Pooch Hall has opened up about The Game coming back yet again, this time to Paramount+ on Nov. 11.
Subscribe to Shadow and Act’s Opening Act.
In an interview with Atlanta Black Star, Hall talked about how his character Derwin’s relationship with Melanie will continue without Tia Mowry-Hardrict, who didn’t sign on to return.
“First and foremost, I want to shout Tia as being one of the hardest-working women in show business,” he said. “It’s too bad that we can’t continue where we left off. We were compared to so many different couples like Joanie and Chachi, Martin and Gina, and Rachel and Ross. We are in those conversations.”
“The fact that she’s not there does stink, but she has not stopped working since leaving The Game,” he said. “I know the fans were looking forward to having her and I back together. But…the show must go on.”
Hall said that he and Mowry were “looking forward to continuing our journey to get to that happy place, first, because everybody was rooting for us,” he said, referencing Mowry’s 2015 return to the BET version of the series to show that Melanie and Derwin had twins.
“That’s their prerogative, and they felt that was the best direction for the show,” Hall continued. “And then eventually, all the fans were making enough noise. T [Mowry] and I were brought back to where we could kind of close up our chapter, in a sense. But…still it wasn’t fulfilling, according to the fans.”
Mowry confirmed in August she wouldn’t return to the series this year, despite both she and her sister Tamera Mowry trying to get a reboot of The Game and Sister, Sister to return, as Shadow and Act reported.
The new reboot will star Hall along with Wendy Raquel Robinson and Hosea Chanchez. Other original cast members will make appearances throughout the series. The series will also bring on two new cast members, Tim Daily and Toby Sanderman. The series’ original producing team, Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, will executive produce with Devon Greggory as the showrunner.
The series will bring current issues into the world of The Game. According to the official description:
“The new series will relocate from San Diego to Las Vegas and will see new players offer a modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football. The team will tackle racism, sexism, classism and more as they fight for fame, fortune, respect and love—all while trying to maintain their souls as they each play The Game.”
