Image Credit: BETThe tumultuous road that has led to a seemingly sunny future for BET’s saved-from-the-grave sitcom, The Game, has been full of lessons for star and former Sister, Sister actress Tia Mowry Hardrict. The biggest of all? The overwhelming value of a second chance in Hollywood.
“Blessed,” Mowry said when describing her feelings about coming back for a 13-episode season almost two years after being canceled by the CW — something the actress said she could see coming.
“Production costs were getting cut. We weren’t getting any advertisement, no media attention. I had prepared myself,” she said of the weeks leading up to the show’s axing in 2009. “We never felt like we were in the can. We were always extremely stressed. We felt like we could never be extremely creative. We never felt like the network got us.”
Flash forward to present day. Mowry had kept busy in the time between the show’s untimely cancellation and its eventual pick-up by BET by mostly working alongside her sister Tamera on movie projects and filming Tia and Tamera Take Two for the Style Network. But now she’s celebrating the 7.7 million viewers who tuned into the show’s season premiere, enjoying being with the cast once again (Mowry says they are “very close” after having “gone through a lot with each other”), and is pregnant with her first child. (In fact, she points out you can expect to see her in many “cute, flowy clothes” toward the end of The Game‘s current season because she was 2 months pregnant at the time they filmed.)
“Having a second chance makes you want to work even harder,” she said. “That second chance, makes you feel confident, at peace, and feel loved. They see something in [the show] — potential.”
Read more:
‘The Game’ season premiere on BET draws 7.7 million viewers
Good to hear. Love the Mowry family, and it’s always good when there’s happiness coming out of the Hollywood neighborhood.
How is it that the Disney Channel actors grow up so fast?
she wasn’t on the disney channel she was on the WB…the disney channel aired Sister Sister in reruns.
You’re forgetting the Disney Channel original movies like “Twitches.”
Thanks EW for showing The Game some love.
I don’t watch the show but I remember when it was on the CW.During its 3rd season the show didn’t get any promotion at all like GOSSIP GIRL did.
Kinda like how Supernatural, NIKITA, One Tree Hill and 90210 don’t get any promotion. I swear all CW execs need to take marketing 101 all over agian cuz they lose more shows than they gain.
And the promos they do show are horrible. 90210 is good but you wouldn’t know it from the commercials.
Tia Mowry was not a Disney Channel star – at the time Sister, Sister was on there she had been done with that show for years. But it’s great that they got a second chance I always loved Tia & Tamera and it’s nice to see them both being successful whether it’s in projects they do together or separately. I wish her the best on her pregnancy
Even though I don’t watch The Game I’m glad to see EW taking some interest in the show instead of the usual suspects they usually cover.
Agree. Granted, I like Glee and Grey’s, but EW is about all entertainment.
I used to loved Sister, Sister, glad to see them grown up and happy
I love the show and Tia as an actress. Happy that BET picked it up!
She looks beautifully fake in that pic. I wonder what happened to her brother.
Chris….her brother is grown and plays her bro in The Game, he was in one episode. I too am glad the Game came back and BET picked it up, because they know how to advertise for their shows, and Sid i agree with you about the CW’s lack of advertising for certain shows! OTH is Great! but it hardly gets promoted in advertisements, actually the only show that really gets promoted is Gossip Girl! I see Vamp Diaries ads but i’ve seen more ads for Gossip Girl than any other CW show!
GREAT NEWS. I must admit I didn`t really watch the show when it was on CW, but since all the promotion of the return I watched. So happy for its return and wish it continued success!
Tia seems nice and very humble; I’m happy she and her sister avoided the troubles that seem to follow so many other child stars. And I believe that it wasn’t that the CW didn’t get the show…they didn’t want to get it. They were too busy promoting crap like “One Tree Hill”. They’re still on my crap list for cancelling “Veronica Mars,” too.
@Nikki.
One Tree Hill isn’t crap. It’s actually one of the CW’s most successful shows that gets no promotion or attention like The Vampire Diaries and GOSSIP GIRL.
In my opinion that’s why the show lasted this long.
One Tree Hill is crap. Longevity does not equal quality.
Omg thank GOD all those sexy ppl r back!
Congrats to Tia mowry and her husband. Saw her on talk shows with the cast and she is so supportiive of her husband. I have one wish for her character- mel/derwin need to start a family of their own since Tia is pregnant. EW if ratings are still up after tonites episode , get more coverage on this show than those Jersey shore rejects. They get so much pub and look and sound ridiculous.
I lke tia and tamera but tia is a cute little girl and she is a fashion to she rock