Posted Thursday, April 5, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Demetria McKinney is best known for her time on "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" as well as a short stint on "Real Housewives of Atlanta," where she managed to maintain her dignity and reputation.
Her career is currently on the rise. She has regular roles on not just one show but two: Mario Van Peeples' horror drama "Superstition" and Atlanta-based Bounce TV's "Saints and Sinners," which returns Sunday for a third season at 9 p.m. She released her first album last year and opened for Fantasia last year. And she's touring with Da Brat in the play version of "Set It Off," which recently was in Atlanta.
I spoke with her at Bounce TV headquarters yesterday in Buckhead about how her role on "Saints and Sinners" grew from a short stint to a regular role in the drama surrounding a local black church. She plays Tamara Austin Calloway, the wife of Miles Calloway (Keith Robinson), who oversees music at the church. In the first episode, screened to media for the first time Wednesday, she is convinced Miles' mistress has kidnapped her baby.
"She was actually an organically added character," she said. "She wasn't supposed to be anyone of substance. She was kind of supposed to be there two or three episodes, get out of the way. Because of the dynamics they felt they could bring to the character that many women can relate to, she's definitely grown and grown and grown."
Tamara, she said, had been the "sheep" of the family the first two seasons but the circumstances have taken a mental toll on her.
She isn't sure about the future of Von Peeples' "Superstition," also shot in Atlanta like "Saints and Sinners," but she relates to her single mom character. She said it may leave Syfy and go to Netflix.
See more of the interview below:
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
