BET to cut ‘Being Mary Jane’ after two-hour movie finale in 2018

Credit: Bobby Metelus

Credit: Bobby Metelus

BET has announced it's closing shop on "Being Mary Jane" starring Gabrielle Union after four seasons with a two-hour finale film in 2018.

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Will MJ finally have it all? #BeingMaryJane returns in 2018 with a 2 hour series finale event

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— #BeingMaryJane (@beingmaryjane)

The show, shot in metro Atlanta, is about an Atlanta-based news anchor with serious relationship and family issues. It began as a movie in 2013 and did well enough for BET to give it a green light as a series. BET has aired 51 episodes, including a super-sized 20-episode season four.

The season four finale aired September 19.

Mara Brock Akil (“The Game”) and her husband Salim Akil created and ran the show for the first three seasons but left for a new deal with Warner Brothers. The season four showrunner, Erica Shelton Kodish, departed for her own deal with CBS. It’s proof that good talent is hard to keep in such a competitive TV landscape.

Will Packer -- best known for films such as “Ride Along” and “Straight Outta Compton” -- joined in as executive producer for season four. He is also an executive producer of BET’s other Atlanta-based scripted drama, “The Quad,” about a fictional historically black college.

“‘Being Mary Jane’ has been a landmark series not only for BET, but for African American women around the world who saw themselves in Mary Jane, her family, friends and coworkers. From the captivating storytelling, to the richly complex characters, to the powerful issues tackled on the series, we remain immensely proud,” said Connie Orlando, executive vice president and head of programming for BET. “We are grateful to the cast and creators of ‘Being Mary Jane,’ who have worked tirelessly to bring this world to vivid life over the past four seasons. We also thank the many loyal viewers whose hearts and minds were captured every week, and kept Mary Jane trending worldwide. We look forward to closing out Mary Jane’s journey with a series finale that is sure to blow fans away.”

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