As sad as we all were to see Pooch Hall and Tia Mowry-Hardrict go from The Game, I can’t lie, the good looks of newcomer Jay Ellis helps to ease the pain. He is, of course, NOT a replacement for the lovable and fine Derwin Davis, but a whole new very interesting and very delicious looking new character by the name of Bryce “Blueprint” Westbrooke. In the season premiere, we got to see him flash a nice smile, get beat up and show off that very impressive body he’s clearly been working on while trying to get with Lauren London’s character of Keira Whitaker. So who is Jay Ellis? Click through our Evening Eye Candy gallery, get an eyeful of what he’s working with, and find out!

After big promotion and cast members (including the new ones) popping up everywhere on TV, The Game has come back and pulled in pretty good numbers, but compared to the past, there’s an obvious decline in viewership going on.

According to Shadow And Act, the show’s season premiere brought in nearly three million viewers, which isn’t bad whatsoever for a cable station, but compared to the views they used to rake in in the past, things have definitely changed. In the last two seasons that the show has been on BET, it has been pretty huge with premiere ratings. In 2011, at the height of all the hoopla surrounding the show’s return after moving from the CW, they premiered with 7.7 million viewers, and the next year, there was a small decline with 5.3. With less than three million coming in this time around, I think it’s safe to say the excitement is wearing off.

According to BET’s press release, The Game and its accompanying show, Let’s Stay Together are now “this season’s top two returning sitcom series premieres on cable among total viewers.” Still though, it’s becoming a bit more obvious that all the changes surrounding the show, including the departure of the main two cast members in Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Pooch Hall have affected the people who tried to follow the show. Not to mention the big changes in the storyline over the last two seasons as the plot has become a LOT more dramatic have also had people tuning out (the change in Melanie’s character was very drastic). But I will say that the season premiere was not bad! Definitely kept my attention. But will it keep your attention as the sixth season goes on? If not, the numbers could keep decreasing, and we know BET doesn’t want that…

Source: WENN

With the premiere of Season 6 of BET’s hit television show The Game swiftly approaching, fans are rather curious as to what can be expected this season, especially considering that the show lost one of its main stars, Melanie Barnett-Davis(Tia Mowry-Hardrict) and Derwin Davis (Pooch Hall) has been reduced to a mere accessory character. The show’s resident mama’s boy, Malik El Debarge Wright aka Hosea Chanchez recently chatted it up with Shadow and Act, discussing the forthcoming season and what fans can look forward to.

On Season 5 issues being smoothed out this season:

“Season 5 ended with a lot of the characters being in limbo. Melanie and Derwin moved away. My character was dealing with the crash of his substance abuse problems and his relationship issues, Mom and Dad issues. There were a lot of open ended storylines, which will get worked out in this season.”

On his role as Malik:

“He is a very emotionally charged individual. I know that everyone may see a hot headed person, but it really stems from him being this sensitive and caring guy that really does not know how to express himself in the right way.  In this season, you will get to see this character get fleshed out way differently than before.”

“Malik runs through women, and you really don’t get to see the character of a man until you see him with a woman. That’s just the way it is, and not just a fly by day and night woman, a woman that he really loves. You also get to see the character of a man when you watch how a man behaves with his mother. So with Malik, if you look at how he behaves with women and his mother, you will see his character.”

“Dude takes a lot of energy. He is so opposite than me in so many ways. I have to get in the mind set of being on all the time. The guy is on all the damn time. Early on in this role, I prepared for him by watching tapes of Dieon Sanders, Bo Jackson, Terrell Owens. Now, with this character it’s like being on auto pilot. So it’s like retraining something that is already there. I don’t have to study as much as I used to for this role.”

Just last week we showed you the new promo photographs of the very revamped cast of BET’s The Game, which premieres March 26, and now we have a few trailers to give you a glimpse at what you can expect. Not a whole lot to see, but you get to see the new cast, with the addition of Lauren London and Jay Ellis in action.

In the first trailer, the “players” as it calls them are in full high-fashion mode, getting up close and personal with one another and giving good face to the camera. Definitely nice…and you can tell they spent some good money on this little trailer.

And despite not being a mainstay on this upcoming season, in an advertisement for both the new seasons of The Game and Let’s Stay Together, we finally get to see Pooch Hall, aka Derwin Davis, and his fine face again. And for some reason, we get a glance at a topless Wendy Raquel Robinson, aka, Tasha Mack, acting like…well, crazy Tasha Mack. Check out the clip and let us know what you think.

Well folks, no matter which “players” get in The Game, as the ads say, the show definitely goes on. And if you’re going to tune in, you might want to do so early so that you can catch Derwin Davis in action, because he’s going…going…and he’ll be gone. Once again, tune in for the the premiere on March 26 on BET.

Something look drastically different?

It’s been a hot minute since season 5 of The Game came to a close in June of 2012, but since they finished filming, we all know there have been some big changes. For instance, Tia Mowry Hardrict announced via Twitter that she was parting from the show that helped relaunch her career, and while Pooch Hall said he was going to do the same, word on the street is that he’ll return for one episode of season 6, as his character will be traded from San Diego to Baltimore, ultimately disappearing off the face of the planet. So of course, that means no more Melanie or Derwin, and since they were the principal focus of the show it will be interesting to see how the storyline will progress without them. But there’s no stopping BET when they’ve got a hit, and there’s no stopping the talented Mara Brock Akil. That’s why the cast has received a makeover and the storyline will be changing–hopefully for the better. Check out the cast for season six and what their characters will be up to in San Diego this time around.

For many Americans, we’ve pretty much counted reality TV out where wholesome, life-affirming television is concerned. It found its place in the “strictly for entertainment” pile. And it’s understandable considering the mindless stereotype-perpetuating drivel that most reality television churns out. We get a good laugh, a good face palm, a good shaking of the head from it. That’s all. So, it’s almost surprising when a gem like “Save My Son” comes along.

Having been introduced to Dr. Steve Perry’s passionate and tireless work with the children of Hartford, Connecticut’s Capital Prep on Soledad O’Brien’s “Education In America” specials, I was intrigued by this black man striving not only to make a difference in the these kids’ lives during the school day, but going out of his way to see to their well-being even after school hours. We see these unsung heroes in our own home towns and admire their work, but sometimes, deep inside we fear that their work will never reach far enough, root deep enough into the lives that most need them. So, I applauded Dr. Perry and eagerly tuned in to “Save My Son” to see Black young men unfold from a life cramped with worries, low self-esteem and unchecked anger and begin to exercise their freedom to be more, to be better, to be fully functioning members of society and their own families. Dr. Perry’s process is more than effective. It’s brilliant.

He first familiarizes himself with the home, school and social lives of each of the young men he has been summoned to help. He finds out the facts – good or bad. We don’t see him jumping into a situation, only taking a parent/guardian or teacher’s word for it. He looks at the young man’s track record and the course of events in his life and lets the facts speak to him. After which, he opens a dialogue about the reasoning and the temperament of the young man he wants to help. He isn’t judgmental or overbearing. Dr. Perry provides them with a safe space to speak their peace – a safe space that  perhaps they felt they did not have prior to “Save My Son” stepping into their lives.

What I also love about the show is that Dr. Perry holds these young men accountable for their behavior and their attitudes. He does not let them off the hook or encourage them to explain away their behavior. He presents them with their own actions – holding up a mirror so they can clearly see who they are – with no mother to protect them from consequences and no system or “The Man” to blame for their downfalls. Dr. Perry also begins the process of equipping them to deal with whatever issues they are brave enough to open up about. As is revealed through each episode, many of these young men just want to be loved and as one young man stated, he wanted to know that he was the reason someone smiled. They want to belong to something, to know that they matter. The street life gives them that illusion. “Save My Son” seems to be giving them the real thing, which might be the antidote for the poison that the streets, misplaced anger or feelings of abandonment have poisoned them with.

The show brings in as many men to help get the job done as are willing to be of service. Dr. Perry does not try to save all of these young men alone. He calls upon the life experiences and expertise of seasoned vets of sports, radio, television, education, music, etc. to reach out to these young men and deliver a wake-up call to them that they haven’t effectively received in their neighborhoods, homes or schools. Having had guest mentors such as CNN and TV One’s own Roland S. Martin, Pooch Hall of “The Game,” Steve Harvey, NBA legend Charles Barkley, music producers and athletes, “Save My Son” definitely allows these broken young men a chance to see the bigger picture, what their lives COULD be if only they stand up and begin the process. I’m sold on this show because it presents these young men with positive alternatives instead of just trying to scare them straight. There is a message of hope in each phase of each episode and it is an amazing (and sometimes tear-jerking) transformation to watch.

Have you seen “Save My Son”? What are your thoughts on its work and message?

ELa Truly is a late-blooming Aries whose writing is powered by a lifetime of anecdotal proof that awkward can transform to awesome and fear can cast its crown before courage. La seeks to encourage thought, discussion and change. Her blog: www.hersoulinc.com and Twitter: @AshleyLaTruly. 

Source: SitcomsOnline.com

In case you thought Derwin Davis was killed off “The Game”, Pooch Hall has some news for you:

Source: Twitter.com/iam_POOCHHALL

The star of the BET show took to his Twitter account to announce he is officially returning despite rumors that he was out.

Back in May, rumors began circulating that Tia Mowry and Pooch Hall were quitting the show because of contract disputes. Tia confirmed she was leaving (but didn’t say why) and Pooch asked his fans to keep the faith because BET was still working things out.

Well, it looks like things worked out!

Pooch already has a new role as a series regular on Showtime’s Ray Donovan. That show shoots in LA and The Game is shot in Atlanta. Apparently, distance is no obstacle though and the “2 show kid” will be working on both shows.

Source: twitter.com/iam_POOCHHALL

It’s not clear if Pooch will have the same prominent role on “The Game” that he had before. Melanie and Derwin were the crux of the show, but BET reportedly replaced Tia and Pooch with Lauren London and Jay Ellis. So, unless “Melanie L I V E S” too then what is Derwin going to do? Get back with Janay? Really, there’s no use speculating because it’s BET which means anything goes and whatever they do probably won’t make any sense.

For the many, many fans of the show, Pooch Hall’s return is great news. BET hasn’t released a premiere date yet for Season 6, but when the Game comes back, will you be watching?

Follow Alissa on Twitter @AlissaInPink

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Source: bet.com

From necolebitchie.com

After her wedding bliss, Meagan Good is back to her daily grind. In between filming new episodes of her new NBC drama ‘Infamous’, she shot a  new video with her girl group, H.E.L.L.O girls, which includes Meagan (aka  Cheeba), her sister Lamyia (aka Bullet), Amy (aka Kitty) and Sterling (aka  Goldie).

Last night, the girls debuted the new video for, ‘Beep Beep’, a half rap,  half singing, electro track, on BET’s ’106 & Park’.  The video is  somewhat goofy and features the familiar face of Pooch Hall from ‘The Game’ as a  cop sporting crooked teeth and busting  crump moves. The H.E.L.L.O girls eventually pull out a remote and turn him into  the centerpiece of their dance  routine.

Check out the video at necolebitchie.com

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Source: blackpulse.net

We didn’t have to wait long to learn who Lauren London would be partnered up with on the next season of “The Game.” After finding out that she’s the new Melanie so to speak, taking on the role of childhood actress turned career woman, Kiera, her onscreen boo has been revealed in the person of actor Jay Ellis.

Playing Bryce ‘The Blueprint’ Westbook, whose name may have been shortened to just “Blue,” Jay will play:

a running back and the No.1 draft pick from an Ivy League school who is highly educated and often the smartest person in the room. But even though he is bright, he is still a young man who has a lot to learn about life, love and himself.”

Jay is pretty unknown on the small screen although he has had parts in “Greys Anatomy,” “Hart of Dixie,” “NCIS,” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.” From the looks of this photo, Pooch will have a little eye candy competition if he does make his way back to the show.

What do you think about his replacement?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Source: Bossip.com

When I saw Lauren London on “Single Ladies” Monday night I was thinking, I wonder why they didn’t have her replace Stacey Dash’s character since she’d already been on the show before, but maybe the reason is she already had a new gig in the works. According to TV Line, she will be joining the cast of “The Game” and taking the place of Tia Mowry, a.k.a. Melanie.

Lauren won’t take over Melanie’s part, she’ll be playing one half of the new couple we told you about that’s supposed to replace Melanie and Derwin as the center of the show. Her character Kiera is described as a 20-year-old former child star who has been in the spotlight since she was five years old and starred on a ‘Cosby’-like sitcom. The casting call listed her characteristics as bright and charming, but struggling to transition into a grown-up career and apparently Lauren fits the bill.

Her match, Bryce ‘The Blueprint’ Westbook, an Ivy League #1 draft pick who’s as good on the field as he is in the classroom, hasn’t been named yet, but I’m wondering how Pooch thinks he’ll handle becoming a secondary character if BET does actually allow him to come back like he wants to.

I guess it’s time to start thinking of actors who could play Lauren’s on-screen boo. Who comes to mind?  Plus, what do you think about her joining the cast?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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