Tyler Perry's laffer "Meet the Browns" is off and running toward its firstrun syndie debut next fall. The series, airing on TBS, has been cleared for a September bow on stations covering 70% of U.S. TV households, including Fox-owned stations in New York, Dallas, Houston and Washington, D.C.
Distrib Debmar-Mercury is offering the show, which will air Monday-Friday, to stations for cash plus two minutes of barter time per half-hour seg.
Perry and Debmar-Mercury pioneered the dual cable/firstrun distrib pattern for sitcoms with Perry's "House of Payne" two years ago.
In addition to "Meet the Browns," Debmar is poised to launch two more series that will bow on cable and, if successful, move quickly into firstrun: "Are We There Yet," featuring Ice Cube, for TBS; and an untitled project starring Jon Heder that will bow on Comedy Central.
Contact Cynthia Littleton at
cynthia.littleton@variety.com