Tyler Perry's The Have and Have Nots: Season 1 Review

When I first heard about Tyler Perry's The Have and the Have Nots I wasn't too thrilled about it. I have a love hate relationship with Tyler Perry. Also the African-American masses were raving about it through social media so that also steered me away from it. Following in the same steps of Scandal, I simply feel that blacks don't give a lot of shows a chance unless it is involving a strong black lead or cast. About 3-4 episodes in however I found myself at home with nothing to watch and a DVR with the first several episodes recorded. I did what any primetime junkie would do. I watched.

Needless to say it had quickly become my guilty pleasure and the number one show I loved to hate. It is sooo deliciously Tyler Perry and my African-American roots couldn't seem to refrain from the unnecessary drama that he created. Watching the show is like looking at a terrible car wreck, you can't help but to look. It has been argued that rather or not this series is a soap. I honestly have never liked soap operas but I will say that it is a soap without being completely boring. The exaggerated drama is there but the characters are so much more interesting than those you would see on a common soap. The story line always puts me in a mind of Tyler Perry's movie entitled "A Family that Prays" which is unoriginal but also a good thing since I feel that it is Perry's best movie. The resemblance is so close he might as well had called the series the same thing.

The Have and the Have Nots is about three different families whose lives intertwine. On one hand you have the Cryers whom are a wealthy white family, then you have the Harringtons who are friends of the Cryer who are also wealthy but black, then you have the Youngs that are lower class and African-American. The story plays out by these three family's interacting with one another. It all starts off with Candace Young (Tika Sumpter) sleeping with Jim Cryer (John Schneider) and then spiraling out of control from there when her mother Hannah Young (Crystal R. Fox) gets a job as a maid for Katheryn Cryer (Renee Lawless). Tika Sumpter is primarily the reason that I was soo hooked. She plays her character Candace so well and commands attention whenever she is on the screen. It is definitely a breakout role for the young star. However as the series progressed it became more evident that a lot of the other characters have just as big of personalities. Primarily Katheryn Cryer who easily got Candace together when she revealed that Jim was having an affair with her. Katheryn promptly called her "Nine" and sent Candace packing. Also, Veronica Harrington played by Angela Robinson has proved to be a force to be reckoned with. She is that black lady that NO ONE likes in real life but is a thrill to watch on screen. Tyler Perry of course doesn't stray from using stereo types in this series but most of the time it is in a way that is tasteful.

There are also other characters such as Benny Young (Tyler Leply) who Tyler Perry just seems to use as a poor scapegoat to keep the plot going. I feel so bad for him because the guy just can't seem to get a break between being framed and more recently getting hit by a car. He does however provide some good eye candy whenever he is on screen. Tyler sure knows how to cast them.

The Cryer siblings consist of Amanda Cryer (Jacyln Betham) and Wyatt Cryer (Aaron O'connor). Rich white kids with issues. Nothing original there. Tyler really doesn't do a good job incorporating them into the storyline. There was even a point where Wyatt was complete absent for two episodes back to back. Amanda is a suicidal teenager with issues and tries to kill herself after getting raped by her teacher. Wyatt is a recovering drug addict that is constantly followed by Jeffery Harrington (Gavin Houston) who is secretly in love with him. The struggle of Jeffery's character may be what I hate most about the show but more on that later.

What I love about The Have and the Have Nots are the relationships between the characters. I especially love that of Hannah and Katheryn. It just seems so genuine and special. I like how Perry gave them the common ordeal of Cancer so that they could relate to each other initially. I like that Candace can legitimately care about Amanda as a friend but totally try to ruin her father Jim. It is also fun to see the dynamic characters such as Candace, Katheryn, and Veronica go at it. Katheryn is still at the top of my list at this point. I don't think anyone can get her together. I also love the battle of the genders seen on this show. In one corner you have Jim and his friends and in the other you have Candace, Veronica, and Katheryn putting a thorn in their side. It causes for a great portrayal of the type of power woman still have in one is widely considered to be a man's world.

What I hate about the show is that it is SO Tyler Perry. The drama is ridiculous and unnecessary at times. I feel as if Perry just thinks, "Okay how can I make this situation worse"? I understand that it is a soap opera but DAMN. The show could've ended exactly how it did without Amanda getting raped and trying to kill herself or Jim having slept with the Hispanic housemaid. Also I hate when things are too coincidental in any type of narrative. I understand you have a small cast to work with but there are ways to work around that and make the story still believable. But above all I absolutely HATE how Perry dealt with Jeffery's character. Tyler Perry has been accused of being gay since he was doing plays. So I would think that he would be able to write a homosexual experience in a way that is true and not stereotypical. I was wrong. Jefferey is documented as having a crush on Wyatt earlier on and also called out by Candace. The early scenes with Jefferey however promote the idea that gay males often have secret crushes on their heterosexual friends or peers which is almost NEVER the case. I couldn't believe that Perry would write something like that. Also Jefferey acts as if he is just learning he is straight. Jefferey is way to damn old to be discovering his sexuality and way too damn smart and educated to have acted the way he did over Wyatt as well as get tricked by him. The scene was just messy and shameful. The only admirable part about Jefferey's experience is him having to deal with Veronica's reaction to his coming out. That is something that many can relate to and actually makes you feel for Jefferey. Him falling in love with Wyatt was ridiculous and not helpful to the gay black community at all.

All in all, The Have and the Have Nots is a wonderful addition to the Oprah Winfrey Network and should run for several more seasons. I will be watching with caution of course. In the next season I do hope to see more depth from the characters though. I don't feel as if the main characters have been flushed out enough to make them completely human. I mean I can totally believe I could me a person just like Candace Young but I also feel that person would have more of a story to tell than, "me and my mother just never got along." So I do feel like Tyler has great characters it is just that we are 10 episodes in/done with the first season and the characters are still not nearly developed enough. If he does that and makes the drama more believable I think we will see Perry's best work outside of his plays since A Family that Prays.