Paramount+, the streaming service from ViacomCBS, today announced that its upcoming revival of the groundbreaking series THE GAME will debut on Thursday, Nov. 11. In addition, during Paramount+’s Television Critics Association virtual presentation, the service also announced two new cast members joining the team: Tim Daly (“Madam Secretary“), who will play Colonel Ulysses S. Thatcher, a self-made billionaire, and Toby Sandeman (“Power Book III: Raising Kanan“), who will play Garret Evans, the top football player in the league. Fan favorite Coby Bell (“Walker“) will make a special appearance reprising his role as former footballer Jason Pitts.
Relocating from San Diego to Sin City, THE GAME returns with a mix of new players and original cast to offer a modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football. The team will tackle racism, sexism, classism, and more as they fight for fame, fortune, respect, and love – all while trying to maintain their souls as they each play THE GAME.
THE GAME also stars Wendy Raquel Robinson (“Insecure“) as sports agent Tasha Mack; Hosea Chanchez (“Black Lightning“) as footballer Malik Wright; Adriyan Rae (“Chicago Fire“) as Brittany Pitts, the daughter of Jason and Kelly Pitts; Vaughn Hebron (“Tyler Perry’s The Oval“) as Jamison Fields, an undrafted free agent; and Analisa Velez (“Sneaky Pete“) as Raquel Navarro, Brittany’s best friend. Legacy players Brittany Daniel (“Cheaper by the Dozen“) and Pooch Hall (“Ray Donovan“) will make special appearances, reprising their roles as Kelly Pitts and Derwin Davis, respectively.
Tim Daly most recently starred as Henry McCord in the hit CBS series “Madam Secretary.” Daly appeared on the small screen on critically acclaimed series such as CBS’ remake of “The Fugitive,” ABC’s “Private Practice,” NBC’s “Wings,” and HBO’s “The Sopranos,” for which Daly received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Daly served as executive producer on the Showtime feature “Executive of Justice,” which garnered him a GLAAD Award. He also produced the film “Edge of America,” which opened the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and won the Humanitas Prize and the George Foster Peabody Award. Daly’s first Broadway appearance in “Coastal Disturbances” earned him the Theatre World Award. He also won the Drama Logue award for Best Actor in the Los Angeles Coast Playhouse production of “Colorado Catechism.” Other theater credits include “Downstairs” at the Cherry Lane Theater, “The Cain Mutiny Court Martial” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, “The Exonerated” at the Bleeker Street Theater, and “Oliver, Oliver” at the Manhattan Theatre Club. For the past nine years, Daly has served as president of the Creative Coalition and serves on the board of InsideOUT Writers.
Toby Sandeman can currently be seen in the third installment of Starz’s “Power” franchise, “Raising Kanan.” His recent credits include Dick Wolf’s pilot “NY Undercover,” E!’s “The Royals,” Netflix’s “She’s Gotta Have It,” and OWN’s “Love Is… .” Sandeman has also produced, wrote, directed, and starred in his own short film, “Conversations of Ed-Dick-Shawn,” which was accepted to the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
Coby Bell is currently a series regular on “Walker” for The CW. Previously, he was a series regular on “The Gifted” for FOX and was recurring on SEAL TEAM for CBS. He has also recurred on “Hand of God” and “Mad Dogs” for Amazon. In addition to THE GAME, he was also a series regular on “Burn Notice” and the “Cruel Intentions” pilot for NBC.
THE GAME is executive produced by original show creator Mara Brock Akil, showrunner and writer Devon Greggory (“American Soul“), Salim Akil (“Black Lightning“), and original executive producer Kelsey Grammer (“Girlfriends“) and Tom Russo (“Black-ish“) of Grammnet NH Productions. Kevin Bray (“Insecure“) will direct the first two episodes of the inaugural season. The series is produced by CBS Studios, Akil Productions, and Grammnet NH Productions.
The 10-episode first season of the new series will stream exclusively on Paramount+. All nine seasons of THE GAME, which originally aired on The CW and then BET, are also currently available to binge on Paramount+. The series will be distributed internationally by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group.
