Plot Synopsis

In this one-hour scripted drama series, Mary Jane Paul juggles her career as a successful TV news anchor with her relationships and her family, who don't share her same motivation. In reality, she's a self-sufficient powerhouse with a lackluster love life, who is torn between David, an ex she can't quite shake, and Andre, a hunky new boyfriend hiding a big secret. Mary Jane, formally known as Pauletta Patterson, is the host of the daytime news program "Talk Back with Mary Jane Paul" at the Atlanta-based SNC cable network, where she works with her executive producer Kara Lynch and bends the ear of fellow SNC anchor Mark Bradley. When MJ is not working, which seems non-stop, she's very involved with her family and close friends. She does her best to always support them and is always willing to offer her opinion about their individual journeys. At the end of the day, MJ has their best interests at heart, and in turn they have hers, which keeps her grounded. Her family includes: Paul Sr., the family patriarch, who is terribly saddened to see his ill wife suffering and will do just about anything for her; his wife, Helen, who is ill with Lupus, enduring coughing bouts that leave her weak, shrewish and cantankerous; MJ's younger brother, Paul Jr., who lives with his parents, is studying architecture, and sells weed to save money; MJ's older brother, Patrick, who lives with his girlfriend and his young daughter in his parent's home where he acts as a rather inept caregiver for his ailing mom; and Niecy, the youngest of Patrick's two daughters, who is expecting her second child. BET aired the 90-minute backdoor pilot, which the network called an original movie, on Tuesday, July 2, 2013 at 10:30pm ET/PT. Six months after the movie debuted, BET broadcast the official series premiere on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT, immediately following BEING MARY JANE: THE INTIMATE EDITION, which was a supersized version of the movie that aired from 8-10pm ET/PT and included special cast and behind-the-scenes footage, hosted by Shuan Robinson. In the series opener, Andre and David came face to face, while Mary Jane, Kara and Mark feared for their jobs.

On Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT, BET premiered the second season of BEING MARY JANE. In the Season 2 opener, "People in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Fish," with Andre and David no longer an active part of her life, Mary Jane will recommit herself to work, family, and especially to her friends. She throws a "Life Out of Context" dinner party where she'll rekindle with Chris and Valerie, a happily married couple that she and David used to be "couples friends" with. During the rest of the season, Mary Jane once again juggles more than she can handle. On the home front, while both of her brothers seem to be getting their lives on the right track, her mother and niece are at war, causing everyone in the family to choose sides. Mary Jane's career at her cable network takes an interesting turn when she decides to feature more and more stories about the Black experience. All the while, she makes a brave decision to try every way possible to conceive a child, just as she is opening her heart to a new man.

Season 3 of BEING MARY JANE premiered on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 from 9-11pm ET/PT, as BET debuted back-to-back new episodes. In the new season, Mary Jane struggles to piece her life back together after the devastating car accident in last season's finale. In an effort to move on after the crash, Mary Jane cuts ties with the two people responsible for the incident: her longtime best friend, Lisa, and her on-and-off-again ex-boyfriend, David. However, the driver of the other car, a down-on-her-luck bookstore owner named Cecilia, has other plans. Meanwhile, Mary Jane finds herself sidelined at work when a beautiful young Latina anchor, Marisol, shines as her replacement, while she is out on medical leave. However, Mary Jane finds a way to save her job as Primetime anchor, but soon after leads herself to a "life cleanse" which causes her to rethink her actions. Yet just as things are finally looking up for her, a tragedy in the family throw her world into chaos once more.

The fourth season of BEING MARY JANE premiered on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 10pm ET on BET -- an hour later than originally scheduled as BET broadcasts President Obama's Farewell Speech live at 9pm. In the new season, when Kara helps her land a gig as correspondent on Great Day USA, a national morning news show in New York City, Mary Jane Paul makes the move to achieve her lifetime career goal of becoming a national lead anchor. At Great Day, Mary Jane meets her idol, veteran lead anchor Ronda Sales, and realizes that working closely with your heroes isn't all it's cracked up to be. Things are further complicated when her old nemesis, Justin Talbot, appears as a new producer. Along with the new job and city, Mary Jane resolves to start fresh in every way possible, including her love life. She quickly falls for Lee Truitt, a successful stand-up comedian from the UK who tests Mary Jane's preconceived notions about what (or who) she needs in her life. Back in Atlanta, the Pattersons deal with the fallout from Niecy's run-in with the police. With Mary Jane in New York, they grow closer as they realize their new roles within the family and do what they can to step up to the plate for one another. After a four-month break, BEING MARY JANE returned for its 10-episode second half of Season 4 on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 10pm ET/T on BET. After becoming a national anchor on the morning news show "Great Day USA," Mary Jane is feeling distrustful of Justin after Kara's firing. Mary Jane tries to make it work with Le, but resisting Justin is undermining her performance in the coveted co-anchor spot and forces a final reckoning with Lee.
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On Tuesday, April 23, 2019 from 8-10pm ET/PT, BET premiered the two-hour series finale of BEING MARY JANE. The series finale movie, "Becoming Pauletta," resumes with the fallout between Mary Jane and Justin that closed Season 4. While the question remains whether she has found the right man in her life, fans are also left to wonder if she will ever have a child of her own. When viewers last saw Mary Jane, she revisited the fertility clinic to have her frozen embryos implanted... right before she comes home to a surprise marriage proposal from Justin! Will Mary Jane say yes to Justin? Will she get her long-awaited chance at a family? Will she get her fairytale ending or will she reinvent what it means to live happily ever after? With so many unanswered questions, only time will tell if Mary Jane has finally found a way to have it all.