5 min read
Major Takeaways
- Incoming Georgia governor Keisha Lance Bottoms named Tyler Perry to help lead her transition team on Friday.
- Perry shot his new film The Gospel of Christmas at his Atlanta studio, and it reaches Netflix on November 11.
- Major productions are filming across metro Atlanta right now, from a Perry project to a John Cena feature.
- Two civil lawsuits still hang over Perry, and he has denied every allegation in both cases.
Atlanta entertainment stopped being a side story a long time ago.
On Friday, it walked straight into the center of Georgia power.
Keisha Lance Bottoms stood at the State Capitol and announced that Tyler Perry will help lead the transition team building her administration.
Bottoms won the governor race on Tuesday and made history as the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.
Her first big personnel move reached for the man who owns the biggest Black owned studio in the country.
A Governor Who Already Speaks Entertainment
The pick surprised people who only know Bottoms from politics.
It should not have.
Bottoms served as an executive producer on Miss Governor, the Perry comedy series that reached Netflix in 2025.
She called Perry “a huge philanthropic part of our Georgia community” when she announced the appointment.
The transition committee carries the name Georgia Promise, and Perry will serve as one of its leaders.
Bottoms takes office in January as the first Black governor in Georgia history.
The Studio That Changed the Map
Perry opened Tyler Perry Studios in 2019 on the grounds of Fort McPherson in southwest Atlanta.
The lot covers 330 acres and holds 12 sound stages, each one named for a Black legend of stage and screen.
It stands as the first major film studio in America owned by a Black person, and it anchors an entire economy of crews, caterers, drivers and builders.
Nine Perry series are currently airing, and a new project tied to his Netflix slate, Emulous, has been filming around Atlanta this fall.
His film The Six Triple Eight told the story of the only unit of Black women to serve overseas in World War II.
Perry, Kerry Washington and Ebony Obsidian honored the real women of that battalion at Arlington National Cemetery in November 2024.
A Gospel Film Built Like a Family Reunion
The work does not slow down for the politics.
The Gospel of Christmas, written and directed by Perry, was shot at his Atlanta studio and gets a hometown premiere on Monday night.
The film reaches Netflix on Wednesday, November 11.
Fantasia Barrino Taylor stars as Rebecca, and Durrell Tank Babbs plays her husband Isaac, a pastor fighting to save the family church he inherited.
Kirk Franklin produced the music, and the cast reads like a gospel hall of fame.
CeCe Winans, Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker and The Clark Sisters all appear in the film.
For Black families who plan their holidays around faith and music, this is the release of the season.
Atlanta Entertainment Keeps the Cameras Rolling
Perry is the headline, but he is not the whole story.
The Family Disappears, a feature starring John Cena and David Harbour, starts filming in metro Atlanta on November 10.
That shoot runs 23 shooting days on location and rolls into early December.
The Peachtree Village International Film Festival took over Atlanta venues from November 5 to November 8 with premieres, panels and masterclasses for independent filmmakers.
Every one of those productions spends money with Black owned vendors and puts Atlanta talent on a call sheet.
This same week, Perry used his platform to praise Southern Fire Kitchen, a Black woman owned soul food restaurant on Buford Highway run by Marie McAdoo and Latrice Winfrey.
His praise sent crowds looking for the address, and the restaurant just opened a second location in Fayetteville.
The Shadow Over a Historic Week
Straight talk matters here, because the full picture includes a courtroom fight.
Actor Derek Dixon sued Perry in June 2025 and accused him of sexual harassment and assault, seeking 260 million dollars.
Actor Mario Rodriguez filed a second suit in December 2025 and seeks at least 77 million dollars over claims of sexual battery.
Perry has denied every allegation in both cases, and his legal team calls the claims false and driven by money.
Both cases are civil suits, no criminal charges have been filed, and no court has ruled on the claims.
Why Atlanta Wins Either Way
Strip away the celebrity and the structure underneath is what counts.
Atlanta built an entertainment economy where Black ownership sits at the top instead of the margins.
Now the woman running the state comes out of that same city and treats the creative industry as serious business.
That is exactly why Urban City Podcast built an Atlanta desk of its own.
Read our coverage of the night Bottoms made history and our latest entertainment coverage to see where this city goes next.
Atlanta is not chasing Hollywood anymore. Hollywood keeps coming to Atlanta.
