iHipHop AdminBET and VH1 announced that they will join forces to produce a one-hour pilot for a drama called “Wifey”, written by Michael Elliott. The pilot will be directed by BET President of Entertainment, Reginald Hudlin (“House Party”).
The show will be centered on a newly widowed wife of a hip-hop mogul who must put her life back together and try to run her late husband’s record label, similar to real life widowed wife, Tomica Wright, who ran Ruthless Records after her husband, Eazy E died of AIDS in 1995. After the “wifey” starts getting in the mix of the business, she realizes that the family’s fortunes were made from lies and crimes that threaten to destroy their music empire. So she and a couple of friends get together to try and make splash in today’s male-centric hip-hop world.
Queen Latifah is on board as executive producer along with Shakim Compere and Dedra Tate for Flavor Unit, Michael Hirschorn and Maggie Malina for VH1, and Hudlin and Byron Phillips for BET.
“I’ve always wanted to do a series like this. My first business was the music business, so doing this show with the networks VH1 and BET about the music industry is exciting for me and my partner Shakim,” Latifah said. “It’s going to be a fun show.”
BET also announced that it has partnered with Verizon Wireless and its V Cast technology to provide content for mobile phones. BET’s V Cast channel, which is now available, will include interviews from 106 & Park, clips from American Gangster, College Hill, Comic View and other content from BET’s music specials and news programs.
"Mobile video distribution is an integral part of our overall digital media strategy as our research clearly indicates that African Americans are both leading consumers of, and have the most enthusiasm for, mobile media," said Debra Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of BET Networks. "I’m very excited about our relationship with Verizon Wireless, as I believe our audience’s unique demand for mobile content, and our network’s content in particular will allow BET to have an outsized impact on mobile media consumption."
