BET Follows Up Record Year with New Launches

NEW YORK: Coming off its best year ever, BET has lined up a host of fresh programming, including original movies and new web series.

Former CNN anchor T.J. Holmes heads to BET’s late night lineup with Don’t Sleep!, which takes on social issues and current events. The network is also planning two scripted series: Second Generation Wayans, starring Craig Wayans, Damien Dante Wayans and George O. Gore II, and the sketch comedy House Husbands, starring Kevin Hart, Nelly, Bobby Brown and Nick Cannon. The Mathis Project is a new crime investigation show, featuring Judge Greg Mathis.

BET has a slotted the BET Premiere Cinema offering, which will feature exclusive movie content never before seen on television. The lineup includes Being Mary Jane, starring Gabrielle Union; Gun Hill, a cop drama; The Mindless Behavior Project, featuring the teen singing group Mindless Behavior; and the Sundance favorites Luv, starring Common, and the drama Middle of Nowhere.

For Centric, the new series Apollo Live comes from executive producers Jamie Foxx, Marcus King and Don Weiner. Centric’s the Soul Train Experience will serve as an expanded platform of programming during Soul Train Weekends that includes the 2012 Soul Train Awards, the Centric Comedy Showcase and the Centric Music Concert.

"We’ve had an incredible year and in 2012 will continue our reign as the number one media brand among African Americans and a top cable network among all viewers," said Debra L. Lee, the chairman and CEO of BET Networks. "We have a diverse roster of new programming that respects our audience and reflects their lives."

"We continue to be the number one network targeting and reaching African Americans because we understand the incredible power of our audience," added Louis Carr, the president of advertising sales at BET Networks. "Our precise understanding of the African American consumer allows us to program with the needs and wants of Black America and to provide unique partnership opportunities across every platform and channel."