To very little surprise, the CW has cancelled one of its few remaining sitcoms, The Game. Is this the end for the series or could it still return?
Created by Mara Brock Akil, The Game began as a spin-off of Akil’s long-running comedy, Girlfriends. The series centers around a first year medical student (Tia Mowry) who chooses to follow her pro-football boyfriend (Pooch Hall) to San Diego. Others in the cast include Brittany Daniel, Coby Bell, Hosea Chanchez and Wendy Raquel Robinson.
The first sitcom to debut on the CW network, The Game averaged 2.3 million viewers in season one. For season two, the ratings dropped to 2.07 million and a .96 rating in the 18-49 demographic. This season, it’s fallen to an average of 1.68 million viewers and a tiny 0.7 rating in the demo, in part because it was given a Friday night timeslot.
The CW is essentially getting out of the sitcom business and has cancelled The Game after 64 episodes. There had been talks about changing the show’s format to an hour-long dramady, to make it more compatible with the network’s other programming. That was seen as a long-shot at best and actually would have created its own set of challenges for syndication.
Though The Game only has 64 episodes, BET recently signed a syndication deal to air the first two seasons and season three will be added this Fall. To increase the show’s number of episodes, there have been discussions between the cable channel and CBS (the show’s studio) about co-funding original episodes. The deal would likely come with some cost-cutting measures.
There’s been no further word on the potential deal with BET so, as of right now, “The Wedding Episode” is the series’ last.
If The Game isn’t rescued from cancellation, are you satisfied with the way the sitcom ended — with Melanie and Derwin finally getting married?
Image courtesy CW.
i am trying to posts comments on ever forum i find to bring The Game back! i cant take it
Since the last season ended I have been waiting for the new season to start. Once the first show came on for the new season I was in my glory. I have been looking for the next show ever since. Today I decide to go on the internet to find out what was going on with the show and I find out that it was cancelled. I am so upset!!!!!!! I was looking forward to this new season and you just take it off the air no questions asked. I just dont understand!!! Please reconsider and put the show back… Read more »
I really liked the show and will continue to watch it, if BET picks it up!
I really liked the show, along with “Lincoln Heights” on the Family Channel. Can someone please tell me why they always take good African-American show and throw in a baby mama or baby daddy, and ruin the core relationship. Contrary to popular belief, all Black people don’t have out-of-wedlock children!
I would like to see episode 4 of “The Game”. this sitcom was very relating to certain life situations. I really enjoyed watching the first three even though I didn’t get to see all of the 3rd episodes. If it is possible please bring it back.
my sisters and i loved the game we would sometimes watch it together all five of us would pile over one or the others house and watch it please Bet pick it up.
I love this show. I cannot bare to not know what happened btwn Kelly and Jason see how Mel handles being step-mom to Darwin and Janay’s baby. Please give us at the very least one more season. But under one condition you can’t change the essence of the show when shows start to cutting back actors leave and characters end up looking different and writers change and the show starts sounding different.
I love this show. I don’t know why the ratings droped I don’t understand that system anyway. My husband even watched this with me. I’m not going to sit here and say i’s because it was a black show or any over bad comments. I going to ask each of you get tell one friend not to watch any CW shows. We have individual voices and if we make that into one voice saying the same thing we have the power to chance the face of TV. So let’s join together and everyone turn off CW until they BRING BACK… Read more »
I love The Game and I believe that the reason’s for the ratings and viewer dropped so drastically was due to the facts that there was no real advertisment and the day it aired was switched to a Friday. Friday and Saturday are days where people go out they dont sit at home in front of the television. I was very upset with how the show ended and believe and if a station decided to pick it up then and made those minor improvements with the advertising and air days then it would be a great success!!!
The CW started off with some good shows now they just went to crap keeping shows on there that dont have no back round to them and the episodes just dont make since. Dont get me wrong i love smallville but they have just ran out of people to kill and issues to address when a show like the game had some more fight in it like they said where are all the african american shows
Hello! My name is Tamara & i’ve been with my high school sweetheart Durwin for almost a decade. It will be our 10 yr. anniversary Oct. 26. When we were in high school he was the star on the football team, he graduated top 10 of class 1999 and got a deal to play football with MSU. I was focusing on Fashion Merchandising and had plans to attend FIT. I graduated with a 3.8 GPA from high school in 2002. To make a long story short..Durwin was my football star hubby and i was his business fashion wife. When this… Read more »
With all of the comments and fans that you see for “The Game” BET” should not think twice about picking it up. The game is a great show, I got hooked last year on it and can’t get enough of it. There are so many ways to take season 4, 5, even 6 please pick this back up!!! BET needs to be “The Games” new home. Get rid of some of this other crap that no one watches and put a show on there that people actually watch. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BRING THE GAME BACK
Please renew the show. It was very entertaining, real, and fresh. The whole concept of the show was more unique than any of the shows that have recently been on tv. This show is one that both men and women from all different backgrounds could relate to. That is something that you rarely find in todays program lineup. Please, please, please don’t let many of the dedicated viewers down. Put the show back on..
ITS SEEMS LIKE EVERTIME AN AFRICAN AMERICAN SHOW DO GOOD THEY SAY THAT THEIR RATINGS WERE POOR OR THAT THEIR ISNT ENOUGH AFRICAN AMERICAN SHOWS ON TELEVISON AS IT IS AND ALL THEY DECIDED TO LEAVE WAS THE NEST TOP MODEL TO ME SHE IS A WHITE PERSON IN A BLACK PERSON BODY WERE IS THE RESPECT FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN VIEWERS EVERIME A SHOW GET GOOD THEY TAKE IT OFF FROM SOUL FOOD , GIRLFRIENDS, AND NOW THE GAME THEY ALL HAVE BEEN REPLACE WITH OTHER SHOWS THAT DONT REALLY FACTOR IN THE SOCIETY OF BOTH RACIST AT LEAST… Read more »
I fell in love with “The Game” since the very first episode and can’t seem to get enough. The relationships in the sitcom are so predominantly common among our demographic that to me, we ARE apart of the game. Season three ‘ended’ on a great note with the marriage of Melanie and Darwin, but my mouth waters for more? Will Jason and Kelly get back together? Will Malik grow up? lol There are so many questions and I simply cannot get enough!!!
Come back guys, We Love You!