TikTok has proven time and time again that it can launch the next wave of entertainment stars and transform short-form creators into true cultural forces. Few people embody that trajectory more than Kerron Campbell. Kellon Campbell is a comedian and performer whose viral alter ego Terry Jo has become one of the platform’s most famous and outrageous personalities.
Now, Campbell is taking a big step into the mainstream with his first feature film. Terry Jo: Miami Missionarya wide-ranging and unapologetic comedy, is set to premiere exclusively on Tubi later this month.
Campbell, who posts under the handle “Psychonic,” is known for circulating a well-defined roster of characters that skewer the hypocrisies of class, race, and religion. Fans may know glamorous socialite Georgia Peach, British royal Amora Rose, and gothic vampire Amethyst Jade. His breakout star, however, was Terry Jo, a conservative, devout Christian Southern white woman with a fear of “homosexuals.”
Terry Jo’s TikTok Lives, in which she “reprimands” fellow creators and even celebrities like Madonna, combine satire and biting social commentary to make them must-see events. The character’s appeal lies in how fully identified he is, a product of Campbell’s lived experience growing up black and queer in the Houston suburb of Humble, Texas, surrounded by the kind of passive-aggressive religiosity that Terry Jo embodies.
Life-sized figures now have room to breathe Terry Jo: Miami Missionary. In the film, Terry Jo lives with her mother in Louisiana, working at the local market and trying to stay on the right path. Terry Jo’s quiet life is turned upside down when masked men rob her store and force her to go on the run. When criminals begin searching for her, Terry Jo’s presence puts her mother in danger and she is kicked out of the house.
With nowhere else to go, she calls her cousin Georgia Peach (also played by Campbell), who is on her way to South Florida for Miami Swim Week. Terry Jo follows her to Miami, but the setting quickly clashes with her rigid worldview. Determined to find a church and atone for her sins, Terry Jo instead encounters drag queens, hard-partying club kids, and most shockingly of all, gay Christians.
As she navigates the turmoil of Miami’s Vice City, Terry Jo faces a true crisis of faith and is forced to confront the contradictions in her beliefs. Meanwhile, the criminals from her hometown are still after her, adding an element of farce and danger to the fish-out-of-water comedy. According to the trailer, fans can also expect appearances from other Campbell productions, including Amethyst Jade, highlighting the performer’s versatility.
The film was directed by Dale S. Lewis and co-stars Andrew Romano, Chase Alan Garland, Katy Keene, Dylan Bouzis, Adam Crain, Lorin Alexis, and Jasmine Hart.
Terry Jo: Miami Missionary It will premiere on Tubi on January 30th. With its unfiltered humor and sharp satire, the film positions Campbell as more than just a viral sensation, marking him as an up-and-coming comedic voice ready for a bigger stage.
Source: Gayety – gayety.com
