Picture Credit: Netflix
Netflix’s lineup of festive movies begins in November 2026, kicking off with A Dog’s Perfect Christmas on November 4. A week later, Tyler Perry debuts his third holiday movie, The Gospel of Christmas, following a struggling pastor, who inherits a church in a broken New York neighbourhood. Here’s your first look, complete cast, and everything you need to know about the picture.
Coming to Netflix on November 11, Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas marks the filmmaker’s third holiday movie after A Madea Christmas (2013) and Finding Joy (2025). “I have taken y’all to a family reunion, on a college road trip, to prison – now come on go with me to church,” Perry teased on Instagram. The movie releases as the second of three holiday movies coming to Netflix in three consecutive weeks throughout November. The first coming our way on November 4 is the heartwarming A Dog’s Perfect Christmas from the creators of A Dog’s Purpose. And on November 18, we’re getting Guarding Stars starring Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki.
The Gospel of Christmas takes us to church in the coolest way possible. It’s a feature celebrating music, produced by the legendary Kirk Franklin. It spans everything from contemporary and classic songs to gospel, rap, and holiday music. The involvement of Franklin is particularly huge. He has had a decades-long influence on modern gospel, and this movie sees him working with seminal vocalists and gospel icons, including CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, The Clark Sisters, Fred Hammond, Smokie Norful, Jekalyn Carr, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong.
“It was really important to me to have some of the most incredible gospel artists there are on the planet be a part of helping me tell the story,” Perry told Netflix. “If you know gospel, you know these people, and if you don’t know gospel, just wait until you see this movie.”
Note: We’ve yet to get an official trailer – we’ll update this post when it drops.
What is The Gospel of Christmas about?
Both written and directed by Perry, and produced by Angi Bones and Tony L. Strickland, The Gospel of Christmas follows Isaac (Tank), a struggling pastor who inherits his family’s church in a troubled New York neighborhood. Together with his wife Rebecca (Fantasia Barrino), they move into the community during the holiday season and try to keep the congregation together at a time of doubt and uncertainty that tests their faith.
The official synopsis reads:
In Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas, a struggling pastor inherits his family’s church in a broken New York neighborhood, but as he battles doubt, temptation, and a sinister adversary, he must rediscover his faith and the power of prayer to save his church, his family, and his community.
“The vision for The Gospel of Christmas started with me listening to the songs that inspired me, that got me through some really, really rough times,” Perry said of his inspiration behind the film.
Who is in the cast?
While Perry himself is not starring (but serves as writer and director), he’s assembled a behemoth of a cast. Let’s take a tour.
The two headline stars:
- Durrell “Tank” Babbs (The New Edition Story) as Isaac — The pastor at the core of the story trying to save a struggling church in a troubled New York neighbourhood.
- Fantasia Barrino (The Color Purple) as Rebecca — Isaac’s wife who sticks by him in his quest to rebuild a failing church in a rough neighborhood to its former glory.
Additional cast:
- Fred Hammond (Praise This) as Abraham
- Ann Nesby (The Fighting Temptations) as Sarah
- Pastor Shirley Caesar (Joyful Noise) as May
- Smokie Norful (Genius: Gospel) as Peter
- Yolanda Adams (Kingdom Business) as Gloria
- Hezekiah Walker (Greenleaf) as Matthew
- Jekalyn Carr (Greenleaf) as Lilly
- CeCe Winans (The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel) as Mrs. Johnson
- Jacky Clark Chisholm (The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel) as Bella
- Twinkie Clark (The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel) as Aunt Susan
- Dorinda Clark (The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel) as Aunt Pearl
- Ricco Ross (Beauty in Black) as Mr. Ehtmai Lived
- Chanté Moore as Juanita Sherman
- Vanessa Bell Armstrong as Choir Member
In addition to those, the cast also includes an ensemble of other stars — stacked with musical talent. Other cast members include: John Gray, Carl Lentz, Mason Douglas, Lauren Chanel, Eric Wiltz, Twinkie Clark-Terrell, Karen Clark-Sheard, Jacky Clark-Chisholm, and Le’Andria Johnson.
First look at Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas
Picture Credit: Netflix
Picture Credit: Netflix
Picture Credit: Netflix
Picture Credit: Netflix
Picture Credit: Netflix
When does The Gospel of Christmas arrive on Netflix?
Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas officially debuts on Netflix on November 11, 2026. Mark your calendars, folks!
What other Tyler Perry movies are coming to Netflix?
Tyler Perry and Netflix formed a creative partnership in 2023, and it’s born a glut of projects. The price of the deal remains unknown, but sources put the deal in the multi-million region. The Gospel of Christmas is his first holiday movie under the Netflix umbrella, but elsewhere, there continues to be plenty of movement. He released Doing Life on Netflix on October 2. Back in September he released long-awaited sequel Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Again?
As of September 2026, production is officially underway on Tyler Perry’s latest Netflix feature Confabulation, starring Taylour Paige and Shamier Anderson.
Are you excited about Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas? Tell us in the comments down below!