The Game may be the best comedy you’re not watching. Thankfully, BET has brought it back for a fourth season so you have a second chance to catch this funny, snappy and even touching series about football players and their significant others. Probably the most outspoken character on the show is quarterback Malik Wright. The actor behind hotheaded Malik, Hosea Chanchez, sat down with me Tuesday to talk about what’s ahead for him and the rest of the San Diego Sabers.
First things first – how does it feel to be coming back?
It feels like a second chance. It’s a great, great, great thing. We’re all so blessed. The reruns really took off. The reruns actually helped – they were the number-one show on BET last year. They rerun us more than any show I’ve ever seen. It just never really went away. There were rumors from day one.
If it were up to you, what would you like to see happen in the fourth season?
I’d like to see just a really big change. I don’t want to go back into the same world. It's been more than a year since we were cancelled, so obviously it's not the same world.
Malik has said and done some pretty outrageous things in the last three seasons. Have you ever had any times where you’ve wanted to slap him upside the head?
Yeah. When I was talking back to my mom in a couple of scenes. Nobody likes to talk back to their mother, so when I did it, I was all, “You are really an asshole.” It comes from a place of immaturity.
With Coby Bell now a recurring cast member and his Jason having been seen as the team captain, are we going to see Malik take even more of a leadership role on the team?
I didn’t know that. You're good at your job. I’m going to call you the next time I need something.
As a fan, are you pulling for Jason and Kelly (Brittany Daniel) to get back together?
No. I don't like happy endings on TV. I like having Stacey Dash around!
How is Malik’s relationship with mom Tasha (Wendy Raquel Robinson, pictured with Chanchez above) going to develop? We saw her back with Rick Fox at the end of the third season and Malik will probably have something to say about that.
I don’t know, because Rick Fox is on Dancing With the Stars, so I don’t know how that’s going to play out.
Speaking of relationships, he’s never really been able to hold down a relationship outside of his fake marriage to Robin Givens. Is that going to change in the fourth season?
I hope so. I really do hope so. I really would like to explore a really committed relationship and see how he handles it. A serious one, because the thing with Robin, there was really no real reason for him to be as connected as he was.
Is it different being on a show where there are so many people playing themselves? Does it blur the lines between the show and the real world a bit?
It’s not really weird. The nature of this type of show, set in the football world, it’s a lot of celebrities and athletes and entertainers, it’s an accessible world to them. It keeps it authentic in that way. I’d love to get Halle Berry. I probably would die after I did a scene with her.
Are you a big football fan yourself? Have you ever played at all?
No. I like football, but I’m not crazy about it.
Any other projects coming up for you?
Right now, it’s just the show. I’m focused mainly on this and getting back to work. I have my foundation keeping me busy, and that’s called Watch Me Win, and you can find out more at watchmewin.org.
I'd be remiss if I didn't ask, what do you watch on TV?
Mad Men, Breaking Bad, House, Entourage, Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
My thanks to Hosea Chanchez for an inside look at The Game, which begins airing its fourth season on BET in January 2011. You can find full coverage of the show right here starting in January.
