Hosea Chanchez was in town recently. The star of the CW sitcom "The Game" presented an award at the annual Negro Leagues Hall of Fame banquet. Tonight, his show airs its final fresh episode before going into repeats. (As with all shows, there could be new episodes if the writers' strike resolves this week, as some are suggesting it will.)
"The Game" consistently ranks among the most-watched shows among African Americans, and if that surprises you, then you haven't been paying attention. Mara Brock Akil, the Kansas Citian who created the show, also created its tag-team partner "Girlfriends," which spent a couple of years as the No. 1 TV show among black audiences.
It's safe to say that some weeks, a fake show about football is seen in more African American homes than the real games. Why is that? For Chanchez, who plays a ridiculously self-assured QB named Malik, "The Game" is a women's show that has some guy appeal — and that is likely to be a bigger draw than a guy show with limited woman appeal.
"Everything is told from a women's point-of-view; that's what makes it special," said Chanchez, who was raised in the South by his mother and grandparents. This past Christmas, he was able to bring his mother out to L.A. for the holidays — the first time they've been able to do that since he was 20. "All we did was sit home. I got a new camera, one of these paparazzi types, big, dope. We went to the park and for three hours just had a photo shoot. Real special." Aw.
