For Better or Worse (2011 TV series)

Last updated
For Better or Worse
TylerPerrysForBetterorWorseIntertitle.jpg
Also known asTyler Perry's For Better or Worse
Genre Sitcom
Created by Tyler Perry
Based onCharacters
by Tyler Perry
Written byTyler Perry
Directed byTyler Perry
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes162 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Tyler Perry
  • Ozzie Areu
Camera setup Multiple
Running time22 to 24 minutes
Production company Tyler Perry Studios
Original release
Network TBS (2011–2012) (seasons 1–2)
OWN (2013–2017) (seasons 3–6)
ReleaseNovember 25, 2011 (2011-11-25) 
July 22, 2017 (2017-07-22)
Related
Why Did I Get Married?
(2007 film)
Why Did I Get Married Too?
(2010 film)

For Better or Worse is an American television sitcom created, written and executive produced by Tyler Perry. The series is based on and is a TV spin-off to Perry's 2007 film Why Did I Get Married? and its 2010 sequel Why Did I Get Married Too? The show premiered on November 25, 2011 and aired on TBS [1] for two seasons.

Contents

In 2013, OWN ordered a third season, which premiered on September 18, 2013. The show ran for three additional seasons on OWN.

Production

TBS announced the straight-to-series order of For Better or Worse on April 26, 2011, the same day it was announced that House of Payne would be ending after its sixth season. [2] [3] Unlike House of Payne and Meet the Browns , which are family-oriented, For Better Or Worse targets young adults. [4] The premiere episode of the series acquired 3.33 million viewers, [5] bringing the show to the top of the charts as basic cable's No. 1 comedy series for the month of October 2011. [5] [6]

In February 2012, TBS announced the thirty-five episode second season renewal, which premiered on July 13, 2012, with the first season averaging 2.9 million viewers. [7] For Better or Worse was also basic cable's No. 1 sitcom of 2011 and the No. 1 show on all of television with African-American adults in the same year. [8] [9]

TBS declined to renew the series. In February 2013, Oprah Winfrey Network (which had entered into a development deal with Perry) ordered a third season. [10] The third season of the series premiered on September 18, 2013. [11] [12] The second part of season 3 premiered on April 9, 2014. The third part of season 3 premiered on September 17, 2014. The fourth season of the series premiered on Friday, March 27, 2015. The second half of season 4 premiered on September 11, 2015. The fifth season of the series premiered on April 1, 2016. The second half of season 5 premiered on September 30. On January 30, 2017 OWN announced that the show would end after the sixth season. The sixth season premiered on Saturday, June 10, 2017. The series ended on July 22, 2017. The series had a total of 162 episodes.

Cast

Recurring

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
1 10November 25, 2011 (2011-11-25)December 23, 2011 (2011-12-23) TBS
2 35July 13, 2012 (2012-07-13)December 7, 2012 (2012-12-07)
3 5526September 18, 2013 (2013-09-18)December 11, 2013 (2013-12-11) OWN
15April 9, 2014 (2014-04-09)June 11, 2014 (2014-06-11)
14September 17, 2014 (2014-09-17)December 17, 2014 (2014-12-17)
4 2211March 27, 2015 (2015-03-27)June 5, 2015 (2015-06-05)
11September 11, 2015 (2015-09-11)October 16, 2015 (2015-10-16)
5 2010April 1, 2016 (2016-04-01)May 27, 2016 (2016-05-27)
10September 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)November 25, 2016 (2016-11-25)
6 20June 10, 2017 (2017-06-10)July 22, 2017 (2017-07-22)

Reception

For Better or Worse received generally mixed reviews from critics. The Boston Herald described it as being "an upscale Dynasty crossed with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with a dash of urban sass", which "knocks you back with a bracing dose of its characters’ resentments and rages." [13] Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club felt that For Better or Worse felt more "mature" and less "over-the-top" than Perry's other programs (comparing it, in particular, to BET's The Game ), but that the pilot episode's attempts at humor fell flat. [14]

Awards/Nominations

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References

  1. "TBS Sends Tyler Perry Comedies to Friday Nights" (Press release). The Futon Critic. October 20, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  2. Itzkoff, Dave (April 26, 2011). "TBS Orders Its Third Tyler Perry Series". The New York Times.
  3. Gorman, Bill (April 26, 2011). "TBS Orders Tyler Perry's 'For Better or Worse'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (April 26, 2011). "TBS Orders Third Tyler Perry/Debmar-Mercury Sitcom, Ends 'House Of Payne'". Deadline Hollywood.
  5. 1 2 Seidman, Robert (November 28, 2011). "'Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse' Premieres to 3.4 Million Friday Night on TBS". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011.
  6. "TBS's Friday Night Launch of "Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse" Is Basic Cable's #1 Comedy Series for the Month of November". The Futon Critic. November 30, 2011.
  7. Goldberg, Lesley. "TBS Orders More of Tyler Perry's 'For Better or Worse'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. Ho, Rodney (February 15, 2012). "TBS cancels 'Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns,' gives 'For Better or Worse' 35 episodes". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013.
  9. Kondolojy, Amanda (February 15, 2012). "'Tyler Perry's For Better Or Worse' Renewed by TBS with 35 Episode Order". TV by the Numbers (Press release). Archived from the original on May 17, 2013.
  10. Andreeva, Nellie (February 20, 2013). "OWN Picks Up Tyler Perry's Sitcom 'For Better Or Worse', Orders Third Season". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  11. Bibel, Sara (July 25, 2013). "OWN Greenlights 'It's Primetime' Starring Deion Sanders, Announces Lindsay Lohan Interview to Air August 18". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013.
  12. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 20, 2013). "Tyler Perry's Popular Sitcom 'For Better or Worse' Comes to OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013.
  13. Perigard, Mark (November 25, 2011). "Tyler Perry's 'Better' is one of his worst". Boston Herald.
  14. Alston, Joshua. "Tyler Perry's For Better Or Worse". TV Club. Retrieved 2018-11-24.