Exclusive: The Game On? BET May Save Canceled Series

The BET Network could send The Game into overtime, in a deal that would pluck the canceled CW series from the ashes.

"BET is doing everything it can to acquire the rights to Mara Brock Akil's The Game," a source at the cable network tells TVGuide.com.

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With the entire cast on board for a fourth season, BET and CBS Television Studios are now trying to hammer out a lower, cable-appropriate licensing fee with which new episodes can be produced. "The licensing issues are very complicated," says our source. Earlier this year, BET acquired the rights to run repeats of the Girlfriends spin-off.

A spokesperson for CBS Paramount was unable to comment on the talks.

BET's possible involvement is but the latest "Hail Mary" pass from The Game. As the CW pondered its plans for the 2009-10 TV season, series creator Akil tried repositioning the sitcom as an hour-long dramedy. To that end, Season 3's wedding-themed finale was scripted and filmed differently, to offer the CW a taste of what could be.

If picked up by BET, however, The Game would stick to its half-hour comedy roots.

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According to our source, the idea of BET stepping forward and saving The Game actually came from the show's cast, which includes Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall and Wendy Raquel Robinson.

When The CW announced its lineup for 2009-10, neither Everybody Hates Chris (which was not expected to return) nor The Game, both of which aired on Friday night, made the cut.

Source: TVGuide.com