Tyler Perry’s: Meet the Browns Season 7

“Hold up! Wait a minute! Let me put some Brown in it.”

With this DVD I learned a valuable lesson (several actually), about not judging a book by its cover. Around the time it was announced that this show would premiere on TBS, I was in the middle of watching Tyler Perry’s first series on TBS, House of Payne. Assuming that Meet the Browns would nothing more than a variation on what House of Payne was, I ignored this show. However you know what they say happens when you assume, and that’s just what happened to me.

Made in the same model as the play as well as the movie, Meet the Browns features the extremely entertaining David Mann and his equally entertaining wife, Tamela Mann, as Leroy S. Brown and Cora Jean Simmons-Brown respectively (the only two characters to appear in both the film and the movie). Set in Decatur, Georgia, Mr. Brown (as he likes to be referred to) is the patriarch of a senior family and landlord of the household. Under his room includes his daughter Cora, nephew Dr. Will Brown, Will’s wife Nurse Sasha Brown, and their two adopted children Brianna and Joaquin Ortiz. Backed up by a supporting cast that features Reggie, Cora’s on-and-off-again boyfriend, Renee, Sasha’s coworker, and Simone, Brianna’s pregnant best friend. This season, the family weathers all the trials and tribulations that come their way including HIV scares, the importance of integrity in the most trying times, and the value of hard work.

First off, this is a top-notch cast; Tyler Perry definitely has an eye for talent. Seven seasons in, they all still know how to bring the funny. The credit for that equally belongs to the writings for being able to keep it fresh by using real-life situations that the audience can relate to. Teen pregnancy and HIV are two very important issues in today’s society that are perfectly depicted in their featured episodes. My hat is off to Terri J. Vaughn, for the emotionally powerful performance in the episode Meet the New Reggie.

The mark of a good sitcom is its ability to teach you something as well as its ability to make you laugh, and Meet the Browns has delivered that for years and they keep it going in their final season. Shows like this are dying breed; it’s tough to find shows with the type of life lesson today’s youth needs that are still able to encompass it in a comedy format. It makes me sorry I missed I the first six seasons simply to ignorance; I’ll just have to rectify that by acquiring the other six seasons and seeing what I missed.

Notable Guest Stars: Beverly Johnson, Finesse Mitchell, Judge Mathis, Khalil Kain, Christina Milian, Eddie Levert

Notable Episodes: Meet the Attraction, Meet the New Reggie, Meet the Patience, Meet the Dealmaker