Everybody Hates ChrisWhile there's been much scuttlebutt in the blogosphere about the fate of 'The Game,' no decisions have been made.

A rep for CBS Paramount, producers of the popular sitcom airing on the CW network about San Diego-based professional football players and the women who love them, assures us that definitive announcements won't be made about next season's programming lineup until May 21. That's when the network will host its UpFront advertising presentations at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

Meanwhile, the buzz is reaching a groundswell.
On the ubiquitous social networking Web site Facebook, an outpouring of support has surfaced via a petition to save the show from having the plug pulled. Anecdotes, remarks and comments from close to 8,000 have been posted:
"The Game better stay on the air... or... or... or I'll petition to have the CW removed from my cable provider," a comment posted from someone in Alabama joked. Another from someone in Houston pleaded: "Keep The Game on!! Y'all have already taken Girlfriends! I mean jeez louise!! Can we have at least ONE show?!"

Last week, cast members from the show filmed a public service announcement-styled video clip and posted it on YouTube, asking the public to reach out to the network via a grassroots "Change the Game" campaign. (See video below.)

"We're actually trying to get 1 million hits on CWTV.com," the show's star, Tia Mowry, explained. "The show has not been canceled," she mandated, shortly before other co-stars -- Pooch Hall, Hosea Chanchez, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Britney Daniel and Coby Bell -- further appealed to the public to save the show. "The goal is to get one million hits on the Web site by April 15 to help us be on for a few more seasons."

In the midst of all the activity surrounding the Mara Brock Akil-created show, news broke last week that she had designs to revamp the show from a half-hour sitcom to a one-hour dramedy.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the CW is expected to complete its exit from the half-hour comedy genre at the end of this season. Shows such as 'Gossip Girl,' '90210' and the top-rated 'America's Next Top Model' are an hour long and faring well with the network's much coveted mainstream female teenage demographic. These heavily marketed shows are a far cry from urban fare such as 'Girlfriends,' 'Everybody Hates Chris,' 'The Parkers' and 'Moesha,' which helped build the network (a merging of the former UPN and the WB networks).

Brock Akil, who also created and produced the long-running 'Girlfriends,' is expected to pitch the idea to CW brass about a revamped version of 'The Game.' While a show switching genres seems extremely rare, it may not be a bad idea since it mixes comedy with drama more than a traditional sitcom.

"Still, keeping the 3-year-old 'Game' on for another season is considered a long Gossipshot," noted Hollywood Reporter writer Nellie Andreeva, pointing out that the show has "been relegated to the low-rated Friday night [and] averaged 1.9 million viewers and a 0.8 rating in adults 18-34 this season." It sure is a departure from its promising start. In the fall of 2007, the show ranked as the number one television series among African American viewers, according to USA Today.

Andreeva also said that an hour-long version may not necessarily mesh well with the network's other dramas, which "are skewing younger and far less urban."

A format switch after three seasons could also complicate a potential syndication run of the show, already running in rerun form on BET.

Yet, it still is worth a try.

"It certainly feels good knowing the fans are trying to do their part by getting a million hits on the CW Web site before I go in to meet, so that I not only go in with a new idea but I go in with a lot of fan support," Brock Akil explained.