Tyler Perry is telling fans exactly which movies inspired his latest project. The filmmaker said his new Netflix film Doing Life is a tribute to two Black romance films that stayed with him, sharing images from Love Jones and Jason's Lyric as he made the connection. Rather than let the influence sit quietly in the background, Perry named it himself.
What Tyler Perry Said
Perry laid out the influence plainly in a social media post.
"I'm just gonna go on and say it. My latest movie, Doing Life, is an homage to these great films and the way they made me feel after I saw them."
He also thanked the viewers who had already watched and invited the rest to catch up.
"For all of you who've seen Doing Life already, thank you. And for those who haven't, I can't wait to hear your thoughts."
The Films He Is Honoring
Love Jones, released in 1997 and starring Larenz Tate and Nia Long, became a cult classic for its grown and tender take on Black love among a circle of artists and poets in Chicago. For a generation of viewers it set the template for what a Black romantic drama could feel like.
Jason's Lyric, from 1994, starred Allen Payne and Jada Pinkett Smith and remains a touchstone of the era for its mix of romance, family and loss in Houston. Both films still carry weight with audiences who felt seen by them, which is the exact feeling Perry said he was chasing with the new release.
Why the Homage Matters
Naming Love Jones and Jason's Lyric is a specific choice. Both films sit in a short list of 1990s titles that treated Black romance as its own serious genre, with poetry readings, jazz clubs and real emotional stakes rather than comic relief. Decades later they are still passed down, quoted and revisited, which is why invoking them sets a high bar.
For Perry, pointing to that lineage signals the lane he is aiming for with Doing Life. It is a bet that a modern streaming audience still wants the grown, unhurried love story those films delivered.
Where to Watch
Doing Life, starring Naomi Baker and Jay Reeves, is streaming now on Netflix. By naming his influences up front, Perry is inviting a direct comparison, asking viewers to measure the new film against the classics it salutes rather than discovering the connection on their own.
The move also lands as Perry continues to be one of streaming's most reliable draws. His catalog of films and series has repeatedly topped Netflix charts, and Doing Life arrives with that built in audience already watching and reacting. Whether the homage satisfies fans of the originals is the question Perry himself put on the table.
