'The Game' Star Hosea Chanchez Details What to Expect From Rebooted Series (Exclusive)

The Game is back. The once-popular series originally airing on The CW and BET has finally been rebooted on Paramount+, and it's already got fans excited. With The Game returning nearly six years since going off the air, audiences are wondering what they can expect from the series that has a new look and feel. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Hosea Chanchez who stars in Paramount+ reboot, The Game as Malik Wright. Revealing what the show will entail while on the streaming service, Chanchez teases it's just the beginning of good things to come.

"We call it familiar, but fresh around here," Chanchez, who is also a producer of The Game, told PopCulture. "You're going to see some new players and some new really interesting, really talented cast members in this world, and that's the thing about it is, I want everybody to embrace the newness because the truth is the world has to expand, and it has to grow in some ways."

Chanchez praised the people behind the scenes for keeping some of the old cast members and continuing the story that ended in 2015. "We could have [done] the show with the game and just did it all-new characters; people do it all the time," he said. "But I think the consideration for, I know the consideration for the fans from [Mara Brock Akil] and [Devon Greggory] are part of the reason why we've been able to shepherd the show in this way, and in this direction is just because, it's in a way, a love letter for everybody who supported this show over the years and also to the world of the NFL, like to our players. This is our way to say thank you for what they're doing by creating a space in the art world that represents their lives and their struggle."

Relocating from San Diego to Sin City, The Game returns to Paramount+ with a blend of new players and some of the original cast to offer a modern-day examination of Black culture, continually changing and evolving through the prism of pro football. Chanchez's character, Malik, is a "three-time champion and future Hall of Famer; Malik is ready to retire and focus on building the next step in his career, to hopefully become a franchise owner." Chanchez is back with Wendy Raquel Robinson, who plays Malik's mother and agent, Tasha Mack. The 42-year-old actor said he's happy to be working with Robinson again because of what she brings to the table.

"I'm probably one of the luckiest men in this business, in my opinion, because Wendy is just a brilliant artist. She is absolutely just one of the most talented people I've ever been on set with, and she elevates everybody she's in the scene with. You can't half step in the scene with Wendy Raquel Robinson." New episodes of The Game will be available every Thursday on Paramount+.