Former South Windsor Resident to Star in Tyler Perry Sitcom on Oprah Winfrey's Network

This story was written and reported by Patch Editor Ted Glanzer. 

The winning $590 million Powerball ticket may have been sold in Florida, but former South Windsor resident Kendra Johnson feels like she won a different kind of lottery.

Indeed, Johnson, an actress, has landed a lead role on Tyler Perry's newest comedy series “Love Thy Neighbor,” which premieres on OWN on Wednesday, May 29 (9:00pm ET/PT).

The series, which is the first scripted comedy on OWN, combines two titans in entertainment: Oprah Winfrey, who is the chairwoman and chief executive of the network, and Perry, the acting/writing/directing/producing powerhouse.

It’s a rare opportunity that is not lost on Johnson, who lived in South Windsor from 1988 to 1993 and attended Timothy Edwards Middle School and South Windsor High School until she left after her junior year.

I’m super excited,” Johnson said in a telephone interview Monday. “It’s been an amazing experience already. ...

“Working with Tyler Perry, meeting Oprah … It’s like hitting the lottery and winning an extra million dollars on top of it.”

Not that it hasn’t been hard work.

The prolific Perry is known for his hectic and full work schedule, and “Love Thy Neighbor” was no exception.

Johnson said that typically casts and crews of a sitcom are given a week to film one episode.

On “Love Thy Neighbor,” Perry shot two episodes a day. 

That’s not a typo.

Unlike most television shows, which start as pilots and are either picked up by a network or fall by the wayside, OWN ordered 26 episodes of “Love Thy Neighbor” before anything was even shot.

The upside was that the cast did not have the anxiety of worrying about whether a network would pick up the show.

But given Perry’s work schedule - he was also simultaneously writing and directing the sister show of “Love Thy Neighbor”, “Confessions of a Marriage Counselor” - the cast had to shoot everything under less-than-normal circumstances.

“He moves very quickly,” she said, adding that one colleague called it actor boot camp. “I’ve never heard of anyone working and filming as quickly as we did.”

Not that Johnson is complaining. “I’m still pinching myself,” she said with a laugh.

One of the more endearing moments is when Johnson met Winfrey on the set (a clip of which can be viewed here).

“I was in tears,” she said.

“Love Thy Neighbor” is set in a Georgia diner owned by Hattie, played by Patrice Lovely. Her brother, Floyd (Palmer Williams Jr.), helps run it.

Johnson plays Linda, Hattie’s daughter, who is also a single mother.

“My character’s mother and uncle run a diner and it tells the story of the ups and downs, laughter and trials of life,” Johnson said.

While the filming has been hectic and she actually hasn’t seen any of the episodes, she said that Perry and Winfrey were happy with the results.

“I trust them,” she said. “It’s a huge part of why I’m doing this show. There’s a great amount of trust. “

Johnson has had the acting bug since she was a student in Hartford. Every February, there would be some kind of production in recognition of Black History Month.

When she moved to South Windsor and enrolled at Timothy Edwards, she just expected to see the sign-up sheet when February rolled around.

“They said, ‘Sign up for what now?’” she said.

So that’s when Johnson, along with several fellow seventh graders, started their own production in celebration of Black History Month.

It was something that she continued to do into high school.

“I had a lot of very interesting experiences in South Windsor,” Johnson said. “I’ve always said that time has helped shape me into the woman I am today … I’ve never felt like I wish I was from somewhere else.”

Johnson has appeared in numerous television shows and films, including "The Shield," "Bones" and "Phat Girlz."

And now she’s a main character on “Love Thy Neighbor” - a character with whom Johnson said she shares several traits.

“We definitely have some similarities,” Johnson said. “[Linda] is a young mother, so was I. We have that in common. There’s a lot of her in me and a lot of me in her.”

It’s that connection that let Perry to cast Johnson in the role.

Johnson, for her part, hopes that members of the audience connect with the characters the way the cast did with their roles and with one another.

“Our hope is to the degree we enjoyed putting the show together, if it translates over to the screen … half as much, I think it will be received really well,” Johnson said. “I want my family to be proud [of the show], I want to be proud, I want Mr. Perry and Oprah to be proud."

“Love Thy Neighbor” will premiere on OWN at 9 p.m. on May 29.