LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - BET is inching closer to finalizing the deals for a new “Game.”
The cable network is expected to announce at its “upfront” presentation to advertisers this month that it is resurrecting the CW sitcom with original episodes.
The majority of the cast of “The Game” are expected to return. Because the options on the actors had expired following the show’s cancellation in May, BET had to negotiate new deals with them.
Salim Akil, the main director on the show while it was on the CW, is expected to take over as showrunner from his wife, Mara Brock Akil, who created the series. Brock Akil, who will remain an executive producer, serves as a consulting producer on ABC’s freshman comedy “Cougar Town.”
“Game,” a spinoff from “Girlfriends,” which Brock Akil also created, was canceled in May after three seasons and after Brock Akil pitched the network an hourlong version of the show. Following the cancellation, BET began preliminary talks with producer CBS Studios about taking in the series with new originals. The cable network already runs repeats of “Game” and “Girlfriends.” BET’s only previous stab at launching an original scripted series was the 2008 comedy “Somebodies,” which ran for one season.