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BET Announces New TV Shows and Movies at 2012 Upfronts

Gabrielle Union stars in Being Mary Jane, plus House Husbands becomes a series.

On Thursday, April 11, 2012, BET Networks unveiled its programming lineup for the new TV season at its upfront presentation at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. The network’s new scripted and original series and TV movies feature Gabrielle Union, Kevin Hart, Marlon Wayans, Larenz Tate and more. Here’s an inside look at some of the new shows and films:

 

•House Husbands: Starring Kevin Hart

The extremely popular and hilarious House Husbands sketch, which starred Nelly, Bobby Brown, Anthony Anderson and Nick Cannon and aired during the 2011 BET Awards, has graduated to a primetime semi-scripted series. Starring Hart, House Husbands will continue to humorously question what it means to be a real Hollywood Husband. The official lineup of the series "regular" hubbies have yet to be announced.

 

Second Generation Wayans: Starring Craig Wayans, Damien Dante Wayans

A cross between Entourage and How to Make It In America, this scripted comedy takes a funny look at the next generation of Wayans trying to make it in Hollywood. Viewers will view the good, funny and ugly as a trio of Wayans nephews attempt a shot at stardom outside of the shadow of their famous uncles. The series is executive produced by Marlon Wayans.

 

Other shows include: Don’t Sleep with T.J. Holmes, a talk show in the vein of Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and Bill Maher. Using a variety of humorous correspondents, T.J. Holmes explores all the day’s hot-button issues from an African-American perspective...The Mathis Project is a powerful docu-series that spotlights and hopes to solve unsolved cold case homicides in African-American communities. The series stars Judge Greg Mathis (Judge Mathis).

 

Under the banner of BET Premiere Cinema, the network will debut new TV movies, some originally produced for the network and others making their worldwide television premiere after award-winning journeys on the film festival circuit. They include:

 

Being Mary Jane: Starring Gabrielle Union

Brought to you by the producers of Sparkle, Jumping the Broom and The Game comes a new fresh take on the state of the single Black professional female. Union stars as Mary Jane Paul, a self-sufficient TV anchor trying to navigate work, love and family as she attempts to fill in the missing pieces of her life. Also stars Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick and Richard Roundtree. Being Mary Jane will also be developed as the network’s first one-hour drama.

 

Gun Hill: Starring Larenz Tate

This high-energy cop drama explores the life of opposite identical twins Traine, a cop, and Bird, a con (both portrayed by Tate in a dual role), whose lives get turned around when Traine is killed and Bird assumes his identity to avenge his death. Set in New York City, Gun Hill is written and directed by Reggie Bythewood (New York Undercover) and also stars Emayatzy E. Corinealdi and Phyllis Yvonne Stickney.

 

Fresh from Sundance 2012, two movies will make their worldwide premiere on BET. The first is the critically acclaimed LUV, a dramatic thriller about a young boy who dreams of a better life, then discovers his uncle has both a prison and criminal past. The film stars Common, Danny Glover and Dennis Haysbert...Written and directed by Ava DuVernay, the Sundance award-winning Middle of Nowhere is an emotional drama that chronicles a woman’s life and how it’s drastically altered by her husband’s incarceration. Middle of Nowhere stars Omari Hardwick and Emayatzy E. Corinealdi.

 

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(Photo: Underwood/PictureGroup)

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