TCA: OWN Orders Four New Unscripted Series

Tyler Perry's scripted series to premiere May 29

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/5/2013 12:52:57 PM

Pasadena, Calif. -- OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has greenlit four new series for 2013: Blackboard Wars, Golden Sisters, Raising Whitley (working title) and Dogfellas (working title), the network announced at the 2013 Television Critics' Association winter press tour here Saturday.

OWN also said that its first scripted series from Tyler Perry, drama The Haves and the Have Nots and the comedy Love Thy Neighbor will premiere on Wednesday, May 29.

Blackboard Wars, which premieres in March, centers on the dramatic transformation of New Orleans' John McDonogh High School, as two educators seek to revive the struggling school.

Golden Sisters follows the adventures of three elderly sisters, who became famous after a video of them watching a celebrity sex tape went viral, as they run a salon and give colorful advice.

Raising Whitley follows actress and comedienne Kym Whitley and her group of friends as they attempt to raise a baby together. And Dogfellas follows James "Head" Guiliani, a former street enforcer for the mafia who now owns a Brooklyn dog grooming parlor.

New episodes of Oprah's Master Class and Oprah: Where Are They Now? will return in March and Iyanla: Fix My Life will also come back for a new season this spring.

The series orders come as OWN finished 2012 with double-digit ratings gains, up 30% in total viewers in primetime and up 32% with women 25-54 year-over-year.