BET upfront: Pumping up original programming

BET’s ‘Being Mary Jane’

Coming off a first quarter in which it saw huge year-to-year declines in viewers 18-49, BET is hoping more original programming will reverse the drops.

At its upfront presentation on Wednesday, the African American-focused cable network laid out its programming plans for the coming year, which include more original scripted programming than reality programming, somewhat of a rarity among Viacom networks these days.

The network hopes to end its trend of declining ratings. During the first quarter BET averaged 234,000 18-49s in primetime, down 29 percent from 328,000 in first quarter 2015.

Here’s a look at BET’s development plans.

Scripted

BET has five new scripted series on tap for the coming year, including “Tales,” an innovative project that takes classic hip-hop songs and turns them into hour-long three-act narratives.

Other scripted projects include: “The Yard,” a drama set in the world of Historically Black Colleges and Universities; “Benched,” a dramedy about a man reluctant to give up bachelor life for his new judge position; “Rebel,” a police drama focusing on officers of color; and “Comedy Get Down,” a scripted comedy starring comedians George Lopez, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and Charlie Murphy.

Reality

The network also has four new reality shows in the works, such as “Music Moguls,” a documentary series looking at the likes of Snoop Dogg, Jermaine Dupri and hop-hop producers Birdman and Dame Dash.

Other reality projects include “Gary Owen Family,” following the man the network calls “arguably Black America’s most beloved non-Black comic;” “Joyful Noise,” an hour-long series focusing on gospel music; and “One Shot,” a reality competition for freestyle rappers.

Movies

BET will roll out two new movies this year: “New Edition: The Movie,” about the 1980s boy band, and “Madiba,” the story of Nelson Mandela.

Returning

The cable network’s new content is in addition to a slew of returning series and specials, including “Being Mary Jane,” “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” “Black Girls Rock,” and the BET Awards and BET Hip-Hop Awards.

Digital

Like other networks, BET is putting a focus on its digital efforts, with a revamped website and BET Now App rolling out on April 27. It has also partnered with Snapchat to create Live Stories for big events such as the BET Awards.

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