Being Mary Jane, the new BET show written and directed by husband-and-wife Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil, is the story of Mary Jane Paul (played by Gabrielle Union)- a single young, successful African American television anchor.
Mary Jane quickly grasped the attention of over 4 millions viewers, when the series began Jan. 7. The show was like no other, Mary Jane was a single woman juggling her career and complicated personal life. This story seemed appealing to many women around the world, and quickly topped the chart as one of the best shows out; according to BET News.
The series opened with a disclaimer “forty-two percent of African- American women have never been married… This is one Black woman’s story, [and it’s] not meant to represent all Black women.”
Mary Jane struggles with finding a companion, one of her biggest fears being lonely. Just like most women in the world, she deals with problems that are similar to problems that women in the real world often deal with. Mary Jane is popular because instead of hiding her problems she deals with them. She has a beautiful loving family, a brother who is addicted to cocaine, a teenage relative who is pregnant with a second child, a father who is miserable, and a mother who is sick.
Mary Jane finds herself in a love affair with a married man, Andre (Omari Hardwick), without knowing about his plus-one status. She tries to leave him alone, but this doesn’t stop Andre from continuing to pursue her. She finds herself slowly falling back into his arms after his sudden proposal to her. She’s also another person in her family with an addiction.
With all of the drama of Mary Jane’s personal life, she still finds time to manage her career, she reports the latest news, with her best-friend as her producer. The show is without a doubt a hit sensation, as over millions of fans gather around their televisions every Tuesday night to watch the intriguing show.