BET Revives VH1's 'Single Ladies'
Single Ladies has earned a last-minute reprieve from TV Death Row.
VH1 announced the cancellation of the soapy primetime drama in February after three seasons, but BET has has rescued the series for its Centric network. A fourth season of the show will air on the music/entertainment-themed BET spinoff channel.
The deal was made through producer Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere's Flavor Unit Entertainment, an agreement that deepens the relationship between Flavor Unit and Centric, as the network will be airing repeats of Latifah's successful syndicated daytime talk show as part of its late-night schedule.
"We are thrilled to be working once again with Flavor Unit Entertainment and Queen Latifah. She does it all and we are happy to have her join us as a creative force as we continue to grow Centric into a premiere destination for African-American women. We couldn’t be more excited about what's ahead," said BET Networks chairman and CEO Debra L. Lee.
"At more than 10 million strong, and in control of $20 billion in buying power, the African-American woman is an increasingly powerful, yet often overlooked consumer. No other network has embraced her with content designed specifically for her -- until now," added Louis Carr, BET Networks president of broadcast and media sales. “Centric is the first network to deliver the programming that celebrates, inspires and addresses her unique perspective."
The cancellation was a bit of a surprise when it happened, given that the show still pulls in an average of 2.2 million total viewers, matching its season two performance. And, honestly, that really isn't that bad for a show that airs on VH1 at a crummy hour on Monday nights. But I suppose VH1 couldn't justify the expense, relative to the ratings it was drawing. Maybe Centric will be more suited to picking up the tab? But even then, I wonder how many homes actually get Centric. Do you?
Credit: VH1