Being Mary Jane

Let me start by saying that I hate that they keep casting Gabrielle Union in these cliché weak woman roles. She's a much better actress then that and to keep putting her in things where she's always having to be the beta and crushed by the far dumber male counterparts is just wrong! That is the main problem with this show, it could have been an amazing show if everyone acted like they weren't 13 and didn't make the kind of mistakes you expect to see in high school. Instead you have a show that was essentially made with teenage drama in mind for grown adults in their 30's-40s and it simply doesn't work. I've seen these actors in all kinds of different settings and they are really good so to see them in a show this poorly written is just soul crushing. 6/10 only because despite the writers attempts to make this mindless dribble good actors are still good actors.

The best compliment I could give this show is the soundtrack. I found myself singing along and bobbing my head throughout the premier. Other than that, the show falls flat. This is a pity considering it is exciting to see the diversification of lead characters on television, whichever form that may come. The script is flat and uneventful. The plot development is slow and uninspiring. The acting is shockingly flat considering how much overacting is happening on the show.

I completely agree with one of the previous reviewers in saying that, if this was on any other network and not BET, it would have been cancelled after the pilot. This frustrates me because if we want to improve diversity on main stream television, we need to make sure we raise our expectations and standards. I wanted to like it because it increases the visibility of black females, but I cannot praise mediocrity. 4 Stars for the soundtrack and Gabrielle Union.

Just finished this show. While it wasn't the greatest show I have ever seen it was a pretty solid drama with a flawed, complex lead character. I can see that the main character is polarizing, not everyone will like her but I thought she was good character wise and Gabrielle Union gave a good performance as the titular lead. I would recommend this show just be prepared to deal with a main character who you might get annoyed with.

I just happened to notice the end of the movie today and to see that it was followed by a series I had never heard of. Probably because I am NOT a black woman and don't often watch BET. I didn't watch any of the movie because it was at the end but I watched every episode all the way through. I DVRd it and I am so glad. I was curious and after the first episode, I was hooked.

I know there's a lot of history I missed because it was in the pilot/movie and hope it comes on again soon so I could learn more about David and MJ's history.

I really liked this show - I have always liked Gabrielle Union and I think I liked her best in this. The cast is really good, all the way through, and I like that there is a lot of her family in the show. Considering they're all different ages, it makes it more interesting. It's nice to see a well-to-do black family who really loves each other.

I wasn't looking for it to teach me anything and since I am NOT black, there may be nuances that I missed. I see that there are people who don't like the aspect of her affair with Andre, but the bottom line is, neither did she, and she did her best to make it right.

Can't wait for season two - just hope it's not on against Scandal. :)

I watched the show to the end of season four but it did not stop being insufferable. I can appreciate that it shows mistakes and day to day realities that don't always have happy endings but this pushes the envelope. The only normalcy featured are her parents. Nicey is draining and just seems to be a glutton of punishment and Mary Jane continuously fumbles the ball when she could actually get the happiness she claims to want. And the way she was gung ho to knock her "idol" Ronda off air but kept rolling over and getting kicked out of her own office to beat the pavement for a story all because Justin told her so was embarrassing.