Tyler Perry bringing World War II film to Netflix

Dec 14, 2022

Perry will write and produce “Six Triple Eight,” a movie about the only all-Black, all-female battalion in WWII.

Tyler Perry’s next film with Netflix reportedly will be a war drama. “Six Triple Eight,” set in World War II, tells the story of the historic 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Perry will produce “Six Triple Eight” and write its screenplay, which is based on an article in WWII History Magazine by Kevin M. Hymel. It centers on the 6888th, the lone all-Black, all-female Army battalion in WWII, a revered group of servicewoman President Joe Biden honored in March by signing a bill for them to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Army Women’s Museum, members of the 6888th Battalion stand in formation in Birmingham, England, in 1945. Tyler Perry is set to tell the story of these pioneering Americans in “Six Triple Eight,” his Netflix film about the only all-Black, all-female Army battalion in World War II. (Photo: U.S. Army Women’s Museum via AP, File)

“These 855 women joined the war effort with little knowledge of what exactly they would be doing, but were quickly given the mission of a lifetime: sort through and fix the three-year backlog of undelivered mail,” reads the synopsis for “Six Triple Eight.” The synopsis goes on to say that though most people thought the task awaiting the women when they were sent overseas would be impossible, the battalion members “not only succeeded but did it in half the time they were given. Facing discrimination, unfamiliar land, and a war-torn country, they persevered and sorted over 17 million pieces of mail, reconnecting American soldiers with their families and loved ones back home. The motto that kept them going each day was one they created themselves: ‘No Mail, Low Morale.’ The women of the 6888 weren’t just delivering mail, they were delivering hope.”

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Along with Perry, producing the film are Carlota Espinosa, Angi Bones and Tony Strickland for Tyler Perry Studios, as well as Nicole Avant for Her Excellency Productions and Keri Selig for Intuition Productions.

“Six Triple Eight” is Perry’s fourth film with Netflix. It follows September’s “A Jazzman’s Blues,” a love story set in early 20th-century New Orleans.

The first two films Perry did with the streaming service were 2020’s “A Fall From Grace” — famed actress Cicely Tyson’s final movie before her death in January 2021 at 96 — and “A Madea Homecoming” in February, projects in which Perry also starred.

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