Tia Mowry is not playing in BET’s The Game next season.
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The actress broke the news on Twitter. “Just wanted to let all my fans know that I will not be returning to The Game for season 6. It was an incredible run and I had lots of fun,” she writes.
A source close to the actress tells The Hollywood Reporter that Mowry’s departure was a mutual decision between the actress and the network. No further details are known at this time and a BET rep didn’t immediately respond to THR’s request for comment.
Mowry has played the lead role of Dr. Melanie Barnett Davis on the series since it premiered in 2006 on The CW and aired for three seasons there. After its cancelation, BET picked it up for a fourth season that premiered in 2011 to 7.7 million viewers. Though its fifth season premiere in January only drew 5.3 million viewers, it remains one of the network’s most-watched shows. The network renewed the series for a sixth season in April.
The 33-year-old also stars with her sister, Tamera Mowry-Housley, on the Style Network reality series Tia & Tamera. She also stars on the upcoming ABC Family holiday movie, The Mistle-Tones. Her pregnancy advice book, Oh Baby!, was released on Tuesday.
Update: A day after the former “Sister Sister” star announced she is not returning to the show, co-star Pooch Hall confirmed he will not be returning to the show as well.
“As a result of Pooch’s involvement on a new project, BET is in the process of reworking the casting and storyline of the show,” said a statement released by BET.
The upcoming sixth season is moving forward as scheduled and will continue to feature Wendy Raquel Robinson, Coby Bell, Hosea Chanchez, Brandy Norwood and Barry A. Floyd.
Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com; Twitter: @TheRealJethro
