The Game (2006 TV series)

The Game is an American television series created by Mara Brock Akil. A spin-off of UPN's Girlfriends, the series premiered on its successor network The CW on October 1, 2006.
The series was canceled in May 2009 after three seasons. Viacom's BET Networks would strike a deal with CBS Corporation to develop new episodes of the series, relocating taping of the show from Los Angeles to Atlanta, and announcing its renewal at the April 2010 upfronts. New seasons began airing on BET starting January 11, 2011, with the fourth season premiere drawing 7.7 million viewers, making it the most watched sitcom premiere in cable television history. The show would air for six seasons on BET, being renewed for its final two in 2014, and concluding its run on August 5, 2015.
In May 2021, a revival of the series was ordered by Paramount+ with Robinson and Chanchez returning. The revival series premiered on November 11, 2021, and was renewed for a second season in February 2022. On June 23, 2023, it was announced that the series was canceled after two seasons. On June 26, 2023, The Game was removed from Paramount+.
For the first five seasons, The Game was centered around Joan Clayton's first cousin, Melanie Barnett (Tia Mowry), who was first introduced in the 2006 Girlfriends episode of the same name. Melanie is a first-year medical school student who has given up an offer of admission to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore to follow her boyfriend, Derwin Davis (Pooch Hall), to San Diego, against the advice of her parents. Derwin is a first-year rookie American football player with a fictional "San Diego Sabers" team. As Melanie settles into her new life, she meets Tasha Mack (Wendy Raquel Robinson), the mother of Sabers' starting quarterback Malik Wright (Hosea Chanchez), and Kelly Pitts (Brittany Daniel), the then-wife of Sabers' captain Jason Pitts (Coby Bell), who warn her to keep a close eye on her boyfriend because of the numerous "gold diggers" who approach the professional American football players. As Melanie learns to balance her new roles as both med student and the partner of a professional American football player, the series focuses on the evolving relationships between the players and their significant others.
In May 2021, it was announced that Paramount+ had ordered a revival of the series, with the setting relocated to Las Vegas. Hosea Chanchez, Coby Bell, Brandy, Brittany Daniel, Pooch Hall and Wendy Raquel Robinson were in talks to reprise their roles as Malik Wright, Jason Pitts, Chardonnay Pitts, Kelly Pitts, Derwin Davis and Tasha Mack.
Joining the returning cast was Vaughn W. Hebron as "Jamison Fields", an undrafted free agent; Adriyan Rae as "Brittany Pitts", Jason and Kelly Pitts daughter, (previous portrayed by Katlynn Simone); and Analisa Velez as "Raquel Navarro", Brittany’s best friend. Tia Mowry-Hardrict, who was cast in Netflix's Family Reunion, made a TikTok video expressing that she will most likely not return to her 2 roles of Sister, Sister and The Game. While being honored at the Ebony 'Power 100', she was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight saying: “You know what’s so funny? Never say never. I mean, as it stands for right now, we aren’t in any talks or communication about me coming back to the show...I know it seems kind of weird, because I’m like, the only one, but you know, Melanie, I loved playing that character, and if everything works out, and if everything works out the way that it should, then who knows? I might be on the show.”
Seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of the series. The fourth season premiere acquired 7.7 million viewers, which was a record for a scripted premiere on BET.
In September 2006, writer Staci Robinson filed a $40 million lawsuit against the CW, CBS, Warner Bros., and Grammnet Productions for copyright infringement. Robinson claimed that she had applied for a job as writer's assistant in 2005 with series creator and executive producer Mara Brock Akil, to whom Robinson had subsequently sent her novel, Interceptions. The novel is about a woman who decides to put her goal of becoming a lawyer on hold to follow her boyfriend as he pursues a career as a professional American football player. After receiving the novel, Robinson was interviewed for the job but later declined the position. Robinson alleged that Akil and a CW screenwriter stole the idea from her novel to create the series. The suit was settled out of court under a non-disclosure agreement in September 2007.