By: Kira Demund, contributing intern (@kiracarinaa)

On Tuesday (August 9), media minions and journalism junkies alike gathered at the TRACE restaurant – located inside the W Hotel – to join the cast of Tyler Perry’s latest brainchild, “Too Close To Home.” A candlelit lunch and rose petals adeptly dismissed the city’s afternoon overcast. The mood created a tranquil atmosphere while guests enjoyed lunch and an exclusive screening of the show’s premiere.

“Too Close to Home” is the latest acquisition to TLC’s network and is also the network’s first-ever scripted series. Tyler Perry is the mastermind behind the 8-part drama having produced and created it. It is also Perry’s first show with a predominantly all-white cast.

Following the screening was a surprise appearance by the television mogul himself, Tyler Perry. Perry joined the cast for Q&A’s from the audience and weighed in on more about the show.

“If you look at all of my shows, if you just take a minute and study, you’ll see that all these are very different people from this show from “The Have and the Have Nots” from “If Loving You is Wrong” to “Mama Hattie”; they’re all very different people who have their own lives and their own stories,” Perry said. “That’s what I’m excited about with this TLC show.”

With numerous acclaimed television shows under his belt, you may be wondering what makes this show unique. Well, this time around Perry takes a step away from his usual devotion to OWN, and extends his scriptwriting skills onto TLC. Perry said that “Too Close to Home” was specifically written for TLC. Perry explained that he watched shows on the network and took elements from each one to combine them into one drama.

But drama and scandal won’t be the only things viewers can expect from the show. Perry wants the show to leave a message on the importance of making choices in life. “Everything is about your choices…the consequences for your choices,” Perry said. “So if you make bad choices, there’s going to be an opaque. Everything is about how you use your platform…use the show, to talk to people about making choices.”

The series follows a young woman Anna, played by Danielle Savre, who severs herself away from her family and trailer park home in her hometown of Happy, Alabama. She heads East to pursue what she perceives to be a promising political career in Washing D.C.. Very quickly, Anna gets involved in an affair with a very powerful politician and causes a major scandal, which makes national headlines. She finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place after she learns she has nowhere else to turn to but the same place she let go of.

“Too Close To Home” premieres Monday, August 22 on TLC at 9pm ET/PT with a two-hour premiere. We won’t spoil the premiere, but we will say your jaw is sure to drop!

 

 

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