''For Better or Worse'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

created, written and executive produced by

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmma ...

. The series is based on and is a TV

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

to Perry's 2007 film ''

Why Did I Get Married? ''Why Did I Get Married?'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film adaptation written, produced, directed, and starring Tyler Perry. It was inspired by Perry's play of the same name. The film also stars Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Shar ...

'' and its 2010 sequel ''

Why Did I Get Married Too? ''Why Did I Get Married Too?'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Tyler Perry and starring Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, Tasha Smith, Jill Scott, Louis Gossett Jr., Malik Yoba, Michael Jai White, Sharon Leal, Richard T. Jones, Lam ...

'' The show premiered on November 25, 2011 and aired on TBS for two seasons. In 2013,

Oprah Winfrey Network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational basic cable channel jointly owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studios that launched on January 1, 2011, replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The network is led by talk show ho ...

(OWN) ordered a third season, which premiered on September 18, 2013. The show would run for three additional seasons on OWN.

Production

TBS announced the straight-to-series order of ''For Better or Worse'' on April 26, 2011, the same day it was announced that ''

House of Payne ''House of Payne'' is an American sitcom television series created and produced by Tyler Perry that premiered in syndication on June 21, 2006. The series revolves around a multi-generational family living under one roof in Atlanta led by patriarc ...

'' would be ending after its eighth season. Unlike ''House of Payne'' and '' Meet the Browns'', which are family-oriented, ''For Better Or Worse'' targets young adults. The premiere episode of the series acquired 3.33 million viewers, bringing the show to the top of the charts as basic cable's No. 1 comedy series for the month of October 2011. In February 2012, TBS announced the thirty-five episode second season renewal, which premiered on July 13, 2012, with the first season averaging 2.9 million viewers. ''For Better or Worse'' was also basic cable's No. 1 sitcom of 2011 and the No. 1 show on all of television with African-American adults in the same year. TBS declined to renew the series. In February 2013,

(which had entered into a development deal with Perry) ordered a third season. The third season of the series premiered on September 18, 2013. The second half of season 3 premiered on April 9, 2014. The third half of season 3 premiered on September 17, 2014. The fourth season of the series premiered on Friday, March 27, 2015. The second half of season 4 premiered on September 11, 2015. The fifth season of the series premiered on April 1, 2016. The second half of season 5 premiered on September 30. On January 30, 2017

OWN Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

announced that the show will end after the sixth season. The sixth season premiered on Saturday, June 10, 2017. The series ended on July 22, 2017. The series had a total of 162 episodes.

Cast

* Tasha Smith as Angela Williams: Marcus's sparkplug of a wife, the affluent and successful owner of ''Lady Angie's''

hair salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas. Beauty treatments Massage for the body is a ...

and

hair care Hair care is an overall term for hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair which grows from the human scalp, and to a lesser extent facial, pubic and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to an individual's culture and the p ...

products; originally from

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

, she has a degree in chemistry. In season 1, Angela deals with Marcus's infidelity issues. Marcus tries prove his innocence. It was confirmed in the season 2 premiere. She has hatred for Marcus's ex-girlfriend Keisha throughout the entire series. In season 3, Angela finds out that she has cancer, caused by a mass in her mammogram, but later is misdiagnosed. In the season 4 episode "The Results", Angela finds out she is pregnant, but later in the season 6 premiere, she had suffered a miscarriage. *

Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, director and martial artist. He was the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1 ...

as Marcus Williams: Angela's husband, a former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player and owner of a highly rated sports television show ''C-Sports Now''. Season 1 focuses on his infidelity struggles with Angela, Marcus proves his innocence and it was confirmed at the beginning of season 2. In season 4, he unknowingly fathered another child. In the season 4 episode, "The Results", Marcus finds out his wife, Angela is pregnant and is expecting his third child. In the 2007 film, Marcus was working for Angela before owning his sport business. * Jason Olive as Joseph Jetson: Marcus's partner at ''C-Sports Now'', and best friend since college, a former

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player and Leslie's husband-to-be. Towards the end of season 2, he and Leslie break up over their sexual attraction with each other and feelings for marriage, but still has feelings for her and determines to win her back throughout season 3. In the season 2 finale, Joseph suffers from a motorcycle accident on Leslie and Chris's wedding day trying to stop it. In season 3, they get back together. And in season, Joseph finally proposes to Leslie. *

Crystle Stewart Crystle Danae Stewart (born September 20, 1981) is an American actress, host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2008. Stewart later began an acting career, starring as a real estate agent Leslie Morris on the OWN/TBS comedy-d ...

as Leslie Morris: Angela's best friend since college, a

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and ag ...

and Joseph Jetson's fiancée. Leslie has doubts about her and Joseph's relationship in Season 2. Towards the end of season 2, Leslie breaks off her relationship with Joseph; she later becomes attracted to former high-school friend Chris. Chris proposes to Leslie, and they get married in the season 2 finale and the season 3 premiere. In season 3 while married to Chris, Leslie begins to have conflicted feelings for Joseph, especially after learning of his motorcycle accident. When Chris learns of this, they divorce. * Kent Faulcon as Richard Ellington: Marcus's partner and CFO at ''C-Sports Now'', and other best friend since college, previously dated Marcus' assumed babymama Keisha; a former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. After finding out what kind of person she really was, Richard broke up with Keisha. While dealing with the divorce, Richard has anger management issues with Keisha in season 4. In season 5, he is dating Jennifer. *

Cocoa Brown Farah "Cocoa" Brown (born October 9, 1972) is an American actress, writer and comedian. Life and career Brown was born as Farah Brown in Newport News, Virginia. She attended and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University. She also has a M ...

as Jennifer: Angela's comedic best friend from childhood, also from

and stylist at ''Lady Angie's''. She has two kids. In season 2, she has a scare and finds out that she may have HIV but tests negative. In season 5, she starts developing feelings for Richard. * Bobb'e J. Thompson as Marcus "M.J." Williams, Jr (Seasons 1–2): Marcus and Angela's son. * Brad James as Todderick "Todd" Andrews: intern at ''C-Sports Now'' who can be a good and irritating friend to Marcus, Joseph, and Richard. a former

player. In season five, Todd learns that he fathered a child with a woman named Shawn. *

Chandra Currelley Chandra Currelley-Young (born August 30, 1961) is an American actress and singer. Currelley has done extensive work with director and writer Tyler Perry, and has played many roles in his various productions and several stage plays. In all of h ...

as Miss V (Seasons 1–2, 4–6; Guest Season 3): Marcus and Angela's housekeeper. *

Bobbi Kristina Brown Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown (March 4, 1993 – July 26, 2015) was an American reality television personality. She was the daughter and only child of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Her parents' fame kept Brown in the public eye, a ...

as Tina (Season 2): Jennifer's college-aged daughter. * Kiki Haynes as Ro'Keisha Jones (Seasons 2–6; recurring Season 1): Marcus's troublesome ex-girlfriend, who ignites bitter feuds with Angela throughout the series. She dated Richard Ellington and has a degree in accounting. They married and then divorced. In season 4, after the divorce settlement, Keisha is working with Marcus, Joseph, Richard, and Todd at C-Sports Now. Kaira Whitehead originally portrayed Keisha in the 2007 film.

Recurring

* Teka Brandon as Dominique Williams (Season 1–3): Keisha's daughter, believed to be Marcus's daughter until Season 2. * Jermaine L. Brantley (Season 1) and Cedric Stewart (Season 2) as Tyrik: contractor and Angela's old flame from college. *

Rhyon Nicole Brown Rhyon Nicole Brown (; born October 6, 1992) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Career She made her film debut in ''Santa & Pete'' (1999) And has since appeared in various television shows. Brown has had recurring roles on shows such as ...

as Pam (Season 4): Marcus's 17-year-old daughter, who he unknowingly fathered. *

Dorsey Levens Herbert Dorsey Levens (born May 21, 1970) is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round (149th overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft. He helped the Packers win th ...

as Benny (Season 6): Marcus's ex-teammate and friend who once shared an intimate past with Angela and still has feelings for her.

Episodes

Reception

''For Better or Worse'' received generally mixed reviews from critics. The ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

'' described it as being "an upscale ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' crossed with ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' with a dash of urban sass", which "knocks you back with a bracing dose of its characters’ resentments and rages." Joshua Alston of '' The A.V. Club'' felt that ''For Better or Worse'' felt more "mature" and less "over-the-top" than Perry's other programs (comparing it, in particular, to

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

's '' The Game''), but that the pilot episode's attempts at humor fell flat.

Awards/Nominations

* 2012: Nomination – NAMIC Vision Award Best Performance – Comedy – Tasha Smith * 2013: Nomination – NAMIC Vision Award Best Performance – Comedy – Tasha Smith * 2014: Nomination –

Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – Tasha Smith

References

External links

Tyler Perry's official website
* * {{TBSNetwork Shows 2011 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings 2010s American comedy-drama television series English-language television shows For Better Or Worse Oprah Winfrey Network original programming American television series revived after cancellation Television shows set in Atlanta Live action television shows based on films TBS (American TV channel) original programming 2010s American black sitcoms Television series based on adaptations Television series about families Television series by Tyler Perry Studios American television spin-offs