I put Being Mary Jane in my queue because I love Gabrielle Union as a human being and want to start supporting her work. The majority of the series was available to stream on Netflix (excluding the pilot and single episode fifth season, which is available on Amazon Prime). Also it is a television series filled with black people, and it did not hurt that the podcast, Therapy for Black Girls, frequently referenced the series’ storylines so I got interested. When Netflix warned customers that it would pull the series in a month, it felt a little daunting to suddenly be under the gun to watch fifty-two episodes in one month because I am not young anymore. I have a day job and other obligations. I managed to do it with a day to spare thanks to the global pandemic.
Being Mary Jane is about a television journalist who must balance the demands of her personal and professional life to achieve success and find happiness. The majority of the series is set in Atlanta, which explains her opulent lifestyle while working for a struggling cable news company. The series originally aired on BET. The first two seasons were mostly devoted to her messy relationships. The third and fourth seasons struck a healthier balance between the personal and professional with the latter dominating. The fifth season is negligible.
I enjoyed Being Mary Jane, but it is multitasking television series, not the kind of television show that you give your complete attention to otherwise I would have gotten too aggravated with some of the storylines, especially in the first and second season. The titular character makes some horrifying choices in those initial two seasons, and it was not the kind of train wreck that I enjoy watching. All the characters were more unlikeable and strident when they were initially introduced, but by the third season, the drama moved from the bedroom to office politics, which I can relate to more. I hope that the series is completely unrealistic when it comes to romantic relationships, because if it is not, I just wanted to shake most of the characters and demand that they treat themselves better. Two names: David and Andre. Once they were written off the show, I was happy, no disrespect to the actors who played those characters. Even though I despised the romantic storylines in the first and second season, I actually enjoyed the fourth season’s exploits even though the protagonist’s actions were still morally questionable, there was enough ambiguity that a viewer could still enjoy watching it instead of waiting for the inevitable disaster.
In the first two seasons there was a realistic, but strong respectability politics vibe in the way that the characters lectured each other about their life choices or monologued about issues, especially in the way that characters admonished each other. I did not feel the genuine love between the friends, family or lovers. It was like a nightmare where no one really enjoyed being with each other, but they were stuck together and angrily lashing out. I did not see it for Lisa fairly early on so while I appreciated the more substantive story lines that her character introduced to the series, I hated the character and wanted Mary Jane to fire her as a friend because I never trusted her. Also in the second season, it was kind of amazing that anyone kept Mary Jane as a friend. She killed a goldfish. The solidarity among the women characters was sorely lacking, and the men were depicted as more reasonable.
By the third season of Being Mary Jane, I could start to see the warmth among the family members, friends and coworkers. The drama stemmed from life or originated from outside of her trusted circle, not personal dynamics with existing loved ones, which moved the drama to a safer source that did not ruin rooting for certain characters. It was great to see Mary Jane more invested in her career and working in a united front with her producer, Kara, who was played by Lisa Vidal, whom I loved in ER and The Event. I have no idea why the story initially made it seem as if they were frenemies considering their history even going so far as to make Kara seem disinterested or opposed to her friend, but by the third season, the series seemed to recognize that their friendship and complementary struggles as women of color in the television world were the heart of the series. It was a relief. The single episode final season felt rushed, which is to be expected when you try to wrap up multiple characters’ story lines in ninety minutes, but it was forgivable. The character growth for both women was a joy to witness. It almost makes me want to urge you to skip two seasons and start with the third.
On a shallower note, Being Mary Jane is filled with pretty people wearing pretty clothes in pretty places, and by the fourth season, we kind of move into complete fantasy territory akin to a rom com with stylists, fame and fortune, which makes it fun to watch and live vicariously through the protagonist. It is hard to resist the charm of watching a hard working black woman achieve success and all the perks that come with it, especially since it is grounded in her realistic fear that she has less of a margin for error and is always concerned that she could lose it all based on one bad PR day. There is this constant undercurrent of financial anxiety and job insecurity for Mary Jane and Kara that their families’ needs outweigh their financial stability. Generational wealth is nonexistent or precariously perched on the cliff of generational need.
I actually enjoyed the office politics in Being Mary Jane, and by the fourth season, it becomes Game of Anchor Chair or Executive Producer. The news room scenes are always infused with intersectional context and reflects the socioeconomic political time of the airing. There are a lot of well known, real life figures playing themselves during these scenes to inject realism into the newsroom storylines. So the series never offers escapism. You get some veggies with your dessert.
Overall I enjoyed Being Mary Jane as an entertaining diversion. I’m generally happy with the character arcs and the overall trajectory of the story. I am really surprised that I am happy with the men that won Mary Jane and Kara’s respective hearts. It easily felt as if the series had more story lines that it could have explored, and I have no idea why it ended so abruptly, but I suppose that it is better to end on a happy note than wait for them to slip into earlier self-destructive practices and ruin everything as they did in the first season so I will take it.