The Game will always be a show that Tia Mowry is known for. It is her most prominent role outside of her six years starring in Sister,Sister. The show was beloved by fans, and her character was considered the show’s focus. This is why when she left the show after five seasons, it took a hit. Mowry says she quit due to not agreeing with an offer from the show’s executives.
She starred on ‘The Game’ for five seasons
The Game was a spinoff of Girlfriends. Mowry appeared in the show as the cousin of Tracee Ellis Ross’ character, Joan Clayton. The series followed Mowry as Melanie Barnett, a medical student who gives up Johns Hopkins Medical School to follow her football player boyfriend Derwin [Pooch Hall] to San Diego when he’s drafted for the fictional team, The San Diego Sabres. She continues her studies at the local university, but struggles to balance her schooling with life as a committed athlete’s girlfriend and adjusting to his social circle.
It appeared on The CW for three seasons before it was canceled. It was picked up three years later, with Melanie as a stay-at-home wife and stepmother to Derwin’s son. While her life is funded by Derwin’s salary, she finds herself unhappy after sacrificing her career as a doctor. By season 5, she takes a job in D.C. in her field. Derwin is later traded to another team, and their characters are written off.
Tia Mowry says she quit ‘The Game’ after being offered a demoted position
Once The Game was picked up by BET, it went from a half-hour sitcom to an hour-long dramedy. There were also changes in the cast’s involvement.
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While appearing on The Terrell Show, Mowry explained the decision to leave the show was hers after she was offered a lesser role. “The Game was canceled from The CW, so there was a time-lapse. And Pooch, he ended up booking a show, and he was a regular on the show, which made him a recurring [character] on The Game. So they said, ‘Well, you can come back, but only as a recurring.’ And I valued myself. I said, ‘I feel like I’m more than a recurring [character], I am a regular.’ And I said no…it was fun.
The show is now airing a third reboot on Parmount+. Mowry is not involved in the show.
She says ‘The Game’ was the first time fans saw her outside of being a twin and a teen star
Another reason the show is a favorite from Mowry’s catalog is that it was her first role considered to be a detour from her typical girl-next-door persona. Melanie was a bit grittier than fans were used to seeing her as. It was also the first time she was viewed as a separate entity from her sister.
“The experience was interesting, but amazing at the same time. Because, again, it was more about proving myself that I’m no longer this child actor, I’m an individual. I think when you grow up being a twin, you automatically assume, or society put pressure on you to be the same person, so you kind of grow up thinking that is what you’re supposed to be, and who you are. But as we got older, we started to evolve and grow into different people.”
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