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It looks like a change really is coming.
Not only in politics – but also on prime-time television.
Or at least, that's wishful thinking.
Mara Brock Akil has been drafted into the big leagues.
The celebrated creator and producer of the recently canceled sitcom 'Girlfriends' and the must-see TV series, 'The Game,' is on board to write the script and executive produce a buddy comedy based on the 2006 book 'Making Friends With Black People,' Variety reported.
About the state of race relations in the U.S., the project is being developed as a sitcom for NBC, and Salim Akil, her husband, is also on board too.'Making Friends' will center on two guys -- one African-American and one white -- who become close friends, but who don't necessarily see things the same way. Nick Adams, a standup comic, wrote the book as a humorous look at how people dance around issues of race. He'll serve as a co-producer on the project.
He hopes the show can capitalize on how the election of Barack Obama as the country's first African-American president has changed the nation's dialogue on race.
"From time to time, race bubbles up in the consciousness of the country and then dissipates," said Adams. "Now, with Obama, people are talking about race a lot more. We hope to capitalize on that and not let the dialogue die down. ... It seemed like a good opportunity to strike while the iron is hot."
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By: Ray on 12/05/2008 9:41AM
I think we need a "White Voices" column now that we have a black president-elect. No more reparations, no more all-black schools, no more quotas. Most blacks refuse to assimilate into an American society and prefer an African-American society.
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By: cree on 12/11/2008 1:43PM
this is exciting.
mara brock akil is an inspiration to me.
although, i didn't like girlfriends until the second season, it was the type of show we needed.
the game has gotten kind of raunchy, but i still support her endeavors.
also, she has kelsey grammar on her side. and who didn't love frasier? nbc certainly did.
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By: sarahs mama on 12/18/2008 9:58AM
i used to watch girlfriends. but never watched the game because of that lawsuit.
shady stuff....... it just seems effed up for the author.
Here's the blurb I found on the CW message boards.
New shows and yes, even a new lawsuit come with the territory of launching a new network.
Author Staci Robinson is suing The CW, its owners and some producers for $40 million for allegedly stealing the concept of her unpublished novel to create the sitcom "The Game," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The writer claims that in 2001, she had interviewed for a job as a writers assistant at Kelsey Grammer's Gramnet Prods. when she gave a manuscript of her novel "Interceptions" to executive producer Mara Brock Akil. The suit, filed Sept. 14, alleges that the series copies her premise and the characters in the book.
She names the CW and its owners, CBS and Warner Bros., Akil and Gramnet as defendants.
Both the written and filmed versions center on a woman who is devoted to an NFL player, but wants to pursue her professional schooling. The show stars Tia Mowry as Melanie Barnett, who gives up Johns Hopkins Medical School in favor of a local school when her boyfriend Derwin Davis (Pooch Hall) is chosen as the new third-string wide receiver for the San Diego Sabers. Soon, however, she gets embroiled in the complicated life of being a player's significant other.
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