How To Watch Tyler Perry's Madea Movies In Order

One of the most prolific and successful filmmakers of the 21st century is Tyler Perry, who's steadily been making movies and television shows since 2005. Since then, Perry's creative output and influence has exploded, with Perry's work regularly thriving on top streaming charts as he steers the modern American entertainment landscape. Though many of Perry's projects feature standalone stories, one prominent staple is his recurring character Madea Simmons. Created and played by Perry himself, Madea is an elderly Black woman who is as outspoken as she is streetwise.

Starting out as a supporting character, Madea's popularity led her to star in her own series of movies made by Perry. Though Madea herself is usually played for laughs, she has appeared in Perry's more serious work and often has wise observations on very real themes. Beyond her own movies, Madea continues to appear sporadically in Perry's projects, always ready to drop some unfiltered wisdom. Here is how to watch Tyler Perry's Madea movies in order for those looking for the complete Madea experience.

At the time of this writing, Madea has appeared in 14 movies, including cameos and the direct-to-video 2015 animated movie "Madea's Tough Love." So far, these appearances seemingly take place in chronological order, though things like Madea's age are never all that consistent. In 2026 we'll get Madea's 16th cinematic appearance with a cameo role in the upcoming Netflix original movie "Joe's College Road Trip." 

Here is the release order for the Madea movies, though it does differ slightly from the viewing order that we recommend (more on that below):

• Diary of a Mad Black Woman

• Madea's Family Reunion

• Meet the Browns

• Madea Goes to Jail

• I Can Do Bad All by Myself

• Madea's Big Happy Family

• Madea's Witness Protection

• A Madea Christmas

• Madea's Tough Love

• Boo! A Madea Halloween

• Boo 2! A Madea Halloween

• A Madea Family Funeral

• A Madea Homecoming

• Madea's Destination Wedding

With that in mind, the following is the viewing order for the Madea movies that we recommend.

Perry's feature film debut, 2005's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," was based on a 2001 stage play of the same name that he wrote, directed, and produced. The movie follows Helen Simmons-McCarter (Kimberly Elise), who is kicked out of her home by her abusive and unfaithful husband Charles (Steve Harris) when he decides to divorce her. As Helen picks up the pieces of her life, she moves in with her grandmother Madea (Perry). Perry also plays Madea's brother Joe Simmons and Joe's son Brian Simmons, who is undergoing marital problems of his own.

"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" is, to date, the only movie written by Perry that he didn't direct, with directorial duties going to Darren Grant instead. The production still very much feels like Perry's subsequent directorial projects, even with a more serious tone than most Madea appearances. Madea is still very much her irascible self, of course, but helps both Helen and Brian find their way in the story. The foundation was set with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," including Madea's presence in Perry's work, helping catapult him to become one of the highest-paid men in entertainment.

One year after the release of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," Madea returned in 2006's "Madea's Family Reunion," this time with Perry directing as well as writing and producing. The movie has Madea preparing for a large family reunion while taking care of teenager Nikki Grady (Keke Palmer) as part of a court mandate. Complicating matters further is Madea taking in grand-niece Lisa Breaux (Rochelle Aytes) as she's preyed upon by her fiancé (Blair Underwood) and greedy mother (Lynn Whitfield). This comes to a head at the reunion, with Madea joined by Aunt Ruby (Georgia Allen) and Aunt May (Maya Angelou) to give sage wisdom to the bickering family.

"Madea's Family Reunion" follows in the general narrative mold of its predecessor, with Madea providing a safe space and guidance for women in troubling relationships. The subject matter gets more emotionally raw than the preceding movie but the heightened focus on Madea also increases the comedy. The movie also boasts a rare acting appearance from Maya Angelou, underscoring the movie's themes about betterment, self-worth, and reconciliation. "Madea's Family Reunion" proved its titular character could magnetically hold the center stage, something its follow-ups capitalized on.

Madea's had legal trouble since her debut, which only escalates as the franchise continues, culminating in 2009's "Madea Goes to Jail." After being arrested following a high-speed chase with the police, Madea is ordered to undergo anger management supervised by Phil McGraw. When this goes poorly, Madea is sentenced to a multi-year prison stint after being arrested for a subsequent public incident. Madea discovers her fellow inmates in need of the self-empowerment and accountability life lessons that she's known for, while the assistant district attorney faces his own moral crossroad.

If you really want to see the incident that puts Madea behind bars, it's seen from a different perspective in the earlier movie "Meet the Browns." That said, the glimpse there is a glorified cameo, with "Madea Goes to Jail" providing everything audiences need to know without having seen the 2008 film. For that reason, we personally recommend just skipping "Meet the Browns" for those staying Madea-focused, as her inclusion in that movie is tangential at best. Audiences didn't skip "Madea Goes to Jail," however, with the movie earning $14 million on its opening day alone.

With 2009's "I Can Do Bad All by Myself," Madea was back in a supporting capacity, rather than serving as the movie's protagonist. This movie's main character is April (Taraji P. Henson), a nightclub singer with a traumatic past stuck in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Randy (Brian White). April's life begins to turn around when she agrees to house Colombian immigrant Sandino (Adam Rodriguez) in her basement, with the pair falling in love. Meanwhile, April's niece and nephews find themselves under the care and guidance of Madea after she catches them breaking into her house.

"I Can Do Bad All by Myself" is all about the healing power of rediscovering one's religious faith and reinvigorated self-worth. Seeing Madea struggle with that spiritual aspect of her messaging, particularly when trying to teach some how to pray, offers much of the movie's comedy. Perry weaves in his usual themes of women standing up to their abusers and reconciling with past trauma to good effect here, with the 2009 movie as one of his stronger filmmaking efforts. Following this, Perry would put Madea back in the spotlight rather than the sidelines for his projects involving her moving forward, leaning more into her comedic potential.

Madea assembles her family for another impromptu reunion, this time under more melancholy circumstances, in 2011's "Madea's Big Happy Family." After learning her niece Shirley (Loretta Devine) has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Madea brings the family together to celebrate her life with the time she has left. This gathering has the dysfunctional ensemble sort out their differences and painful secrets from their past. Of note is the true parentage of Shirley's presumed son Bryon (Bow Wow) as his own personal struggles come to light.

All the usual antics and themes to a Madea movie are present here, this time with 100% more Maury Povich, with the talk show host playing himself. With its life-and-death premise, "Madea's Big Happy Family" oscillates more wildly in tone than most of Perry's work. That said, Madea remains a reliable constant, knowing when to dial up the humor and when to pull back and offer well-timed advice. Though Madea would go into a more screwball comedy direction for her next several appearances, "Madea's Big Happy Family" has her shine in Perry's audience-pleasing family dramedy oeuvre.

2012's "Madea's Witness Protection" is the first movie in the series not based on a preexisting stage play written by Perry. Madea once again hosts a family in her home, this time with the Needlemans, a white New England ensemble who has become part of an FBI witness protection program. Family patriarch George (Eugene Levy) agrees to testify against the Malone crime family after learning he was inadvertently helping their Ponzi scheme for years. As the case proceeds, Madea helps George and his family overcome their own simmering internal strife in her usual wise way.

It's with "Madea's Witness Protection" that the series begins to veer increasingly into outright screwball comedy. Those elements were always present with Madea, and there are still serious moments to this movie, but the tone is noticeably evening out. A lot of that comes from the comedic pairing between Perry and veteran Canadian comic Levy, who definitely understands the assignment. A fun diversion between a line of holiday movies, "Madea's Witness Protection" offers a new wrinkle in Madea's adventures involving the law.

Given the frequency of releases and wide comical appeal of the character, it's a wonder it took the Madea series eight years to get a Christmas-themed movie. The 2013 holiday movie has Madea traveling to small-town Alabama to spend Christmas with her niece Eileen (Anna Maria Horsford) and Eileen's daughter Lacey (Tika Sumpter). The family gathering is strained by Lacey being married to a white husband, Oliver (Chad Michael Murray), with Eileen convinced that Oliver's parents are racist. As the uneasy holidays continue, the family learns that a local construction company has been maliciously harming the community.

Continuing on from its predecessor, "A Madea Christmas" isn't quite as melodramatic as the initial movies in the series. The holiday movie gives Madea the chance to cross paths with Larry the Cable Guy, though this feels like wasted potential. Madea is out to save Christmas from corporate malfeasance this time around while bringing families together. Moving beyond the yuletide season, Madea would find greater success with a different familiar holiday.

In a way, the holiday that Madea seemed the best fit for was Halloween, with scares bristling against her old school toughness. The 2016 movie has Madea intervene when her teenage niece Tiffany Simmons (Diamond White) becomes involved with a nearby frat house. After Madea crashes the frat's Halloween party to bring Tiffany home, they take revenge by employing a set of seemingly supernatural pranks on her. As this conflict escalates, Tiffany comes to terms with how she feels about her parents and their dysfunctional relationship.

"Boo! A Madea Halloween" was born from a Chris Rock joke in "Top Five," after a Lionsgate studio executive reportedly saw the 2014 comedy. The movie has got a decent setup, but it doesn't really do as much with it as one might hope. Still, there is Halloween-associated fun to be had, with Madea talking with Jigsaw and punching out clowns throughout the film. After its success, "Boo! A Madea Halloween" would get a direct sequel the following year.

2017's "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween" continues Madea looking out for Tiffany from obnoxious frat boys around its titular holiday. After learning Tiffany is attending a Halloween getaway with some college kids at a remote lake, despite her father's chagrin, Madea goes to teach her a lesson. As Tiffany and her friends try to hook up with the frat boys, they are subjected to a set of terrifying pranks. However, these slasher-oriented frights are heightened as Madea finds herself caught in the middle of them upon arriving at the lake.

As its trailer suggests, "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween" is a bit more of the same, albeit in a "Friday the 13th" adjacent setting. The sequel takes more advantage of its Halloween theme than its predecessor, doubling down on slapstick comedy. The movie wisely doesn't make Madea an orchestrator of the pranks but instead a friendly caught in the terrifying proceedings. Though Madea hasn't had a Halloween-centric adventure since, Tyler Perry and Jason Blum are teaming up to make a horror movie, so fans have that to look forward to.

Originally intended to be the final Madea movie, 2019's "A Madea Family Funeral" finds a family celebration turning into a sudden funeral. As the children of Anthony (Derek Morgan) and Vianne (Jen Harper) prepare for a surprise 40th wedding anniversary, Anthony suffers a fatal heart attack while having sex with another woman. As the children try to keep their father's philandering a secret, his funeral is visited by his numerous mistresses. Madea tries to mediate the entire messy family drama as uncomfortable truths come to light.

With "A Madea Family Funeral," the franchise moves away from the more overt screwball comedy it had recently fallen into. There are certainly gags to be had, particularly at the titular funeral, but the family drama element is more prominent again. But just as Madea's headlining adventures began with a family reunion prone to melodrama, so too does her presumed final movie. However, even though Perry thought Madea's cinematic appearances were done, Madea, as ever, found a way to return to the spotlight.

The Madea series was completely reinvigorated by Netflix as Tyler Perry expanded upon his partnership with the streaming service. The movie has Madea join her family for the college graduation of her great-grandson Tim Marshall (Brandon Black), who is struggling to share his queer identity. This is complicated by the sudden arrival of Agnes Brown (Brendan O'Carroll), a distant Irish relative of Tim's best friend Davi O'Malley (Isha Blaaker). This comes as Davi holds a personal secret of his in the form of a relationship with Madea's granddaughter Laura (Gabrielle Dennis).

The idea that Madea would not only return for a new line of Netflix original movies but crossover with the Irish sitcom "Mrs. Brown's Boys" was a surprise move. Agnes Brown offers a fresh foil for Madea to play off of in a way that other co-stars hadn't quite clicked before. What results is one of the better Madea movies in the series, with the franchise perhaps best suited for streaming audiences all along. Perry got his creative second wind in working with Netflix and that distinction spread to his most prolific series.

Madea's second Netflix original movie, 2025's "Madea's Destination Wedding," takes its family-centric comedy abroad. The movie has Tiffany (Diamond White) and Zavier (Xavier Smalls) set to hold their surprise wedding in the Bahamas. Madea and the extended family travel to the Caribbean to participate in the happy nuptials, but resentment and family secrets threaten to derail the proceedings. In the face of these pressures, Tiffany and Zavier must come to terms with how they really feel about each other.

The tropical change in scenery is a welcome change of pace, adding fresh colors to the usual family drama antics, with Madea in the mix. The movie continues the usual family squabbles and comedic misunderstandings that the franchise has been built on, now with a beautiful backdrop. The latest starring appearance for Madea for the foreseeable future, not counting cameos, "Madea's Destination Wedding" mixes up environments while maintaining the series' usual themes and gags.

Madea's appearance in 2008's "Meet the Browns" amounts to little more than a cameo, seen arrested after being in a high-speed chase with the police. For completists, this should be watched before "Madea Goes to Jail" as the cameo essentially sets up why Madea is behind bars. More substantial is the 2015 animated movie "Madea's Tough Love," with Perry reprising his role as Madea and producing the project. "Tough Love" is bookended by live-action sequences of Perry playing Madea, who dismisses the story as a vivid dream.

There are also a number of Madea appearances in the Perry-created television series "House of Payne," which premiered in 2006. In 2013, Perry created the comedy series "Love Thy Neighbor" for the Oprah Winfrey Network, reprising his role as Madea in a guest role for a 2015 episode. Though not every Perry project guarantees a Madea appearance — could you imagine Madea with Tyler Perry's "Star Trek" casting – she remains a constant in his work. No matter what antics she's up to, Madea is sure to drop some knowledge and tell it like it is.