Today, BET+ and Tyler Perry Studios announced the greenlight of the new BET+ original drama “Tyler Perry’s Zatima,” a spin-off from the #1 cable scripted series among Black viewers, “Tyler Perry’s Sistas.” The 10-episode one-hour series follows popular characters ‘Zac,’ played by Devale Ellis and ‘Fatima,’ played Crystal Renee Hayslett, as they navigate the ups and downs of their relationship. “Zatima” marks the second spin-off from a Tyler Perry top-rated linear show to get greenlit by BET+, the leading streaming service for Black audiences. Executive produced, directed, and written by Tyler Perry, “Zatima” started production at Tyler Perry Studios this week and will premiere in 2022 on BET+.

“We are continuing to strengthen our investment in quality programming, and our partnership with Tyler Perry has a proven track record of super-serving our audience,” said BET’s President and CEO, Scott Mills. “We look forward to unlocking crossover viewership opportunities between our linear platform and our streaming service one of our strongest series, ‘Sistas.’ With ‘Zatima’ joining our expanding roster of BET+ originals, BET is committed to giving viewers more of the compelling content they love and expect across our platforms.”

The announcement of “Tyler Perry’s Zatima” lands on the heels of the season three finale of “Tyler Perry’s Sistas,” premiering on Wednesday, December 22 at 9 PM ET/PT on BET and BET Her, followed by a new episode of “The Tyler Perry Show: The Sistas After-Show Edition.” Hosted by Tyler Perry, “The Tyler Perry Show: The Sistas After-Show Edition” will give viewers exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Mr. Perry’s hit series and feature the talented cast who bring their favorite characters to life every week, including KJ Smith, Mignon, Ebony Obsidian, Novi Brown, Crystal Renee’ Hayslett, DeVale Ellis, Chido Nwokocha, Anthony Dalton II, Brian Jordan Jr., Kevin A. Walton, and Trinity Whiteside.

The BET+ original drama, “Tyler Perry’s Zatima,” follows “Tyler Perry’s Ruthless,” the first spin-off of the hit series “Tyler Perry’s The Oval.” Streaming now on BET+, “Tyler Perry’s Ruthless,” tells the riveting story of a woman named Ruth, who kidnaps her young daughter to join her in the dark underworld of a fanatical religious cult.

About Crystal Renee Hayslett

In 2011, shortly after moving to Atlanta to pursue her career in acting and music, Academy award winner Matthew Cherry gave Crystal Hayslett her first speaking role in his short film, “This Time.” In 2013, she started working at Tyler Perry Studios in the costume department. By 2015, she was the studio’s Costume Designer and personal stylist to Tyler Perry, which ultimately led to consultant producing and guest-starring as Fatima in Perry’s acclaimed drama “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” on BET. Crystal is now a series regular on “Sistas,” which is currently airing its third season.

Hayslett is a native of Martin, TN, where she attended the University of Tennessee at Martin and received a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications/Public Relations. Upon graduating, she moved to Washington, DC, to work for the United States Senate, where she worked as a legislative correspondent regarding legislation in the Senate HELP Committee with constituents from Tennessee.

About Devale Ellis

Devale Ellis is a former NFL player turned actor, currently a series regular in the role of ‘Zac’ on “Tyler Perry’s Sistas.” Devale will be featured in the upcoming movie “The Perfect Find” alongside Gabrielle Union, as well as in the new AMC series “61st Street” as a recurring guest star. He recently shot the male lead role on Lifetime’s feature, “Single Black Female” and has appeared on CBS’s “The Equalizer” and “NCIS” as well as a recurring role in the Emmy-nominated Netflix series, “It’s Bruno.” Some of his other TV credits include “Power” and “Gotham.”

Devale is the co-host of ‘Dead Ass With Khadeen & Devale,’ a Webby award-winning podcast that he created with his wife to discuss love, marriage, parenting and everything in between from a millennial perspective. The podcast launched and hit #5 on the Apple charts its first day and has remained top 10 since, securing four sold out live shows and over 10 million downloads, with notable guests including President Joe Biden. His viral social show, ‘The Ellises,’ has garnered over 100 million views across YouTube and Facebook and in 2020, Devale authored the #1 Amazon bestselling children’s book, The Ellises & the Time Machine: Why Do We Have to Say ‘Black Lives Matter’?

For more information on BET+ originals, viewers can visit BET.Plus and join the conversation on social media by following @BETPlus for the latest news and updates.

For more information on “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” and the after-show viewers can log on to BET.com and join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #SistasOnBET on all social platforms.

ABOUT BET+:

BET+, a joint venture between BET and Tyler Perry Studios, is the leading streaming service for the Black community. With thousands of hours of hit movies, TV shows, stand-up specials, stage plays and more, BET+ offers the best of Black culture, including exclusive originals from best-in-class creators like Tracy Oliver’s First Wives Club, Tyler Perry’s Ruthless and Bruh, Carl Weber’s The Family Business and Sacrifice and Will Packer’s Bigger, to name a few. BET+ members can watch as much as they want anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen and always commercial-free. Visit BET.Plus to learn more and follow @BETPlus for the latest news and updates.

About BET

BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the leading provider of premium entertainment, music, news, digital and public affairs content for Black audiences worldwide. BET linear is in 125 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa and France. BET is one of the most well-known Black consumer brands worldwide, with multi-platform business extensions including BET Studios, an unprecedented studio venture that offers equity ownership for Black content creators; BET+, the preeminent streaming service for the Black audience; BET Digital, including BET’s wide reaching social platforms and BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks – BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s events and experience business; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

ABOUT TYLER PERRY STUDIOS

Tyler Perry Studios is a state-of-the-art film and television production facility founded in 2006 by actor, producer, filmmaker, playwright, and philanthropist Tyler Perry. Located in Atlanta, Georgia on the historic grounds of the former Fort McPherson army base, the new 330-acre campus is one of the largest production studios in the country. It boasts a variety of shooting locations including 40 buildings on the national register of historic places, 12 purpose-built sound stages, 200 acres of green space and an expansive backlot