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Gilbert Flores / Contributor via Getty Images
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Demetrius Flenory Jr., Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Da’Vinchi at the Los Angeles Season 2 premiere of “BMF”
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Key Takeaways:
- Starz has officially canceled 50 Cent’s “BMF” after four seasons.
- Spinoffs are reportedly in development, which will keep the “Black Mafia Family” universe alive.
- The cancellation highlights shifting trends in Black-led crime dramas and 50 Cent’s evolving TV legacy.
“BMF” will not be returning for another season. On Wednesday (Oct. 29), Starz announced that the 50 Cent-produced show has been canceled.
The crime drama, which chronicled the rise and fall of the Black Mafia Family, first premiered in 2021 and followed Demetrius “Big Meech” and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, portrayed by Lil Meech and Da’Vinchi, respectively. According to Variety, there were discussions about “multiple ‘BMF’ spinoffs” before the show was axed, some of which “remain in development.”
50 Cent worked on the series through his G-Unit Film and Television division in partnership with Lionsgate TV. The cast included Laila Pruitt, Russell Hornsby, La La Anthony, Kash Doll, Myles Truitt and Steve Harris, among others. Adding to the star power, rappers like Eminem, Yung Miami, Lil Baby and Saweetie made cameo appearances throughout its four-season run.
The cancellation doesn’t come as a total surprise. In a quarterly earnings call held the day before the Season 4 finale, Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch acknowledged the show’s “underperformance.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, he explained in an after-market analyst call, “This resulted in modest sequential declines in OTT subscribers and revenue.”
Hirsch may have also hinted that Season 4 would be the end of the line during a Deutsche Bank media conference in March 2024. “When seasons go from one to two to three to four [seasons], three to four is where the cost really pops because most of the actors get bigger raises, and you have to really manage that,” he shared at the time, per Deadline.
That said, it’s still somewhat surprising given that Hirsch also described “BMF” as one of Starz’s biggest hits, despite costing “half as much” as 50 Cent’s other popular crime drama, “Power.”
Taking to Instagram, 50 Cent denied having “any involvement” in BMF’s cancellation. That, however, didn’t stop him from cracking jokes at Lil Meech’s expense. The rapper shared a photo of the actor’s head edited onto a man holding an “out of work” sign. “What next season, little [n**ga]?” he captioned the post.