"The Game" to Change from Sitcom to Dramedy?

[Brian Damage]

"The Game": an hourlong dramedy?

With the CW expected to complete its exit from the half-hour comedy genre at the end of this season, the creator/executive producer of one of the network's two remaining comedies, "The Game," is mulling turning it into an hourlong series. Mara Brock Akil is expected to pitch the idea to the CW brass this week.

A show switching genres is extremely rare. (In 1999, Fox launched the short-lived "Ally," a half-hour version of David E. Kelley's hit hourlong dramedy "Ally McBeal.") However, for "Game," such a transformation would actually make sense creatively. As a hybrid multi/single-camera series with no live audience, "Game" has a single-camera feel and already plays like a half-hour dramedy as it mixes comedy with drama more than a traditional sitcom does.

Still, keeping the three-year-old "Game" on for another season is considered a long shot. Once a promising newcomer airing behind "Girlfriends," the series that spun it off, "Game," as well as CW's comedy "Everybody Hates Chris," have been relegated to the low-rated Friday night, where "Game" has averaged 1.9 million viewers and a 0.8 rating in adults 18-34 this season.

Additionally, an hourlong "Game" wouldn't necessarily mesh well with CW's other dramas, which are skewing younger and far less urban, and a format switch after three seasons also would complicate a potential syndication run of the show.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...2e4319150d9ecf

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

"The Game": an hourlong dramedy?

With the CW expected to complete its exit from the half-hour comedy genre at the end of this season, the creator/executive producer of one of the network's two remaining comedies, "The Game," is mulling turning it into an hourlong series. Mara Brock Akil is expected to pitch the idea to the CW brass this week.

A show switching genres is extremely rare. (In 1999, Fox launched the short-lived "Ally," a half-hour version of David E. Kelley's hit hourlong dramedy "Ally McBeal.") However, for "Game," such a transformation would actually make sense creatively. As a hybrid multi/single-camera series with no live audience, "Game" has a single-camera feel and already plays like a half-hour dramedy as it mixes comedy with drama more than a traditional sitcom does.

Still, keeping the three-year-old "Game" on for another season is considered a long shot. Once a promising newcomer airing behind "Girlfriends," the series that spun it off, "Game," as well as CW's comedy "Everybody Hates Chris," have been relegated to the low-rated Friday night, where "Game" has averaged 1.9 million viewers and a 0.8 rating in adults 18-34 this season.

Additionally, an hourlong "Game" wouldn't necessarily mesh well with CW's other dramas, which are skewing younger and far less urban, and a format switch after three seasons also would complicate a potential syndication run of the show.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...2e4319150d9ecf

I found out today by a accident that it was a spinoff from Girlfriends. It's no way a sitcom can turn into a dramedy and still maintain a fanbase. GAME OVER-lol

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by TVandSportsGuy

I found out today by a accident that it was a spinoff from Girlfriends. It's no way a sitcom can turn into a dramedy and still maintain a fanbase. GAME OVER-lol

I hope not. If the show is canceled along with "Roomates", then both the twins will be out of jobs.

Peronally, I thought the show was already a dramedy. I don't think that production should make this switch. Keep it the way it is.