But don't bet against Perry. House of Payne, a traditional multicamera series about a firefighter who moves back into his parents' home with his two kids after his drug-addicted wife accidentally burns down his house, aired in about 10 cities last spring - as a kind of test - when Perry enticed local stations to run the program by not charging them a ­licensing fee.

He cut a deal with stations to instead promote the show on air and through local print campaigns, with the goal of securing first an audience, then advertisers, and then a certified slot sometime this year.

A number of stations jumped on it - who wouldn't when "free" is part of the deal? - and House of Payne was able to garner enough viewers to get cable channels intrigued. Some Fox stations, along with TBS, will air the series on a national rollout this summer. TBS makes sense, considering the proximity: TBS also is in Atlanta, where this month Perry is opening a 60,000-square-foot studio to house his films and television series.

Perry's work ethic credo is simple: "I don't take no," he says. "I think, How can I do this?"

His drive, as did his affinity for what's on women's minds, came by osmosis: His father was abusive verbally and physically, and Perry always felt the need to measure up. His need to control his surroundings is just as potent, which explains why he's more likely to go his own way than to take the bad end of a lopsided deal.

"Giving it to a network would mean giving up a lot of the creative control," Perry says of House of Payne. "Just like with the films, I just didn't want to do that. It's turned out to be the best thing I've done."