Nelly is coming to BET. The St. Louis rapper will be joining the network’s lineup of original programming with his own reality show. The series is one of three shows coming to the network in the upcoming months. The other two will feature R&B singer Keyshia Cole and gospel stars David and Tamela Mann.
Nelly’s series doesn’t have a title yet, but will focus on the rapper’s career as a recording artist, as well as his role as co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, and his experiences as a father to his children and the children of his late sister. Just to add to the intrigue a bit, his current girlfriend Shantel Jackson, (aka Floyd Mayweather’s ex), will also be appearing on the show.
“The Manns” will feature the married couple’s experiences as parents of adult children and their lives alongside other famous friends. David and Tamela are executive producing the show.
This marks Keyshia Cole’s third BET reality show; following “Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is” and “Keyshia & Daniel: Family First.” It is expected that this particular series will focus on the difficulties she’s faced in a strained marriage to NBA player Daniel Gibson.
BET has been losing the reality TV battle to VH1 for years, and while it doesn’t seem like any of these shows will be a monster hit; it at least shows that the network is making an attempt to get into the game. Additionally, it should be encouraging to critics of the most prominent network in black popular culture that none of these shows seem to have the stigma and sleaziness of popular “Bad Girl” reality shows like “Basketball Wives” or “Love & Hip-Hop.”
Each one of the expected reality shows seems to care more about domesticity than cattiness and drama. But it’s too early to say for sure.
