Tyler Perry's 'Browns' hitting syndication

Debmar-Mercury clears show on Fox, Tribune station groups

By Nellie Andreeva

Nov 15, 2009, 11:00 PM ET

Tyler Perry's comedy series "Meet the Browns" on TBS is headed to broadcast syndication.

Debmar-Mercury has cleared the sitcom in more than 70% of the U.S. for a September debut through cash-plus-barter deals with several major station groups, including Fox, Tribune, Weigel, CBS, Capital, Cox, Meredith, Granite and Belo.

"Browns," based on the movie, ranks as the No. 1 series on TBS this season in adults 18-49.

The syndication launch for "Browns" is slated to come 15 months after the premiere of the show on TBS as opposed to the traditional four to five years. It is a result of the sitcom business model created by Debmar-Mercury that was introduced with another Perry comedy, "House of Payne."

"As we proved with 'House of Payne,' viewers are hungry for fresh episodes of quality sitcoms in syndication, and as the fast pace of clearances indicates, stations know they can depend on Tyler Perry to deliver them," Debmar-Mercury co-president Ira Bernstein said.

Tyler Perry's 'Browns' hitting syndication

Debmar-Mercury clears show on Fox, Tribune station groups

By Nellie Andreeva

Nov 15, 2009, 11:00 PM ET