Tyler Perry runs one of the largest independent production operations in the United States, and almost all of it happens in one place: a 330-acre studio on the former Fort McPherson army base in southwest Atlanta, with twelve soundstages. Series for BET and Paramount+, a continuous slate of films for Netflix, and features for Prime Video all shoot there.
That concentration is good news for anyone looking for work. It means a single Atlanta-based operation produces an unusual volume of roles year-round, in a market where overall production has slowed. It also means the casting pipeline is small, specific and — by the standards of this industry — unusually approachable.
This guide covers who actually casts Tyler Perry productions, what is genuinely open to submit to in 2026, what the work pays, how the Georgia context affects your odds, and how to recognize the fake Tyler Perry auditions that Perry himself has been publicly warning people about for more than a decade.
Does Tyler Perry hold open auditions?
For speaking roles: not as a standing process. As of mid-2026 there were no active public casting calls for Tyler Perry Studios projects, and the last widely reported open audition was in 2016. If you are being offered a Tyler Perry audition today, that alone should make you check it carefully.
But the full answer is more interesting than a flat no, because Tyler Perry Studios is a genuine outlier in how it treats actors without representation.
The thing that makes TPS different
Rhavynn Drummer has been the primary casting director on Perry's series for more than a decade — Sistas, The Oval, The Haves and the Have Nots. Speaking publicly in 2026, she said she receives two to three unsolicited emails from actors every day, that she is open to them, and that she nonetheless prefers pitches that come through an agent. Perry himself has said over the years that actors can send a photo and résumé.
Almost every major producer in America accepts nothing from unrepresented actors. Disney's television casting office states plainly that it takes no unsolicited submissions. HBO has no submission route at all. Tyler Perry's casting office reads the mail.
Two things to be clear about. First, "open to unsolicited submissions" is not the same as "likely to cast you from one" — representation still carries far more weight, and that is what the casting director said herself. Second, this page deliberately does not publish a casting email address. Posting an inbox on a page like this is how that inbox gets shut, and it would make things worse for everyone reading. The route that actually works is the one below: be present and current where TPS's casting companies and Atlanta casting directors are already looking.
Where the real calls appear
Tyler Perry productions publicize casting through professional casting companies and verified social channels. Background calls in particular appear regularly and publicly through Atlanta casting companies — CAB Castings is the company named on the verifiable Tyler Perry extras notices across 2024 to 2026, covering The Oval, Zatima and TPS feature work. Southern Casting Associates has also been used to publicize Tyler Perry calls, including leads, background, dancers and stand-ins.
Browse live casting calls in Atlanta and Atlanta extras casting.
Who casts Tyler Perry productions?
- Rhavynn Drummer — the primary casting director for Perry's television series for over ten years, including Sistas, The Oval and The Haves and the Have Nots.
- Kim Coleman — cast The Six Triple Eight and Madea's Destination Wedding. Coleman is Los Angeles–based and tends to come in on the larger features.
- CAB Castings — the background casting company on the verifiable 2024–2026 Tyler Perry extras calls in Atlanta.
- Southern Casting Associates — used to publicize Tyler Perry casting calls.
Speaking roles generally require an agent, though the casting office has said it also considers actors without representation. Background does not require one at all.
What is Tyler Perry actually producing in 2026?
Knowing the slate tells you what is casting and roughly when, which is more useful than a general audition tip.
Netflix
Perry's Netflix output has been the most consistent source of new film work. Titles across 2025 and 2026 include Straw, Madea's Destination Wedding, Ruth & Boaz, Joe's College Road Trip, Why Did I Get Married Again?, and the series Beauty in Black, which was renewed for a fourth season in 2026 after a third. A sixteen-episode firefighter drama, Where There's Smoke, was announced in 2026 and shoots in Atlanta.
BET, BET+ and Paramount+
Sistas reached its tenth season, with the back half of that season arriving in October 2026. The Oval released a seventh season on Paramount+ in April 2026. BET+ folded into Paramount+ during 2026, and Zatima and Divorced Sistas were renewed under the new structure. The practical effect for actors is that the series pipeline continues — these shows shoot in Atlanta on a fast, continuous production model.
Prime Video
Finding Joy, produced with Amazon MGM Studios, released in late 2025.
Unscripted at the studio
Tyler Perry Studios has also become a production base for formats owned by others — Shark Tank relocated production there, and Family Feud shoots there. Those productions hire locally too, in audience, background and support roles, even though they are not Tyler Perry productions.
What roles are realistically open?
Background and extras — the genuinely open door
This is the category where Tyler Perry productions hire continuously and publicly, with no agent, no audition and no experience required. The 2026 Atlanta notices have called for exactly the kinds of people a Perry show needs in volume: restaurant and lounge patrons, barbershop customers, club crowds, church congregations, office workers, and featured child performers.
Most of these notices specify 18 and over for general background and are open to performers with no credits at all. See open extras casting calls.
Co-stars and recurring roles
Perry's series model — many episodes, shot fast, continuous production across several shows — creates steady demand for small and recurring speaking roles. These generally go out through the casting office to agents, which is why Atlanta representation matters more here than almost anywhere outside LA and New York.
Dancers, stand-ins and specialty performers
Tyler Perry calls have specifically included dancers and stand-ins. Specialty skills compete against a much smaller field than general background.
Child performers
Perry's shows cast children and teenagers, and the 2026 Atlanta notices have included featured child roles at a higher rate than general background. Submissions for anyone under 18 are made by a parent or guardian. Georgia requires minors to be registered through the state Department of Labor before working, with a certified child labor coordinator on set.
What do Tyler Perry productions pay?
Two different answers, depending on which side of the union line the role sits.
Union scale
Principal casts on Tyler Perry productions are typically SAG-AFTRA — the series halted during the 2023 strike because their actors are union members. Under the SAG-AFTRA minimums effective 1 July 2026:
- Day performer — $1,283 per day.
- Three-day performer (television) — $3,252.
- Weekly performer — $4,456 per week.
- Background actor — $231 per 8 hours. Special ability $241; stand-ins $270.
Non-union background in Atlanta
Background calls on Tyler Perry productions are posted non-union, which is standard practice in Georgia. The 2026 Atlanta notices have been posting at around $100 for 8 hours, with overtime after eight, and featured or child performer days around $200 for 12 hours. Payment arrives by check, typically two to four weeks after the shoot day.
Be realistic about the gap. Non-union background at $100 for 8 hours is less than half union scale, and Georgia has no state minimum wage floor above the federal $7.25. Non-union work is still the standard entry point in this market — but three days of background work under a SAG-AFTRA agreement makes you union-eligible, and that is what changes the arithmetic permanently.
The Georgia context you should know before you move
A lot of people relocate to Atlanta on the strength of articles written when Georgia production was at its peak. The current picture is more mixed, and it is better to know it.
Georgia recorded roughly $2 billion in direct production spend in its 2026 fiscal year across about 280 productions — down from $2.3 billion the previous year and less than half the $4.4 billion peak reached in 2022. It is the weakest year in roughly a decade. The causes are structural rather than local: California expanded its film tax credit to $750 million a year, New Jersey and New York enhanced theirs, Marvel moved its tentpoles to the UK, and studios generally greenlit less.
Georgia's own incentive did not change. It remains a 20% transferable credit with a 10% uplift for carrying the state logo — up to 30% — with no annual cap and no sunset date, and 2025 legislation extended the definition of qualifying distribution to cover streaming and free ad-supported channels.
What this means practically: Atlanta is still one of the best markets in the country for background and small-role work, and Tyler Perry Studios is one of the steadiest single sources of it — but the days of walking into constant work are over for now. Treat it as a strong market, not a guaranteed one. See casting calls across Georgia.
One forward-looking note: Perry said in September 2026 that he plans to relocate to Puerto Rico in 2027 and pull back from some of his workload. Reporting at the time indicated the Atlanta studio will not close or relocate, and that it was adding a virtual-production stage. Worth watching, not worth panicking about.
How to spot a fake Tyler Perry audition
Perry's own words, from a warning he has repeated for over a decade: "There are some scams going around the Internet asking people to pay money to have an audition for me. That is not true. You never have to pay for an audition."
Tyler Perry's name is among the most heavily abused in casting fraud, for a straightforward reason: he is one of very few producers with genuine, widely known access for Black actors, which makes a fake Perry audition unusually tempting to believe. Perry has said publicly that his team shuts down fake accounts using his name every day — by the dozen.
The Federal Trade Commission published a consumer alert on virtual casting call scams in December 2025, describing exactly the mechanic: an unexpected text from a supposed talent scout, a fast-turnaround "virtual audition" for a real and recognizable production, and then a sales pitch for photos or classes. Its summary line is the one to keep: paying to get a job is always a sign of a scam.
- Any request for money. Audition fees, registration fees, "processing" fees, mandatory headshot packages, workshops that promise a callback.
- Social media accounts using Tyler Perry's name or likeness that message you first. Perry has specifically warned about these and about fake giveaways run in his name.
- Unexpected texts or DMs naming a real show like Sistas or Beauty in Black. Legitimate casting does not cold-text strangers.
- "Auditions" at a hotel or mall that sell a package at the end.
- Requests for bank details, Social Security number or identity documents before a signed booking with a named production and payroll company. Legitimate tax paperwork happens at registration or set check-in, through the casting company's own system.
- Guaranteed roles. Nobody can guarantee you a part, and nobody can sell you access to Tyler Perry.
- Relisted old notices. A real problem in this niche — aggregator sites republish Tyler Perry casting calls from two or three years ago. Check the shoot dates in the notice itself before you plan around it.
Before engaging, search the casting company's name alongside "scam" or "complaint", confirm the production exists, and check whether the role appears on an established casting platform. Report suspected scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, forward scam texts to 7726, and contact SAG-AFTRA if the union's name is invoked.
Other studio and streamer guides: Netflix extras casting · Disney casting calls for teens · Amazon Prime casting calls · HBO casting calls
10/15/20269/20/20269/16/20269/14/20269/4/2026More Atlanta guides: Streaming shows casting in Atlanta · Casting calls in Georgia
Find Atlanta casting calls on allcasting
allcasting is a casting marketplace: verified casting professionals post roles and talent applies directly. Applying is free, and nobody on the platform can promise you a part or access to any producer.
- Browse live casting calls in Atlanta, updated daily
- Start with Atlanta extras casting — no experience, no agent, no audition
- Move into speaking roles as you build credits
- Keep current photos, accurate stats and real skills in one profile casting directors can search
For the wider Atlanta picture, see our guide to Netflix casting calls and auditions.
How To
Be in Atlanta, or Be Honest That You Are Not
Nearly all of it shoots in one place: Tyler Perry Studios in southwest Atlanta. Productions hire background and small roles locally because local hires cost less, which means the single biggest factor in your odds is whether you can reliably get yourself to an Atlanta set on a weekday morning. If you live there, you are already in the best position anyone can be in for this specific work. If you do not, be realistic — build credits where you are, and treat relocating as a decision to make on the strength of the whole Georgia market rather than on one producer.
- 1Register With the Casting Companies That Actually Post the CallsTyler Perry background calls are publicized through Atlanta casting companies, not through the studio. CAB Castings is the company named on the verifiable Tyler Perry extras notices from 2024 through 2026, and Southern Casting Associates has been used to publicize Tyler Perry calls including leads, dancers and stand-ins. Register free, keep a complete profile with current photos and accurate measurements, and watch casting platforms for new Atlanta notices.Pro Tip: Check the shoot dates inside any Tyler Perry notice before you plan around it. Aggregator sites in this niche routinely republish casting calls that are two or three years old.
- 2Take the Background Work, Because It Is the Door That Is Genuinely OpenThere is no standing open audition for Tyler Perry speaking roles, and there has not been a widely reported open call since 2016. Background is the opposite: constant, public, no agent, no audition and no experience required. Atlanta notices have been posting around $100 for 8 hours with featured days near $200 for 12. Take it for what it is — paid work that teaches you how a professional set runs, in front of a casting office that is producing continuously.Pro Tip: Three days of background work under a SAG-AFTRA agreement makes you union-eligible, evidenced by pay stubs rather than by vouchers. That single fact changes your pay ceiling permanently, so track which of your days are union-covered.
- 3Build the Credits and the Representation That Get You Read for Speaking RolesTyler Perry’s casting office is unusually open — its longtime casting director has said she reads unsolicited actor emails — but she has also said she prefers pitches that come through an agent, and speaking roles generally go out that way. So do the thing that makes either route work: get on camera somewhere. Local theatre, indie film, student projects, commercials, web series. A short honest résumé with real credits and one well-made current tape is what turns a submission into a read.Pro Tip: Treat anyone who offers to sell you access to Tyler Perry as a scam, without exception. Perry has warned about this personally for over a decade — his line is that you never have to pay for an audition.
Q&A
Does Tyler Perry hold open auditions in 2026?
Can I submit to Tyler Perry without an agent?
Who casts Tyler Perry’s shows?
How much do Tyler Perry extras get paid?
Are Tyler Perry productions union?
Where do Tyler Perry productions film?
Do I need experience to be an extra on a Tyler Perry show?
What is Tyler Perry filming in 2026?
Can children work on Tyler Perry productions?
Is Atlanta still a good place to move for acting work?
How do I spot a fake Tyler Perry casting call?
Why do so many Tyler Perry casting calls online look out of date?
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