In the decade since, the 20 films directed by Tyler have all been met with massive commercial success and grossed over $2 billion. He has also stepped on the other side of the camera for other directors including David Fincher for Gone Girl, Rob Cohen for Alex Cross, Adam McCay for Vice, and helped release Academy Award-nominated Precious as Executive Producer. Tyler has also made an indelible mark in the television space. In 2007, he debuted the TBS series "House of Payne" which broke cable rating records, and later launched the equally successful "Meet the Browns" on the same network. In late 2012, Perry partnered with Oprah Winfrey to bring scripted programming to her cable network, OWN, with For Better or Worse, Love Thy Neighbor, If Loving You is Wrong, The Paynes, and The Haves and The Have Nots, which continues to break ratings. In July 2017, Perry continued to grow his empire by announcing a mega multiyear content partnership with Viacom covering TV, film, and short form video projects. Perry is currently in production for his multiple television series and will be celebrating the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios in October 2019.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in nearly 85 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER (formerly CENTRIC), a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET's growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET Networks around the globe.

ABOUT TYLER PERRY STUDIOS

Tyler Perry Studios is a state-of-the art film and television production facility founded in 2006 by actor, producer, filmmaker, playwright and philanthropist Tyler Perry. Located in Atlanta, Georgia on the historic grounds of the former Fort McPherson army base, the new 330-acre campus is one of the largest production studios in the country. It boasts a variety of shooting locations including 40 buildings on the national register of historic places, 11 purpose-built sound stages, 200 acres of green space and an expansive backlot.