Tyler Perry & DeVon Franklin's faith-based Netflix film R&B sets cast and director

Back in May 2024, Netflix announced that it had expanded its creative partnership with Tyler Perry by forming a new deal with the well-known filmmaker. This new deal would see Perry produce faith-based films for the streamer alongside producer DeVon Franklin (Flamin’ Hot, Miracles From Heaven). The first movie to be announced under the new deal was R&B, which is described as a modern-day retelling of the biblical love story of Ruth and Boaz.

Now, we've just learned so much new information about this upcoming romance film, such as who will star in it and who will be directing. Alanna Brown, who is best known for writing an episode of the crime drama series Blindspotting and for writing the script for and directing the drama film Trees of Peace, has signed on to direct. She will be helming the movie from a screenplay co-written by Michael Elliot (Just Wright, Brown Sugar) and Cory Tynan (Play’d: A Hip Hop Story).

In addition, Franklin and Perry will produce, while Angi Bones, Tony L. Strickland, and Bart Lipton will executive produce. R&B is set in Tennessee and centers around a young woman who decides to leave the Atlanta music scene behind to care for an elderly widowed woman. While taking on the new caretaker role, she ends up finding the love of her life and gains the mother she never had.

The film will star Serayah (Empire, Kingdom Business), Tyler Lepley (Harlem, P-Valley), Phylicia Rashad (The Beekeeper, Diarra from Detroit), Walnette Santiago (Doom Patrol, First Kill), Nijah Brenea (Kold x Windy, Rap Sh!t), James Lee Thomas (One Spoon of Chocolate), Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, Jermaine Dupri, and Lecrae Moore.

Besides R&B, Perry has several other projects in the works at Netflix. For example, there's the war drama film The Six Triple Eight, which is coming out on Dec. 20, 2024, and the drama series Beauty in Black, which is set for an Oct. 24, 2024 release on the streaming platform. We'll see Franklin next in an upcoming film called On Fire.

As we learn new information about R&B, we'll come back and share everything we found. But for now, you'll have to stay tuned to This Is Us Crying!