BET to save “The Game?”

Well, Lordy be! BET is considering dabbling in scripted television by picking up the recently canceled “The Game.”

As you may recall, The CW dumped “The Game” after three seasons because they were dumping all their sitcoms. Creator Mara Brock Akil tried to get the network to take on the series as an hour-long dramady, but NOPE! Canceled! Dead! Cliffhanger and all.

Now it seems Akil is in talks with BET about making the move to the cable network. Sister2Sister Magazine is reporting that BET is fussing around with the budget to see if they can make room for the show.

More after the jump.

Back in April, BET CEO Debra Lee said the network was in talks to acquire the show, but that it was really coming down to a matter of the budget. Now, an inside source at BET told BV Buzz that new co-president Loretha Jones is working hard to finalize a budget that would allow them to afford the show.

Adding “The Game” to their roster wouldn’t be a bad move for BET as re-runs of the sitcom actually score higher ratings than most the network’s original shows. At news that The CW had cancelled the show, many fans looked to BET to pick it up, too.

Nothing has been set in stone over at BET, which hasn’t offered any official statement on the possible fate of the show just yet.

If this deal does go through, we want to know whether “The Game” would be continuing on as a 30-minute sitcom or a one-hour dramedy like show creator Mara Brock-Akil had pitched to The CW before it was cut from the fall lineup.

If BET manages to pull this off my opinion of them might improve from a -30 to an even zero. Also, it would be nice to see the network get into scripted programming and not just retreads of old MTV reality show ideas. Here’s to hoping … if only for the sake of “Game” fans and the continued employment of the show’s underemployed actors.

daniellebelton

12 responses to “BET to save “The Game?””

  1. OneChele Avatar
    OneChele

    Oh my, I might have to actually find BET in my DirecTV channel guide now.

    Reply
  2. Chas (Wm Joseph) Avatar
    Chas (Wm Joseph)

    I truly am sorry, as I caught on to the show on BET reruns, but unfortunately it’s probably time to say "Dueces!" to "The Game".

    Reply
  3. YvetteDC Avatar
    YvetteDC

    Maybe BET will actually do something to ADD to black culture. It’s long overdue since BET has been exploiting the black community for sooooo long

    Reply
  4. Monie Avatar
    Monie

    Wasn’t this already a dramedy? Anyway I am cableless, by choice, because I don’t want Viacom to have any of my money. So I wouldn’t be able to see it anyway. I know it’s too much to ask for but wouldn’t an actual Black drama be nice. Sigh.

    Reply
  5. MDez Avatar
    MDez

    Hey Danielle, Been lurking for a month now but at this news I had to come out of hiding!! This will greatly improve BET’s rep in my eyes as well. The show’s writing though needs a little improvement.Love your blog. It’s fabulous.LOL @OneChele. OMG, I thought the EXACT SAME thing. I haven’t watched BET in ages either. Too bad I won’t have cable for a bit though.

    Reply
  6. polticallyincorrect Avatar
    polticallyincorrect

    Uh oh, BET is meddling with the budget. Something tells me if the Game returns they probably will not be able to afford all those professional actors and might have hire some of TP’s actors. I would interested to see how they pull this off, when I did watch BET the use to show the reruns of Soulfood and they even messed that up with bad editing.

    Reply
  7. dukedraven Avatar
    dukedraven

    The only weekly scheduled comedy series I watch is "The Office." Never heard of "The Game."

    Reply
  8. MsKitty Avatar
    MsKitty

    Maybe BET can use some of that budget to hire some decent writers for the show. It started out with such promise in Season 1 and most of 2, but Season 3 was craptacular. All the characters came off really unlikeable and shallow this year, and the transition into dramedy did not work at all. I think I’ll take a pass if it comes back.

    Reply
  9. AlexG Avatar
    AlexG

    Same here with Dukeraven. I barely heard of this show. What’s the deal? I avoid all sit-coms anyway except for Family Guy and Curb Your Enthusiasm. And needless to say I don’t think The Game is on the level of those shows.

    Reply
  10. bigwilligirl Avatar
    bigwilligirl

    I guessss…I mean, if BET’s gonna hang their hat on "The Game" – gosh, we ain’t got much to look forward to from that tired network, do we? They could steal a page from TVOne’s book and syndicate some of the truly quality older "black" shows. How about running the entire "Wire" pkg. now that THE BEST SHOW OF THE NEW MILLENIUM is off the air. Oh, and I loved it a few weeks ago when they ran a block of blackploitation flicks (i’m a HUGE fan of the genre or "gender" as somebody said this past wknd!). Nothing beats the "banned" episode of the Boondocks spoofing BET’s programming/staff meetings in "The Hunger Strike". Looks like life’s imitating art imitating life again.

    Reply
  11. a.eye Avatar
    a.eye

    I didn’t realize they had canceled the show on the CW. I thought they would for sure pick up the hour special.But if BET picks it up that would be awesome. Right now, the reruns of the Game are the only reason I put it on that channel when surfing channels. Maybe it will lead to some other good shows coming onto the network rather than the other nonsense they tend to show.

    Reply
  12. Honee Bee Avatar
    Honee Bee

    This would be an excellent move by BET!!! I absoulutely love The Game and there is a lot of unfinished story lines they need to tie up. But, the writing on the show would have to change a little considering BET cuts out all the "bitch", "hoes", and other profanity they use quite often through out the show. I think the show would still do good without those words in the script, but those words make the lines a whole lot funnier!!

    Reply

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