PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Following BET Networks' successful syndicate acquisition in February 2009 and hearing the tremendous response from fans, the "San Diego Sabers" and their significant others will make a return to television on BET on Tuesday, January 11 at 10:00 p.m.* with the hour-premiere of the 4th season of THE GAME.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )

When the series first premiered, Melanie was a first-year medical school student who gave up an offer of admission to medical school in order to follow her boyfriend Derwin, a first year rookie with a professional football team, to San Diego, against the advice of her parents.  

When Melanie settled into her new life, she met Tasha, the mother of Sabers' starting quarterback Malik, and Kelly the wife of Sabers' captain Jason.  Both of whom immediately warn her to keep a close eye on her boyfriend because of the numerous "gold diggers" who target professional football players.  

The BET premiere of THE GAME picks up where things left off at the end of season three.  Viewers will join the team two years later with Derwin Davis (Pooch Hall) and Melanie Barnett-Davis (Tia Mowry Hardict) as the celebrity "IT" couple; Derwin is now the star he had always dreamed of becoming and Melanie has willingly traded in her residency for the demands of being a superstar's wife.  The ever opinionated and outspoken Tasha Mack (Wendy Raquel Robinson) continues to make her mark in the field of sports management now that she has rebuilt Derwin's career; Kelly Pitts (Brittany Daniel) – the former Mrs. Jason Pitts –tries to finesse her past as a footballer's wife to leverage a lucrative future in reality television.  Meanwhile, former San Diego Sabers' star team captain, Jason Pitts (Coby Bell) has found a new career in sports commentating.  The fun-loving Malik Wright (Hosea Chanchez) continues to be the life of the party, but will he take things too far this time around? Fans can once again join their favorite team in the end zone as season four will surely not disappoint.  

THE GAME is executive produced by Mara Brock Akil, Salim Akil, and Kenny Smith. Salim is the Director of all episodes.

For more information, please visit www.bet.com.  

*All times are ET/PT.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

SOURCE BET Networks