The Oval (TV series)
| The Oval | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Tyler Perry's The Oval |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Tyler Perry |
| Written by | Tyler Perry |
| Directed by | Tyler Perry |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Jay Weigel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 107—108 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Camera setup | Multiple camera |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Production company | Tyler Perry Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | BET |
| Release | October 23, 2019 – present |
| Related | |
| Ruthless | |
The Oval is an American political drama and soap opera created, executive produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry, that premiered on October 23, 2019, on BET. The series chronicles the lives of a family placed in the White House by people of power, while also highlighting the personal side and everyday lives of the staff who run its inner workings.
A streaming television spin-off, Ruthless, premiered on BET+ on March 19, 2020.
Cast and characters
Main
- Ed Quinn as Hunter Franklin, the President of the United States
- Kron Moore as Victoria Franklin, the First Lady of the United States
- Paige Hurd as Gayle Franklin, Hunter and Victoria's daughter (main season 1; guest season 2)
- Daniel Croix Henderson as Jason Franklin, Hunter and Victoria's son
- Javon Johnson as Richard Hallsen, the White House Butler
- Ptosha Storey as Nancy Hallsen, the Butler's wife
- Vaughn W. Hebron as Bartholomew "Barry" Hallsen, Richard and Nancy's son (Seasons 1–4)
- Teesha Renee as Sharon Barry's former girlfriend and Kareem's current girlfriend
- Lodric Collins as Donald Winthrop, White House Chief of Staff
- Ciera Payton as Lilly Winthrop, wife of Donald
- Taja V. Simpson as Priscilla Owens, White House residence staff supervisor
- Walter Fauntleroy as Sam Owen, Secret Service Agent
- Brad Benedict as Kyle Flint, Secret Service Agent
- Travis Cure as Bobby, Lilly's friend
- Matthew Law as Kareem Richardson, local pharmacy owner (main seasons 1–4; recurring season 5 - Present)
- Bill Barrett as Max Carter (main season 2–present; recurring season 1), Secret Service Agent
- Derek A. Dixon as Dale (season 2–present)
- Nick Barrotta as Allan (main season 3–present; recurring season 1–2), Donald's assistant and Ellie's ex-boyfriend
- Kaye Singleton as Simone (season 3–present), the Second lady
- Russell Thomas as Eli (season 3–present), the Vice President of the United States
- Nelson Estevez as Alonzo White - secret service agent
Recurring
- Melissa L. Williams as Ruth Truesdale/Denise Truesdale (season 1)
- Russell Charles Pitts as Picky/Leon (season 1)
- Maurii Davenport as Lindsay Yuma (season 1)
- Ashley Monique Harper as Jean Peterson (season 1)
- Yvonne Senat Jones as Tally (season 1)
- Natasha Ward as Ellie Lyles (season 1–3)
- Gillian White as Diane Wilmont (season 1–2)
- Janee Michelle as Maude, Victoria's mother (season 1–2)
- Donna Feldman as Dr. Meadows
- Ken Lawson as Officer Driver (Season 5)
Ruthless crossover guest appearances
- Blue Kimble as Andrew (season 1)
- Lenny Thomas as Dikhan (season 1, 3, 5)
- Joshua Adeyeye as Manny (season 3–5)
- Matt Cedeño as 'The Highest' (season 4)
- Baadja-Lyne Odums as Elder Mother Marva (season 4)
- Colin McCalla as River (season 5)
Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 25 | 12 | October 23, 2019 | January 22, 2020 |
| 13 | May 6, 2020 | July 22, 2020 | ||
| 2 | 22 | 13 | February 16, 2021 | May 11, 2021 |
| 9 | July 20, 2021 | September 14, 2021 | ||
| 3 | 22 | 11 | October 12, 2021 | December 21, 2021 |
| 11 | January 11, 2022 | March 22, 2022 | ||
| 4 | 22 | 11 | October 11, 2022 | December 20, 2022 |
| 11 | January 3, 2023 | March 14, 2023 | ||
| 5 | TBA | 11 | October 17, 2023 | December 26, 2023 |
| 20 | January 2, 2024 | Final 2024 | ||
Season 1 (2019–20)
|
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S viewers (millions) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 23, 2019 | 1.01 | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Unforgettable" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 30, 2019 | 0.94 | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Heat" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 6, 2019 | 0.84 | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Rats Can Smell Poison" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 13, 2019 | 0.96 | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Allies" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 20, 2019 | 0.88 | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Lab Rats" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 27, 2019 | 0.95 | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Dark Sheep" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 4, 2019 | 0.95 | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Eye on the Sparrow" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 11, 2019 | 1.03 | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Fish Bowl" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 18, 2019 | 0.94 | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Going Black" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 8, 2020 | 0.93 | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "The United Front" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 15, 2020 | 1.11 | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Hidden Secrets" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 22, 2020 | 1.11 | ||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Fear of God" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | May 6, 2020 | 1.03 | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "One Time" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | May 13, 2020 | 1.02 | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Clock Work" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | May 20, 2020 | 0.94 | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "The Dangerous Game" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | May 27, 2020 | 1.03 | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Five Families" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | June 3, 2020 | 1.03 | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Me and You" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | June 10, 2020 | 1.09 | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Clueless" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | June 17, 2020 | 1.00 | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Call of Duty" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | June 24, 2020 | 0.88 | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "The Godfather" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | July 1, 2020 | 0.88 | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "The Loving Parents" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | July 8, 2020 | 0.99 | ||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Unexpected Guest" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | July 15, 2020 | 0.92 | ||||||
| 24 | 24 | "Twenty-Four Hours" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | July 22, 2020 | 1.00 | ||||||
| 25 | 25 | "One of Us" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | July 22, 2020 | 1.11 | ||||||
Season 2 (2021)
|
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S viewers (millions) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 26 | 1 | "A Little Girl Talk" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 16, 2021 | 1.00 | ||||||
| 27 | 2 | "Natural Habitat" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 23, 2021 | 0.79 | ||||||
| 28 | 3 | "Wicked Things" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 2, 2021 | 0.83 | ||||||
| 29 | 4 | "The Fencer" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 9, 2021 | 0.86 | ||||||
| 30 | 5 | "A Stranger at Home" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 16, 2021 | 0.78 | ||||||
| 31 | 6 | "Malicious Intent" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 23, 2021 | 0.90 | ||||||
| 32 | 7 | "Persistant Reasons" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 30, 2021 | 0.80 | ||||||
| 33 | 8 | "Don't Believe Your Eyes" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | April 6, 2021 | 0.76 | ||||||
| 34 | 9 | "Political Junkie" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | April 13, 2021 | 0.80 | ||||||
| 35 | 10 | "The Master" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | April 20, 2021 | 0.84 | ||||||
| 36 | 11 | "Empty Your Bag" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | April 27, 2021 | 0.95 | ||||||
| 37 | 12 | "Misunderstood" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | May 4, 2021 | 0.81 | ||||||
| 38 | 13 | "Every Weekend" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | May 11, 2021 | 0.89 | ||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 39 | 14 | "The Target" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | July 20, 2021 | 0.72 | ||||||
| 40 | 15 | "Don't Move" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | July 27, 2021 | 0.78 | ||||||
| 41 | 16 | "Familiar Faces" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | August 3, 2021 | 0.74 | ||||||
| 42 | 17 | "Body Parts" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | August 10, 2021 | 0.94 | ||||||
| 43 | 18 | "The Mysterious Card" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | August 17, 2021 | 0.89 | ||||||
| 44 | 19 | "Nine Lives" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | August 24, 2021 | 0.92 | ||||||
| 45 | 20 | "The Skies Have Eyes" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | August 31, 2021 | 0.84 | ||||||
| 46 | 21 | "Powerful Hands" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | September 7, 2021 | 0.93 | ||||||
| 47 | 22 | "Doomsday" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | September 14, 2021 | 0.97 | ||||||
Season 3 (2021–22)
|
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S viewers (millions) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 48 | 1 | "An Eye for an Eye" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 12, 2021 | 0.97 | ||||||
| 49 | 2 | "Off Limits" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 19, 2021 | 0.84 | ||||||
| 50 | 3 | "The Mole" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 26, 2021 | 1.01 | ||||||
| 51 | 4 | "In Need Of Protection" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 2, 2021 | 0.85 | ||||||
| 52 | 5 | "Behind Closed Doors" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 9, 2021 | 0.86 | ||||||
| 53 | 6 | "A Family Matter" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 16, 2021 | 0.90 | ||||||
| 54 | 7 | "Ho Patrol" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 23, 2021 | 0.89 | ||||||
| 55 | 8 | "One Rule" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 30, 2021 | 0.99 | ||||||
| 56 | 9 | "Glove Up" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 7, 2021 | 0.97 | ||||||
| 57 | 10 | "Checkmate" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 14, 2021 | 1.03 | ||||||
| 58 | 11 | "The Children" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 21, 2021 | 0.96 | ||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 59 | 12 | "The Dutiful Wife" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 11, 2022 | 1.01 | ||||||
| 60 | 13 | "Tragic Monologues" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 18, 2022 | 1.05 | ||||||
| 61 | 14 | "The Command Performance" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 25, 2022 | 0.95 | ||||||
| 62 | 15 | "Wicked" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 1, 2022 | 0.99 | ||||||
| 63 | 16 | "The Hornet's Nest" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 8, 2022 | 0.97 | ||||||
| 64 | 17 | "Get a Grip" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 15, 2022 | 0.91 | ||||||
| 65 | 18 | "Next to Impossible" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 22, 2022 | 0.87 | ||||||
| 66 | 19 | "Gathering Evidence" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 1, 2022 | 0.78 | ||||||
| 67 | 20 | "The Vendetta" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 8, 2022 | 0.95 | ||||||
| 68 | 21 | "Ugly Politics" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 15, 2022 | 1.01 | ||||||
| 69 | 22 | "Road Kill" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 22, 2022 | 0.84 | ||||||
Season 4 (2022–23)
|
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S viewers (millions) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 70 | 1 | "The Package" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 11, 2022 | 0.70 | ||||||
| 71 | 2 | "Black Stallion" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 18, 2022 | 0.60 | ||||||
| 72 | 3 | "Into the Woods" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 25, 2022 | 0.74 | ||||||
| 73 | 4 | "Wicked" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 1, 2022 | 0.65 | ||||||
| 74 | 5 | "Image, Power, And Money" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 8, 2022 | 0.70 | ||||||
| 75 | 6 | "Guns Blazing" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 15, 2022 | 0.60 | ||||||
| 76 | 7 | "Hook, Line, And Sinker" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 22, 2022 | 0.66 | ||||||
| 77 | 8 | "It's Over" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 29, 2022 | 0.60 | ||||||
| 78 | 9 | "Out of Line" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 6, 2022 | 0.73 | ||||||
| 79 | 10 | "Truth Be Told" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 13, 2022 | 0.74 | ||||||
| 80 | 11 | "What's Done in the Dark" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 20, 2022 | 0.72 | ||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 81 | 12 | "The Stories We Tell" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 3, 2023 | 0.71 | ||||||
| 82 | 13 | "Back Off" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 10, 2023 | 0.69 | ||||||
| 83 | 14 | "Know Your Place" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 17, 2023 | 0.65 | ||||||
| 84 | 15 | "Deception" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 24, 2023 | 0.65 | ||||||
| 85 | 16 | "Problem Diverted" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 31, 2023 | 0.63 | ||||||
| 86 | 17 | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 7, 2023 | 0.71 | ||||||
| 87 | 18 | "No Regrets" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 14, 2023 | 0.70 | ||||||
| 88 | 19 | "It's No Secret" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 21, 2023 | 0.76 | ||||||
| 89 | 20 | "The Point of No Return" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 28, 2023 | 0.66 | ||||||
| 90 | 21 | "Pins And Needles" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 7, 2023 | 0.75 | ||||||
| 91 | 22 | "The Last Strike" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | March 14, 2023 | 0.73 | ||||||
Season 5 (2023–24)
|
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S viewers (millions) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||||||||
| 92 | 1 | "Turning Tables" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 17, 2023 | 0.67 | ||||||
| 93 | 2 | "The Missing Link" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 24, 2023 | 0.63 | ||||||
| 94 | 3 | "Man Down" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | October 31, 2023 | 0.65 | ||||||
| 95 | 4 | "Coming Clean" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 7, 2023 | 0.58 | ||||||
| 96 | 5 | "Something to Hide" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 14, 2023 | 0.55 | ||||||
| 97 | 6 | "Gone in a Second" | Derrick Doose | Tyler Perry | November 21, 2023 | 0.59 | ||||||
| 98 | 7 | "Exit Wound" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | November 28, 2023 | 0.65 | ||||||
| 99 | 8 | "Sorry Not Sorry" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 5, 2023 | 0.63 | ||||||
| 100 | 9 | "Better Than Revenge" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 12, 2023 | 0.64 | ||||||
| 101 | 10 | "Sound of Silence" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 19, 2023 | 0.64 | ||||||
| 102 | 11 | "Recovery" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | December 26, 2023 | 0.68 | ||||||
| Part 2 | ||||||||||||
| 103 | 12 | "Who's Playing Who?" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 2, 2024 | 0.83 | ||||||
| 104 | 13 | "A Snake in the Grass" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 9, 2024 | TBD | ||||||
| 105 | 14 | "Off the Deep End" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 16, 2024 | TBD | ||||||
| 106 | 15 | "Dark Secrets" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 23, 2024 | TBD | ||||||
| 107 | 16 | "Bed of Lies" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | January 30, 2024 | TBD | ||||||
| 108 | 17 | "No Regrets" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 6, 2024 | TBD | ||||||
| 109 | 18 | "Adjust And Adapt" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 13, 2024 | TBD | ||||||
| 110 | 19 | "Breaking News" | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry | February 20, 2024 | TBD | ||||||
Production
On February 23, 2021, BET renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on October 12, 2021.
On March 22, 2022, BET renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on October 11, 2022.
On September 15, 2023, BET renewed the series for a fifth season, which premiered on October 17, 2023.
Spin-off
On November 7, 2019, it was announced that BET+ ordered Ruthless, a spin-off starring Melissa L. Williams as Ruth Truesdale about a religious sex cult. The series premiered on March 19, 2020.
Storylines between The Oval and Ruthless
The pilot episode of Ruthless takes place alongside The Oval (the first two episodes) after Barry's daughter Callie is kidnapped by his ex-girlfriend, Ruth, who is also Callie's mother. Ruth arrives with three other members of a cult called the Rakudushis, who attack the Hallsen residence. Their series storyline begins exactly after they left the house to arrive back at their camp.
In the 8th episode of The Oval's first season ("Eye on the Sparrow"), the cross-over scene goes forward in the proceeding five episodes parallel with the storyline of the 19th episode Ruthless's season 2 ("The Raku Way") after a central character, who is a member of the Rakudushis, has escaped.
However, parallels with the storyline from episodes 13 & 14 of The Oval's the second season of Ruth meeting with Barry have not quite matched with Ruthless, and the timeline of The Oval's 17th episode from season 2 could possibly minorly contradict events during Ruthless the third season where a Rakudushi guard Manny appears on The Oval in slight hairstyle and uniform difference (dreadlocks which was cut late season 2 of Ruthless), however was made into a blip running gag about the haircut and uniform eventually in season 4 also mentioning the change from the purple cloth to military uniform. This in turn may have alter the timeline of events leading up to The Oval's storyline such as Richard going to the Rakudushis' camp to try and rescue Barry after his kidnapping from Ruth, in which season 3 of Ruhtless did not addressed how Ruth was able to leave the camp after member Tally escaped, while it can be possible the events could still match within the timeline onwards.
The second half of season 4 and into season 5 of The Oval, begins to formulate crossover segments with the cast of Ruthless making multiple guest appearances, within the Hallsen's residence, Richardson's Pharmacy and the Rakudushis compound. The Ruthless series however have not addressed having Barry and Nancy at the compound as of yet, which may also contradict storylines serving that Ruth may have came in contact with them as well as the White House playing a part in Ruthless as The President/Government's son Jason becomes an alias and incognito within the camp.