Key Takeaways
- Tyler Perry says his Netflix romantic drama Doing Life pays homage to the feelings evoked by the Black romance classics Jason’s Lyric and Love Jones.
- The film stars Naomi Baker as Anika, a working mother whose bond with Jay Reeves deepens after he saves her and her unborn child during a prison riot.
- Doing Life marks Perry’s third Netflix movie of 2026 as he prepares to move to Puerto Rico with his son in early 2027 and “pull back a whole lot” from work.
Tyler Perry is giving two beloved Black romance movies their flowers while revealing how they helped shape his latest Netflix film.
In an Instagram post, Perry revealed that Doing Life, his newest romantic drama, was conceived as an homage to 1994’s Jason’s Lyric and 1997’s Love Jones. The filmmaker shared posters from both movies and explained that he was chasing something more specific than their stories: the feeling they left him with when he first watched them.
“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,” Perry wrote. “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 two films approached Black romance from very different worlds. Doug McHenry’s Jason’s Lyric starred Allen Payne as Jason, a Houston man carrying childhood trauma as he tries to protect his troubled younger brother, Josh, played by Bokeem Woodbine. His relationship with Lyric, played by Jada Pinkett Smith, offered the possibility of another life as family loyalty and violence threatened to pull him in the opposite direction.
Love Jones, written and directed by Theodore Witcher, took romance to Chicago’s poetry and arts scene. Larenz Tate and Nia Long starred as writer Darius Lovehall and photographer Nina Mosley, whose relationship is repeatedly complicated by timing, trust and an ex. The film grew into a cult favorite after its 1997 release and remains closely associated with the era’s depiction of young Black love.
Doing Life pulls from some of that emotional territory while telling its own story.
Naomi Baker stars as Anika, a mother balancing her career and family while navigating a relationship with Carousel, played by Jay Reeves. Carousel previously saved Anika and her unborn child during a violent prison riot. After his release from prison, their connection deepens as he attempts to rebuild his life and Anika faces pressure surrounding their relationship.
The film also stars A Different World breakout Cornell Young IV as Donovan.
Doing Life arrives during a transitional period for Perry both professionally and personally. It is his third Netflix movie of 2026, following Joe’s College Road Trip in February and September’s Why Did I Get Married Again?, which reunited Perry with Tasha Smith, Michael Jai White, Jill Scott, Lamman Rucker, Sharon Leal and Richard T. Jones while adding Taraji P. Henson to the franchise.
That pace could soon change. Perry recently announced plans to relocate to Puerto Rico with his son Aman in early 2027 and said he is “pulling back a whole lot” from work.
“It’s time to slow down a bit, enjoy more time with my son and just take it all in,” Perry said in September.
