The relationship between Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey just got tighter. Oprah’s network, OWN announced yesterday that it has doubled the order of the Tyler Perry comedy “Love Thy Neighbor,” which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The additional 26 episodes will bring the total season order to 52 episodes.
The news comes just as the current cycle concluded with its two-episode finale on Wednesday night. The new episodes will premiere January 2014.
“Love Thy Neighbor“ is set in a family-run diner and stars Patrice Lovely as a family matriarch juggling business and family drama. Since its May 29 premiere, the series has averaged more than a million total viewers, scoring a .88 rating among women aged 25-54.
In addition, the network has ordered four more episodes of the Tyler Perry drama “The Haves and the Have Nots,” just two months after ordering 16 additional episodes, bringing the total order to 36 episodes for its first season. The series premiered as OWN’s highest-rated show when it debuted back in May, attracting 1.77 million total viewers and continuing to break ratings records. On Wednesday night, the series achieved its best ratings to date, a 1.76 in the women aged 25-54 demographic.
Starring Crystal Fox and John Schneider, “The Haves and the Have Nots“ follows the complicated dynamic between the rich and powerful Cryer family and their hired help, who work and live in their opulent Savannah, Georgia mansion.
