With the release of A Madea Homecoming at hand, fans cannot stop talking about this iconic character. Madea is an elderly African American woman based on Tyler Perry’s mother and his aunt. Although her heart is usually in the right place, Madea is not always the best role model. Here are all the times we have seen this character be the (im)perfect anti-hero, from her first appearance in Diary Of A Mad Black Woman to A Madea Homecoming on Netflix.

The beginning of Madea’s franchise

Madea first appeared in the play I Can Do Bad All by Myself in 1999. Although it comes across as a shock to most, there are over 10 Madea films, an animated movie, and a couple of television programs that she has appeared in since then.

After a couple of plays, she made her cinematic debut in 2005 with Diary Of A Mad Black Woman. After playing the role of an entire hero in this film, Madea became a household name. She helps her granddaughter deal with the humiliating breakup from her very rich and powerful husband.

Following this, we saw Madea a year later in Madea’s Family Reunion. We saw more of her relatives and again Tyler Perry played the role of an anti-hero to perfection. This character proved to be a reliable ally and mentor to all of her family.

Rise to fame

Although Madea had become quite the household name by this time, the release of Meet The Browns marked her transformation to a cult classic. In Madea Goes To Jail, not only does she impress viewers by gaining their sympathy, but also shows them what a badass she truly is.

The next time we saw Madea was during I Can Do Bad All by Myself followed by Madea’s Big Happy Family, and Madea’s Witness Protection.

A franchise cannot be complete without a Christmas film, now, can it? The Madea franchise also has a funky holiday movie named A Madea Christmas. Add to this Boo: A Madea Halloween and Boo 2.

Madea and her revival on Netflix

Describing Madea as a character is difficult. Although the character is the main protagonist of the franchise, she is rather villainous. From her criminal history to her tendency to use physical violence and doing everything in her power to offend someone even during the most normal of conversations, Madea works the thin line between being an anti-hero and straight-up being a villain. Tyler Perry has described her as “a PG version of (his) mother and (his) aunt.”

As the character grew over the course of time, Tyler Perry decided that it was time to bid her goodbye. Hence, we witnessed A Madea Family Funeral and Madea’s Farewell Play. However, he announced a comeback in 2021, claiming that “too much is going on in the country. We need to laugh.”

And true to his words, A Madea Homecoming is releasing on February 25, 2022, on Netflix.

A Madea Homecoming on Netflix

“There’s the legal way, and then there’s the Madea way” is a sentence that sums up this character in the most perfect way. To revive this iconic character, Tyler Perry is once again going to be back as Madea. This time around, we’ll see her back with her family, protecting them again amidst her great-grandson’s graduation. Here’s the trailer:

Don’t forget to stream A Madea Homecoming on February 25, 2022, only on Netflix!