Being Mary Jane is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union, that debuted January 7, 2014 on BET. The 90-minute-pilot for the series aired on July 2, 2013. The series followed the professional and personal life of successful TV news anchor Mary Jane Paul, who lived in Atlanta, Georgia and New York City. The series officially ended on April 23, 2019. Being Mary Jane has received positive reviews from critics. The series premiere drew more than 4 million viewers, debuting as BET's highest rated show. On January 6, 2016, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on January 10, 2017. It was announced on October 11, 2017 that the series would conclude. A two-hour film finale was planned to air in 2018, but never came to fruition. On December 7, 2018, BET announced that the film finale date has been pushed back to air on April 16, 2019. On April 1, 2019, it was announced that the film finale date was pushed back a week later to April 23, 2019.
Production
The show was originally to be called Single Black Female. The series centers on successful broadcast journalist Mary Jane Paul and her professional and private family life while searching for "Mr. Right":
Mary Jane Paul has it all: she's a successful TV news anchor, entirely self-sufficient – an all-around powerhouse who remains devoted to a family that doesn’t share her motivation. As Mary Jane juggles her life, her work and her commitment to her family, we find out how far she's willing to go to find the puzzle pieces that she, and society, insist are missing from her life as a single Black female.
The series was created and produced by Mara Brock Akil, who also created and produced the hit sitcoms Girlfriends and The Game. The pilot episode was filmed in April 2012 at 780 N. Highland Ave. in the Virginia Highland neighborhood of Atlanta. After the third season, creator Mara Brock Akil left the series and Erica Shelton Kodish was hired as the show's new showrunner for the fourth season. Kodish had previously worked as a writer and producer on shows like , Cold Case and The Good Wife. Speaking about her approach to taking over the show to Buzzfeed, Kodish stated that she wasn't afraid to shake things up. “I was anxious about how viewers were going to react to change in general — any kind of change. But I felt like it really had to happen”.
Series overview
Cast and characters
Gabrielle Union as Pauletta Patterson: a successful TV news anchor for Satellite News Channel who remains devoted to a family that does not share her motivation as she juggles her life, her relationships, her work, and commitments. In season four, Mary Jane leaves Atlanta after getting fired from SNC and moves to New York City to work at Great Day USA as a national news correspondent. She eventually works her way up to get back on the anchor chair.
Lisa Vidal as Kara Lynch: the executive producer of Talk Back at SNC and Mary Jane's best friend.
Margaret Avery as Helen Patterson: Mary Jane's overprotective mother, who is battling lupus.
In 2016, Gabrielle Union sued BET for allegedly depriving her of agreed upon compensation.
International Broadcast
The series is broadcast by Netflix in the United States.
Accolades
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season earned an approval rating of 80% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the pilot a score of 78 out of 100 based on 4 critics reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The second and third seasons received critical acclaim, specifically praising Gabrielle Union's leading performance, Mara Brock Akil's writing, and directing work by Regina King.
