Source: BET

I have a confession. Every time I see a commercial for BET’s new film, Being Mary Jane, I want to do a cartwheel. I can’t wait! I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for drama and a great storyline, but I can’t be the only one eagerly anticipating Being Mary Jane’s debut. This show looks awesome!

In case you missed it, Being Mary Jane is a new original series put together by The Game creators, Salim and Mara Brock Akil. It is scheduled to premiere as a pilot/movie Tuesday, July 2nd on BET at 10:30 pm and will kick off as a series after that. The network has pegged the series as “a story to which millions of modern women will both relate and respond.” A quick description of the storyline found on BET’s website reads:

“Mary Jane Paul (Union) is a one-woman show: a successful TV news anchor and an entirely self-sufficient powerhouse who remains devoted to a family that doesn’t share her motivation. Intense drama and unforgettable moments unfold as Mary Jane juggles her life, her relationships, her work and commitments to her family.”

BET recently released two clips from the pilot episode, and they’re both pretty awesome! In the first clip, Mary storms into a room where her family is sitting and proceeds to go off on her teenage niece, whom she suspects is pregnant again.

“There are too many damn kids in this family and not enough people feeding them! Seriously, who has a job in this room? Raise your hand!” Mary yells in one clip.

In another scene, Mary is going back and forth with her co-worker, who is played by Lisa Vidal. Mary firmly expresses that although they’re both women of color, Black women aren’t nearly as celebrated as Latina women in the media.

“This is a non-issue for you because Latinas are celebrated. No one has ever called a Latina ugly,” Mary boldly exclaims in the clip.

I’m dying to see how this all plays out!

Check out clip one below. Flip to the next page for clip two! Will you be checking out the show when it airs?

Oftentimes when couples mix business with pleasure, it can cause tension in the relationship but not for these couples. Here are 15 celeb couples that became partners in the bedroom and boardroom.

WENN

Daytime darling Kelly Ripa met her husband Mark Consuelos on the set of ABC’s “All My Children.” After keeping their relationship a secret for over a year, the couple snuck off to Vegas to elope. Ripa and Consuelos continued to play married couple Hayley and Mateo on the soap opera for six years until leaving the show. Having no problem working together, Ripa and Consuelos founded production company Milijo in 2007 and made several films that premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival.

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.”

From Eur Web

Great hair, perfect smile, show-stopping complexion, incredible figure … Gabrielle Union’s beauty is almost unparalleled, and the characters she portrays don’t seem like they’re that far off from the real thing either. They’re always smart, always seem to have all the right answers, they always have the great jobs and end up with the handsome leading man.

Couple the common attributes of her characters with the real life fact that she’s in a relationship with an NBA megastar and, while I’m at it, pour on the fact that she has been one of the top 10 prettiest women in Hollywood for at least 10 years. Wow, she’s easy to love for obvious reasons, but easy to hate on as well.

Read more at EurWeb.com.

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BET seems determined to make it’s mark in the scripted sitcom genre with husband-and-wife team Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil. The network has given the couple the greenlight for a new pilot titled, “Single Black Female,” which is expected to air in August.

The premise of the show is a look at the work-family balance of a single, black woman who is the host of a popular Atlanta talk show, similar to The Ellen Degeneres show. There’s no word on who will play the role and what other aspects of the woman’s life will be featured, but from these details, it sounds so far, so good.

The series is a part of a major production deal Mara and Salim, who produce and direct ‘The Game,” signed with BET in May which includes several pilot commitments. Mara is also behind the recent remake of Sparkle, starting Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks, and Salim directed “Jumping the Broom.”

I have to say with the way “The Game” has been going this season, I’m not super excited about this series, but with a new show comes the chance to learn from mistakes and approach things from a different angle, and hopefully they will.

What do you think about Mara and Salim’s work so far? Can they make a show on a single, black female a success?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Have you seen “Jumping the Broom” yet? What did you think?

You know Madame Noire stays out and about, right? So of course we were at the “Jumping the Broom” LA premiere! Check out the exclusive interviews we got with the movie’s stars, producers and director! Oh and we snagged Boris Kodjoe’s gorgeous self for a quick interview too. He was there to support his fellow actors.

Watch the video above!

Read the rest of this entry »

(Variety) — “The Game” exec producers Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil are deepening their ties to BET, inking a mega-production deal with the cabler.  Three-year overall pact encompasses a series commitment and multiple pilot commitments for the hyphenates, who are married. The deal with Akil Prods. is highly unusual for BET. It’s another sign that the Viacom-owned net is serious about expanding its scripted programming slate.  ”This is a very important deal for us. It reflects our belief in (the Akils) as storytellers and creators and our commitment to the world of scripted TV in general,” said Loretha Jones, prexy of original programming for BET Networks. “Mara and Salim are going to play a very important role in our strategic planning for this channel going forward.”  ”Game” has led the charge into scripted comedy for BET this year. The sitcom delivered a boffo opening of 9 million viewers for BET in its January bow, which came more than a year after the show was canceled by the CW. “Game” was renewed for another 22 episodes that will roll out early next year.

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(Huffington Post) — In an unprecedented move, BET has resurrected the popular and formerly canceled sitcom, The Game, and debuts its fourth season. Creator and executive producer Mara Brock Akil, and husband Salim Akil, who also directs and writes for the show owe it all to the fans.  ”We’re extremely excited… Mara always says how our other partner is the fans,” states Akil. He also pointed out that the black community’s been criticized for not using their voice to affect change in the media and states, “This time, they did.” When it comes to the responsibility of BET to provide programming that viewers are asking for Akil adds, “They have.”

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