The second revival series of The Game that was in development at The CW is dead, at least in its current iteration.
Reportedly, The CW decided to not move forward with the project based on the pilot script but was open to redeveloping it with series creator Mara Brock Akil (who wrote the script with American Soul‘s Devon Greggory). Deadline says Akil, who considered the offer, declined to redevelop it “as she and Greggory had executed her vision of what a next chapter of The Game should look like.”
This second revival would have brought things full circle as The Game was one of the series that helped launch The CW network post-UPN and The WB. The original series, a spinoff of Girlfriends, ran from 2006-2009 on The CW. The first revival ran from 2011-2015 on BET.
The goal for the second revival series was to bring back some of the original cast for an hour-long comedy. The original series was a multi-cam sitcom and the first revival was a single-camera, half-hour dramedy. Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall, Hosea Chanchez, Coby Bell, Brittany Daniel and Wendy Raquel Robinson starred in the original series. Brandy, Lauren London and Jay Ellis joined the cast during the first revival. Mowry and Hall only remained for the first two seasons of the first revival.
The description of the second revival: The Game family was coasting to retirement but they heard the call of the fans to make a comeback… and like the record-breaking winners they are, they decided to pick up and move from a half-hour sitcom in San Diego to a one-hour dramedy in Baltimore. This time, our out-of-touch old-timers are determined to help a bunch of knucklehead new-schoolers navigate the ruthless game of football on and off the field. They will clash through the pitfalls of fame, fortune and love. Some will win, others will lose, but that’s what happens when you play The Game.
Salim Akil and Kelsey Grammer would have also executive produced with Brock Akil and Greggory. CBS TV Studios was the studio. Brock Akil is coming off of her multi-year deal at Warner Bros. TV, which produced Black Lightning (which is in its third season) and the short-lived, Love Is ____. She now has a script deal with Fox Entertainment.
READ MORE:
‘The Game’: Second Revival Of Series In Development At The CW From Mara Brock Akil
Why Mara Brock Akil Says She’s Done ‘Begging For Someone To See The Value’ Of A ‘Girlfriends’ Movie
Photo: The CW
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