The Game creator Mara Brock Akil tells ABC Radio why the show, which is centered around a fictional San Diego football team, is finally ending for good after its ninth season, and why they let fans know way in advance.
“We always talked, and very candidly so, that…we can’t do the same thing on BET. You can’t just snatch it off the air and say, ‘That’s it people!’ I don’t think that would work,” she says. “I know what everybody wants but there’s a business side to things — there’s contracts, there’s money. And not everything can align and so you have to make artistic decisions, based on business decisions.”
“For a show to make it to 147 episodes, that’s a lot,” Akil adds.
Akil says that compared to her other hit TV show, Girlfriends, which ended without a proper finale, fans will be happy to watch a series finale.
“It’s a blessing to be able to say goodbye. You create shows knowing that they’re not gonna last forever. It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye, but compared to my experience on Girlfriends, to know that you’re going to end it so you can enjoy the rest of [it],” she explains, adding, “and sometimes you’re gonna cry through the process.”
Although there were some tears when the cast wrapped filming the series, Akil tells ABC Radio that after each cast member did their last scene, they got a champagne toast. “We took the time to honor each other and say thank you, and remember the moment.”
Akil wouldn’t spill on what happens when The Game hangs up its cleats. But one question she did answer was will beloved characters Melanie and Derwin, played by Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Pooch Hall, respectively, return? Fans and cast members alike were outraged when the two were written out of the series in 2013.
“For the record, I personally have wanted it to happen and so has Tia and Pooch…and so has BET. But it doesn’t always work out,” she explains. “And that’s the part of the business that nobody likes. But yeah, they’re family. They’re Melanie and Derwin.”
Akil also shared that P.J. Byrne, who portrays the cut throat yet zany football agent Irv, will return along with Rick Fox. Fox’s return could mean that Tasha Mack, played by Wendy Raquel Robinson, may finally find love with one of her exes in the end.
The season eight finale of The Game airs on BET Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
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