'The Game' Over Before It Was to Begin Again? The CW Will Not Move Forward With Mara Brock Akil's Beloved Sitcom

Looks like The Game has been called off; at least for the time being.

Fans who have been anticipating the reboot of Mara Brock Akil’s popular sitcom The Game will have to wait much longer because according to Deadline, the CW network—on which the original show aired—has decided not to move forward with the one-hour series in its current form.

Instead, the network reportedly wanted Brock Akil and her original series co-creator Devon Greggory to redevelop the show, which she allegedly declined. As previously reported in December, the new series, written by both Brock Akil and Greggory, was expected to bring back some of the original cast to “help a bunch of knuckle-head new-schoolers navigate the ruthless game of football on and off the field.”

Created by Brock Akil and Greggory, The Game followed a young woman who decided to put her career on hold to support the success of her rising star football player boyfriend.

It starred Sister, Sister actress Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall, Hosea Chanchez, Coby Bell, Brittany Daniel and Wendy Raquel Robinson (of The Steve Harvey Show fame).

It would have been the second revival of The Game, which was originally a spinoff of Brock Akil’s groundbreaking UPN/The CW comedy series Girlfriends.

The series ran on The CW between 2006 and 2009 and then aired on BET from 2011 to 2015 and starred Brandy, Lauren London and Jay Ellis.

Last month, Fox Entertainment announced that the Being Mary Jane creator signed a premium blind script deal with the corporation.

“Mara is a truly gifted writer, with a strong point of view. From Girlfriends to The Game to Being Mary Jane, she’s a proven hitmaker with the unique ability to write both comedy and drama,” said Michael Thorn, President of Entertainment, Fox Entertainment.

“Since the formation of Fox Entertainment, we’ve said we want to be in business with the best and the brightest, and no one exemplifies that more than Mara Brock Akil.”

The Los Angeles native has successfully executive-produced Black Lightning since 2018.

Later that year, Brock Akil was embroiled in controversy when her husband and creative partner Salim Akil was sued for breach of contract by Amber Dixon Brenner, who claimed to have had a near-decadelong “physically and sexually abusive relationship” with the Black Lightning director and producer.