The Game (American TV series)


The Game is an American comedy-drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil. Premiering on October 1, 2006, the series debuted as the only new comedy series chosen for The CW's primetime schedule. Along with Runaway, it was one of only two series on the new network not to be inherited from either of its predecessor networks, The WB and UPN, during the network's first season. The series is a spin-off of the long-running UPN/CW sitcom Girlfriends.
After three seasons, the series was canceled by The CW in May 2009. BET struck a deal with The Game's parent company CBS 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. The Game returned to the air for a fourth season on January 11, 2011, and brought a record breaking 7.7 million viewers for the season premiere which made it the most watched sitcom premiere in cable television history.
On April 24, 2014, BET announced the eighth season renewal of The Game. On October 6, 2014, BET announced that the show had also been renewed for a ninth and final season. The eighth season premiered on January 14, 2015, at 10/9c, and the final season premiered on June 3, 2015, and ended on August 5, 2015.

Origin

With the growing success of the UPN sitcom Girlfriends, that show's creator and producers decided to create a spin-off series. On April 17, 2006, a Girlfriends episode called The Game focused on a young woman who decides to put her pending career plans on hold for the rising success of her star athlete boyfriend. The character, Melanie Barnett, was introduced in the episode as the first cousin of Joan Clayton, Girlfriends' principal character.
The episode performed well and gained enough interest for The CW network to pick up The Game as a new series for its fall 2006–2007 prime time line-up. Originally, actress Renee Bruce was cast for the role of Melanie but was later replaced with Tia Mowry. Before debuting on The CW, more cast changes occurred. Aldis Hodge and Jennifer Baxter, both of whom appeared in the pilot episode, were replaced by Pooch Hall and Brittany Daniel respectively. Coby Bell, Hosea Chanchez and Wendy Raquel Robinson were the remaining cast members.

Episodes

As the series premieres, Melanie Barnett 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, a professional football player, to San Diego, against the advice of her parents. Derwin Davis is a first-year rookie with a fictional team called the "San Diego Sabers". As Melanie settles into her new life, she meets Tasha Mack, the mother of Sabers' starting quarterback Malik Wright, and Kelly Pitts, the then wife of Sabers' captain Jason Pitts. As she learns to balance her new roles as both med student and the partner of a professional football player, Tasha and Kelly immediately warn her to keep a close eye on her boyfriend because of the numerous "gold diggers" who approach the professional football players. Over time the relationships with the players and the significant others evolve, leading to the series focusing more on their relationships and less on the sport.

Cast

Main cast

Seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of The Game on The CW. When The Game transferred from the CW to BET, it acquired 7.7 million viewers, which was a record for a scripted premiere on BET.
SeasonNetworkTimeslot Season premiereViewers
18-49
rating		Season finaleViewers
18-49
rating		TV seasonRankViewers
1The CWSunday 8:30 p.m. Monday 9:30 p.m. October 1, 20062.60May 14, 20072.510.92006–2007#1412.33
2The CWMonday 9:30 p.m. Sunday 9:00 p.m. October 1, 20072.981.4May 18, 20081.620.82007–2008#1962.35
3The CWFriday 8:30 p.m. October 3, 20081.95May 15, 20091.781.22008–2009#1741.75
4BETTuesday 10:00 p.m. January 11, 20117.683.6March 29, 20114.432.22010-20114.53
5BETTuesday 10:00 p.m. January 10, 20125.282.8June 5, 20122.491.32011-20122.69
6BETTuesday 10:00 p.m. March 26, 20132.541.2September 3, 20133.771.92012-20133.35
7BETTuesday 10:00 p.m. March 4, 20143.351.6April 29, 20142.531.22013-20143.35
8BETWednesday 10:00 p.m. January 14, 20153.131.1March 4, 20152015 -
9BETWednesday 10:00 p.m. June 3, 2015August 5, 2015

Lawsuit

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 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.
BET aired the fourth season on January 11, 2011. The premiere drew 7.7 million viewers, making it the biggest ad-supported sitcom telecast in the history of cable. Chanchez officially announced at the 2011 BET Awards that the show would begin its fifth season in 2012. The fifth season premiered on January 10, 2012. Tia Mowry-Hardrict announced via Twitter that she would not be returning to the series. In May 2012, actor Pooch Hall announced that he will not be returning for the sixth season; In August 2012, actor Pooch Hall announced that he will be returning for the 100th episode of the 6th season, but he's back as a guest star, He will be appear in one episode. It was also confirmed that actress Lauren London and actor Jay Ellis had joined the cast as series regulars for the show's sixth season, which premiered on March 26, 2013.
In April 2013, it was announced that The Game has been renewed for a seventh season. The seventh season premiered on March 4, 2014. In April 2014, BET renewed the series for an eighth season, which premiered on January 14, 2015. In October 2014, BET said that the series would end in 2015. The series leads Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Pooch Hall will be returning for the series finale. The final season premiered on June 3, 2015 and the series finale premiered on August 5, 2015.

Awards and nominations

DVD releases

;Season releases
Seasons 2–6 are also available in the United States and Canada.

Sequel series

In December 2019, it was announced that an hour-long sequel series was in the works at The CW. The new incarnation, written by original series creator Mara Brock Akil and Devon Greggory, will have a new East Coast setting while allowing original cast members to return. Akil and Greggory, the latter set to serve as showrunner, will also executive produce the follow-up series with Akil's fellow original executive producers, Salim Akil and Kelsey Grammer, as well as Tom Russo. Grammer and Russo's Grammnet NH Productions and CBS Television Studios, which were behind the original series, will produce the sequel series.