BET’s first drama, ‘Being Mary Jane,’ comes up short in premiere

“Being Mary Jane,” BET’s first original scripted drama, scored impressively when its movie-length pilot aired last July, attracting more than 4 million viewers.

But Tuesday’s offical debut of the series fell off considerably from that initial outing.

The launch of “Being Mary Jane” drew 3.3 million viewers in the first of two airings. An encore airing brought it 1.8 million viewers.

“Being Mary Jane” stars Gabrielle Union as a successful TV personality at a cable news station whose personal and family life is somewhat of a mess. The series was created by Mara Brock Akil (“The Game) and directed by her husband, Salim Akil.

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