Brock Akil's timeless message of self-love and affirmation threaded throughout Girlfriends' eight seasons helped build the show's devout audience—a following that never ceased voicing their love of the show and even now still holds out hope for an eventual movie to address the cliffhanger of a series finale. Earlier this year, Brock Akil inked a premium blind script deal with Fox Entertainment. Her series creator credits also include popular BET drama Being Mary Jane starring Gabrielle Union. I put it out in the universe, and I believe the right partner will grab it or they won't. And then I came back and realized, 'Oh, shit, what did I just sell?' The streaming service announced Wednesday that Mara Brock Akil will create scripted and other original content in a multiyear agreement. According to multiple sources, Mara and her husband Salim are STILL together and plan on spending the holidays together as a family. Girlfriends producer Mara Brock Akil's life got turned upside down last week. "If you think about that at the time, she's such a fun character. Mara Brock Akil said of some post-’90s romances in an interview the pair did with Winfrey. Mara Brock Akil just wants Black people to feel seen. And although I still really enjoyed the show, I didn't see that as a rejection, I saw it as an opportunity. In a statement, the Northwestern University alum said her excitement about the new partnership has to do with Netflix giving her the creative space to churn out stories about people who’ve been underexposed on the small screen. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. It was the first show created by Akil that was picked up by a network, and it became a hit in Black households, running from 2000-2008. ", As for Brock Akil's leading ladies, "[Joan, Maya, Toni, and Lynn] were Black on purpose," she says. I was raised to want and have the best for myself, and then I want that for my people—so what I'm going to give my people is the space to be human, and that's the best we can do for each other. This is the first post that Mara Brock Akil has posted since their OWN series “Love IS____” was canceled. Even though Brock Akil sold the concept of the series with a tried-and-true storyline—a.k.a. ", Street Style Straight from Paris Fashion Week, Radha Blank on Her Lockdown Breakout Film, Paris Fashion Week Spring 2021’s Best Looks, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. "I plucked one of my characters from my failed pilot that I loved in that first pitch meeting. The success of Black sitcoms such as Moesha and The Jamie Foxx Show (both of which had Brock Akil in their writers' rooms), and later The Parkers, had networks hungry for entertainment that could bring in reliable Black viewership. “Girlfriends” and “Being Mary Jane” creator Mara Brock Akil is bringing her writing and producing talents to Netflix after signing a new deal with the ever-growing streaming company. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. Back then, Brock Akil was confident that her show concept was needed, and if anything, it paved the way for a generation of in-control Black women to come.