*BET Networks and Tyler Perry Studios will launch BET+ on Thursday, Sept. 19, and the new SVOD platform will feature more than 1,000 hours of premium content, including movies, specials, original programming and the much hyped series “First Wives Club,” which is based on the 1996 comedy starring Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler.
The TV show stars comedian Michelle Buteau, Grammy winner and actress Jill Scott, and “This Is Us” star Ryan Michelle Bathe as the titular wives, with Mark Tallman, RonReaco Lee, and Malik Yoba as the male leads/ex-husbands, per oprahmagcom.
“Picture it. New York, three of the most fabulous women who have had 20-year friendships that have now taken a turn because everybody has these huge careers,” Bathe tells Us Weekly. “One is as an orthopedic surgeon, one a partner in a law firm and the other has an amazing career as a pop diva. She’s married to a hip-hop impresario, and I never have been able to use that phrase in an interview before ever, so kudos to me. Things in that relationship go very, very south, very, very fast. That is the catalyst that brings all of us back together and reminds us that when the three of us are together, we are quite literally unstoppable.”
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Bathe stars as lawyer Ari, and she shared a huge hint about her character’s husband: “She has recently put her career on hold because of her husband’s political ambition. I can’t tell you who, but we have a cameo with an actual political pundit who’s featured pretty prominently in one of the episodes.”
Continuing, “It’s kind of unreal that you get to pay this incredible homage to a movie that I can’t believe hasn’t had 15 sequels, 17 reboots and a ride at Disneyland,” the Missouri native says. She also noted how writer and producer Tracy Oliver found was able to incorporate Easter eggs from the original and maintain the “universal” theme throughout each episode, Us Weekly reports.
“We all have those experiences and it was very easy, I think, for Tracy to update it and make it current,” she says. “And they’re always accessible because all you have to do is mind your own experiences, which Tracy did, I did, Jill did, Michelle did — to make it our own.”
She added, “The chemistry between Michelle and Jill and I … you can’t buy it, you can’t bottle it, you can’t sell it,” Bathe continues. “That’s what I’m most proud of. You know, you can have great writing, great casting, great set and I’m super proud of that as well. But that intangible of us and our chemistry, that’s where the magic happens.”
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The 10-episode series is set to premiere with the launch of the BET+ streaming platform, which will cost $9.99 a month.
Meet the cast of the “First Wives Club” series via the IG post below.
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