BET Revives Classic Show

By Allison Schonter

School is back in session at BET after the network announced it revived the nostalgic reality series College Hill. The network confirmed Monday it has officially given an eight-episode first season order to College Hill: Celebrity Edition. A revival of the original series, which ran from 2004 until 2009 and followed the lives of students at historically Black colleges, the revival will see celebrities enrolling.

In the reimagined version, a roster of celebrities will live together and head back to class, joining Texas Southern University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), as students. Per the official synopsis, each celebrity will work towards completing a specialty certificate program to walk across the graduation stage. The list of celebrities being enrolled includes Nene Leakes, Ray J, Lamar Odom, Big Freedia, Stacey Dash, DreamDoll, India Love, and Slim Thug.

According to Tracey Edmonds, CEO, and President of Edmonds Entertainment and the original creator and Executive Producer of College Hill, the celebrity edition will "provide a fun but sometimes challenging journey that will show viewers it's never too late to go back to school." Edmonds added that they are "so elated to partner with Texas Southern University and be able to bring back this cherished franchise with an exciting new twist that I am sure will entertain and inspire new and old fans across the board." Meanwhile, President of Texas Southern University, Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young, said the enrolling celebrities will be "immersed in TSU history, academics and student life against the background of our beautiful, urban campus."

"We're excited College Hill will be returning with a new celebrity edition of the franchise that will bring more awareness to the significance of HBCUs, which has a rich legacy and continued tradition of bolstering excellence through education for some of the brightest minds in the Black community," Tiffany Lea Williams, Executive Vice President of BET Unscripted Programming, said in a statement obtained by Deadline. "Furthermore, we couldn't be more thrilled about filming on the campus of the illustrious Texas Southern University. We're proud to be a part of this personal journey as the cast proves to themselves and the world that they're up to the challenge of enriching their lives through education."

College Hill: Celebrity Edition is executive produced by Edmonds, Sean Rankine and Mark Seliga for This Way Out Media, and Tiffany Lea Williams for BET. The eight-episode revival is set to premiere sometime this summer, though an exact premiere date hasn't yet been announced. Fans can rewatch the original series on BET+, where it is available for streaming.

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