BET Bulks Up Scripted Programming & Music Offerings

NEW YORK: Continuing its focus on original content, BET has added a new sitcom to its roster, Reed Between the Lines, along with a host of other scripted fare, in addition to fresh music programming.

Reed Between the Lines stars Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The series, slated for a Q4 premiere, centers on a contemporary blended African American family. BET is also set for another season of The Game and a second run of Let’s Stay Together.

The network has lined up new scripted web originals, with Lenox Avenue, a drama about three male 20-somethings who are navigating love and relationships, and The Come Up, following the lives of seven teens who are pursuing their dreams. These are in addition to its first-ever sci-fi thriller digital series, Odessa, about a man and his young daughter who have psychokinetic abilities, and Asylum, which follows a team of doctors working in a hospital for the criminally insane. The shows will air across all BET digital platforms—BET.com, BET Mobile and BET On Demand.

BET is also introducing the music docu-series The Message, a four-parter about the music, culture and message of hip-hop. Returning hits for the network include Black Girls Rock!, Sunday Best and the BET Awards.

For Centric, returning hits include The Hot 10 Countdown, Soul Train Awards, As Written and Inside.

"This is the year that our audience, advertisers and partners have been waiting for. The incredible success of 2010 and 1Q’11 have truly put BET Networks in a brand-new game and affirms our strategy to continue offering compelling content on air, online and in market," said Debra L. Lee, the chairman and CEO at BET Networks. "Our insights from African-Americans Revealed and our brand strategy served as a blueprint for our 2011 programming mix for BET and Centric."