The 6th season of BET’s The Game is scheduled to kick off on March 26th and the pre-season tension is heating up on Twitter between two of our favorite starters, Hosea Chanchez (Malik Wright) and Pooch Hall (Derwin ‘Ding Dong’ Davis).
Hard-core fans of The Game dating back to its CW days know that the roster is always changing. But nothing caused a shake-up quite like the news that Hall and Tia Mowry Hardrict, who played Melanie “Med School” Barnett-Davis, were being benched for good.
As previously reported by NewsOne, BET announced in May 2012 that Hall would not be returning to the hit series. He made it clear he really didn’t want to leave, but that there was a scheduling conflict with his new Showtime series, Ray Donovan. Hardrict made her exit to allegedly focus on her Style series, Tia and Tamara, with twin sister, Tamera Mowry-Housley.
Keeping the party going, it was announced that Lauren London would be joining the cast as “Kiera Whitaker,” a former child star working on a Cosby-esque television show. And rookie actor Jay Ellis was tapped to make his debut as #1 draft pick, “Bryce ‘Blue’ Westbrook,” a running back from an Ivy League school and London’s love interest.
Then the emotional roller coaster ride really began.
Speaking to 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club” on the rumors spreading on social media that he would be returning, Hall said his return all hinged on BET:
“I can’t say what’s going on with BET, but Pooch Hall is ready,” he said. “I’m just going to tell the fans [to] have faith. It’s being worked out. I want to come back and don’t be surprised if I do come back.”
Skip to 5:30 to hear Hall speak on The Game situation below:
Then came the announcement that he was, indeed, returning to Saber Country:
Well, while Derwin fans were still poppin’ bottles like they had just won the Super Bowl, Hall’s tweets began to get a little worrisome. And once the promos began airing with no sign of Hall it became clear that he would not be returning after all.
To quote one of my favorite bloggers, Luvvie: *wall slide*
As time marches on, and Hall’s fans continue to cry all over his Twitter timeline, trashing BET and dragging white, baby Jesus for not answering prayers, the gorgeous actor has not been shy about retweeting criticism. Clearly enjoying the harsh push-back the network is receiving for their decision, Hall has repeatedly said that he was ready, willing and able to return but, apparently, BET wasn’t able to make that happen.
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Though he’s arguably thrown a few side jabs their way, Hall has sincerely — and often — expressed his appreciation to the network for reviving The Game after fans petitioned to bring it back when it was cancelled by the CW. But Chanchez has apparently had enough and what he had to say about the contentious situation couldn’t be contained in 140 characters or less.
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In rare Twitter appearances March 13 and 14, Chanchez basically told Hall that he was spreading negativity, he shouldn’t bite the hand that fed him and that if he had truly moved on he wouldn’t have so much to say about the situation. Read his full statement below:
Well, tell us how you really feel Hosea.
See Hosea Chanchez and Pooch Hall — who are not related but often mistaken for brothers — discuss Mother’s Day, friendship, and being “brothers from another mother” below:
Hall, clearly not willing to let Chanchez’s statement just linger in the Twittersphere, but also not wanting to get into a bitter back and forth with his former cast/teammate, jumped on a perfect opportunity provided by two fans to reiterate his position:
Tuesday, March 26 10P/9C, of course, being the scheduled debut of season 6 of The Game.
As for responding to Chanchez, Hall — in the subtweet to end all subtweets — let him and everyone else know that he sees him but couldn’t care less about anything that he has to say:
Oh, you “heard,” huh, Pooch? Well played, sir.
When Saber Country returns on March 26, most disgruntled fans will probably tune in to see what The Game is like without its two central characters, but as the campaign reminds us, “Players come and go, but the game goes on.” I know I’ll be tuned in — missing Derwin and Melanie, of course, but anxious to catch up with Jason Pitts (Coby Bell), Tasha Mack (Wendy Raquel Robinson), Malik and the rest of the Sabers.
At the end of the day, these are two uber-talented brothers who are both going to go far and have longevity in the industry. Here’s to hoping they can get it off their chests with no bad blood between them and keep it moving — hopefully as friends.
Take a look below at ‘The Game‘s championship starting line-up — Hall, Chanchez and Bell — in better times:
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