The Game Returns Jan. 10 On BET With Season 5; Home Improvement Is Back On TV Land Schedule And In Primetime

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

The Game Returns Jan. 10 On BET With Season 5; Home Improvement Is Back On TV Land Schedule And In Primetime

The stakes are raised on BET, as Grammy Award-Winning R&B star Brandy Norwood is added to the cast of The Game and acclaimed actress Kyla Pratt joins sophomore multi-camera comedy Let's Stay Together. After record-breaking premieres last season, garnering a combined 12.1 million viewers, BET's top-rated scripted series The Game and Let's Stay Together are set to return with 22 half-hour episodes, beginning Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 10 p.m. Boasting all-star casts, both shows up the ante with more laughs and more drama.

As the #1 sitcom debut in the history of all cable TV, season four of The Game left viewers on the edge of their seats. The seduction continues as infidelity, ambition, secrets and betrayal collide to make season five the most compelling yet. Picking up where it left off, Melanie (Tia Mowry Hardrict) contends with Derwin's (Pooch Hall) abortion accusation; Malik (Hosea Chanchez) and Tasha (Wendy Raquel Robinson) struggle to wrangle an intoxicated Jenna (Tika Sumpter); and Kelly (Brittany Daniel) is still off in the world trying to find herself, leaving Jason (Coby Bell) forced to come to terms with his feelings towards Black women. The new season also ushers in a new love interest for Jason, who is sure to shake things up!
In addition to music star Brandy joining the cast, and long-time favorites Melanie, Derwin, Tasha, Malik, and Jason, season five also welcomes the return of the prodigal sports manager Irv Smiff (PJ Byrne); the mother of Derwin's son, Janay (Gabrielle Dennis); Malik's former girlfriend, Jenna; as well as Malik's former assistant turned entrepreneur, Tee Tee and his famous Wing Truck (Barry T. Floyd). The momentum continues with a number of exciting new guest appearances, including Shawn Marion, Estelle, Selita Ebanks, DeRay Davis, Nene Leakes, Rockmond Dunbar, and the Emmy-award winning Loretta Devine among others.

The sexy combination of Tuesday night football followed by a little romance continues as the second season of Let's Stay Together premieres immediately after The Game. The first episode will answer the big question of what happened at Stacy (Nadine Ellis) and Charles' (Bert Belasco) wedding from the cliffhanger in last season's finale, and why he left her standing at the altar. Additionally, Tasha (Joyful Drake) and Jamal (RonReaco Lee) will have their marriage tested by former relationships and other temptations while Charles and Stacy continue to explore the ups and downs of making coupledom work.
In season two, life becomes even more complex when Kita (Erica Hubbard) is inspired to go on a reality show a la Survivor and asks her cousin Crystal (Kyla Pratt) to house sit in her absence. Let's Stay Together will explore what it means to be married, date, start and grow a business, establish a new career, and even go to college in modern day Atlanta.

For video sneak peeks and first looks of the new season of both comedies, visit their official pages respectively at BET.com/TheGame and BET.com/Letsstaytogether. Viewers can also find series updates on Facebook by liking the fan pages at http://www.facebook.com/thegameBET and http://www.facebook.com/LetsStayTogether. Also, join the conversation about the shows on Twitter by using hashtags: #thegameBET and #letsstay2gether; follow the shows for all updates & special surprises @thegameBET & @letsstay2gether. For more information about these series visit www.BET.com.
And if you haven't seen it already, read our DVD review of The Game Season 4, which is out on DVD today! Order it!

As of yesterday, TV Land made a last minute schedule change and added Home Improvement back to its line-up. The sitcom will air two episodes every weeknight from approx. 8-9pm ET/PT (fine, 7:56pm-9pm). The Taylor family will replace an hour of Roseanne, but that sitcom will still air in the late night every weeknight and also on weekends. No other schedule change was made, but we will be giving you TV Land's January 2012 schedule very soon and they have acquired a new series to air. We will reveal that to you soon, so stay with us!

Tune in tomorrow night for ABC Holiday Laugh On Wednesday!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, March 30

Young Sheldon - "A Stolen Truck and Going on the Lam" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Missy steals her dad’s truck and hits the road with her friend Paige (Mckenna Grace).

Ghosts - "Alberta's Descendant" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alberta is thrilled when a living relative, Alicia (Ashley D. Kelley), visits Woodstone to learn more about her, but things take a turn when she hits it off with Todd (Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll), Sam’s podcast co-host. Also, Nigel uses his knowledge of Trevor and Hetty’s secret tryst to try to blackmail Hetty.

Animal Control - "Peacocks and Pumas" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank and Victoria stake out a squawking peacock; Emily and Patel attend to Shred.

Call Me Kat - "Call Me Not Okurrr" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In the heat of the moment, Zoey kisses Kat at karaoke night; when Randi discovers a secret hideaway in the condo, she hides it from Carter and makes it a place for her to unwind.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 27)

Thursday, March 30

Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) - Catch Brett on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Fred Armisen (Los Espookys/Forever/Final Space) - Fred sits-in with the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra and Kevin Bacon are guests on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. Kyra will also be on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your local listings) and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John guest hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Animal Practice/Better with You/Reba) and Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - JoAnna and Morris guest co-host The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Katie Lowes (How We Roll) - Katie guest co-hosts LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Ike Barinholtz (History of the World, Part II/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project) - Ike appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Julie Bowen (Modern Family/Ed) - Julie is a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Man will be on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
Larenz Tate (South Central/The Royal Family) - Larenz appears on The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.