Girlfriends Update

As we gear up for the new season of Girlfriends, here's an interview with Mara Brock Akil from Jawn Murray at AOL Black Voices. Sexy Richard T. Jones will not be back. I guess if we thought Aaron was scare last season, he'll literally be a ghost this time around since Jones has signed on to a new FOX show for the Fall. Also, Mara keeps the door open for Jill Marie Jones to reprise her fan favorite role as Toni.

For more, read on...

Girlfriends' is not set to return for its eighth (and presumably final) season until Monday, Oct. 1, but folks are already asking if co-star Jill Marie Jones (who played Toni Childs) will return to the series. The show's executive producer Mara Brock Akil told me during our candid phone interview that if Jones was interested in returning, the show would be willing to have her back. However, she's also confident that 'Girlfriends' will have another impressive season with or without the actress.

"I know that a lot of the audience really missed Toni in the show. I completely understand it and I think I've mentioned it a few times in different articles that it was a disappointment to me as well. But you have to move on. This is part of the business side of things that sometimes affect the creative," Brock explained. "This is just one of the things that's out of my control. I don't have the control to make an actress come back to work."

Though Brock was tight-lipped about the forthcoming storyline for this fall, she did share that the season will have a theme. "I'm kind of theme-ing this season "Joy and Pain." I think everybody is familiar with that wonderful song by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. I think that's life. One minute it's pure joy and there are going to be some painful moments, but the beautiful thing is that all of these friends have each other. It's about support and helping each other through things, which has been the journey of the show forever and it continues to be taken up another level," she disclosed.

The 37-year-old Los Angeles-bred executive also shared that actor Richard T. Jones, who played Tracee Ellis Ross' love interest, Aaron, last season, has been cast in another series (Fox's 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles') and will not be able to return this fall. "We're faced with another challenge because the Richard T. Jones has a new show. What am I going to do with that? We're gonna work with that in a beautiful way. I'm excited about it to go on the journey yet again with Joan," Brock revealed.

Does that mean that Ross' character Joan will be dumped again?

Playing coy, Brock responded: "Who's to say I'm getting rid of [the] Richard T. Jones [character]? Don't underestimate me!"

Hmmmm. Okay!

While ratings for 'Girlfriends' were at an all-time high last season-one of the main reasons the show is now one of the longest running African-American sitcoms on television-Brock is aware that fans had mixed feelings about season seven's storyline.

"Exiting one of your main characters from your show can be a very difficult task and I was very proud of the way we handled that. Part of the success or the allure of the show is that we really did tackle life in a very funny way and sometimes we'll go for the dramatic. With what we had, I was very proud of it. I know sometimes that's difficult for the audience because a lot of times they don't have the inside knowledge; they just have to deal with it. We get to process it a little bit longer and we have the opportunity to be a part of the transition, whereas the audience just has to accept the transition. I understand that, but that's where we disagree. I thought it was a fantastic seventh season! I was very proud of the build that we had to a wonderful finale and that's been the nature of 'Girlfriends' for seven years, and hopefully eight, that we keep rising to the challenges and the obstacles," she said.

I guess we'll just have to tune in this fall and see how Brock continues to evolve the lives of Joan, Maya (Golden Brooks), Lynn (Persia White), William (Reggie Hayes), Darnell (Khalil Kain) and Monica (Keesha Sharp) even with 'Girlfriends' newest obstacles.

Catching Up...

Breaking News Alert:
For those inquiring minds (like myself) who've been wondering when the TV adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's profilic play A Raisin in the Sun will finally air, I have an answer. Tune in to ABC at 8pm on February 25, 2008 (the night after the Oscars) for the premiere.

This is long over due. The film, starring the cast of the Broadway revival (which I was lucky enough to see), including Sanaa Lathan, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Phylicia Rashad, was actually filmed last November.

Audra McDonald, John Stamos, and Sean Patrick Thomas round out the cast of this three-hour movie event.

Mark your calendars!

And in an unprecedented turn of events, I'm willing to give Tyler Perry's House of Payne a second chance.

I don't know if it was because I was in need of a good laugh after a stressful day at work or what, but I thoroughly enjoyed the two episodes last night. Dare I say it, but was that a smile I saw finally crack Allen Payne's face? (Perhaps his Botox injections have worn off!) My favorite scene was the firehouse dating game, and Allen displayed more personality in that one sequence than in the entirety of the previous half-dozen or so episodes I've seen. That right there is a definite cause for celebration.

The actors seem more relaxed and comfortable with their characters and with one other. My only (small) complaint was that the topics were a bit heavy-handed last night -- and AIDS episode, followed by one on colon cancer. Every TV show in history has had at least one of these "very special episodes" but seeing two back-to-back was a bit much. But, I think they handled the topics with grace and honesty.

Well, HOP seems well on it's way. Has anyone else been keeping up with it over the past few weeks? Notice any changes -- for good or bad?

Finally, we must bow down to the fabulosity that is Kimora Lee Simmons on her new reality show Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, on the Style Network.



I have always admired Kimora's confidence and drive and now we get an inside look into the secrets of her success. She's not only the CEO of the multi-million dollar Baby Phat fashion empire but a mother to two adorable little mini-me's—Ming Lee and Aoki Lee.

Two episodes into the series (which airs Sundays at 8pm), we’ve seen Kimora (and entourage) shuttle from coast-to-coast several times, plan and shoot her Fall campaign, score a coveted magazine cover, and attend the biggest party of the year – Vanity Fair’s annual post-Oscar bash. It’s not always an easy road to travel – when her photo shoot goes over budget, she tears her marketing director a new one, yet maintains her professional commitment. And even when she’s 4 hours late, as she was to her Source cover shoot, or has to make a last minute dress change for the Oscar party, she’s the epitome of cool under fire. But the best part, for me at least, is to watch Kimora interact with her kids, who obviously love and adore her. Returning home from a late-night photo shoot, she takes the time to read love letters her daughters wrote to her in her absence and eat the cupcakes they so creatively made. She’s an example to women that while it can be a challenge to juggle all the balls on our plate, the rewards are certainly sweet.

Tune in next week as she travels to the Cannes Film Festival and interviews for a new assistant. Watch out Donald Trump, because Kimora makes you seem tame in comparison.