Got 2B Real: The Diva Variety Show | |
---|---|
Also known as | Got 2B Real |
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Andrea Lee |
Starring | Andrea Lee Jamaal D. Pittman Terrivio-Wesley |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 15 |
Original release | |
Release | July 29, 2011 – December 13, 2015 |
Got 2B Real: The Diva Variety Show (often simply referred to as Got 2B Real) is an American parody reality television web series on BET Her created by and starring Andrea Lee. [1] The series was heralded as "hilarious", "genius" and "art." [2] [3] [4]
A group of popular singers throw shade and read each other, reinvigorating past rivalries and discussing current events.
Creator Andrea Lee (under her pseudonym "Patti LaHelle") voiced the following characters, all based on well-known music legends and performers:
Lee voiced additional guest appearances by Brandy, Diana Ross, Nene Leakes, Joseline Hernandez, Tami Roman, Iggy Azalea, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, Erykah Badu, Tamar Braxton, Kandi Burruss, Barbara Walters, Nick Cannon, Lady Gaga, Iyanla Vanzant, Oprah Winfrey, Nicki Minaj, Lil’ Kim, Blu Cantrell, Jay-Z, Shaun Robinson, Celia Cruz, Cristina Saralegui, and briefly, Andy Cohen.
Additionally, several references to the British TV series “Downton Abbey” were made, to great effect, with Lee voicing the part of Maggie Smith’s character Violet Crawley. The premiere episode of season two had a “Harry Potter”-inspired plot, with Lee again voicing Maggie Smith, this time in her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall, as well as voicing Professor Dumbledore. Going with the “Potter” theme (where the boy attends a school for “witchcraft and wizardry”), the Divas instead attend an important meeting at a school for “bitch-craft” and “wiggetry”. This is the moment when, whether the Divas like it or not, they are separated into “Team Class” and “Team Sass”, apparently by Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore. “The order is random,” McGonagall tells the ladies, “…like some of you here today.”
Other lead characters were voiced by Terrivio-Wesley (Dionne Warwick), Jamaal D. Pittman (Whitney Houston), Darcell Bios (Maya Angelou), and Samantha Johnson (Christina Aguilera).
The show was launched the same year as Issa Rae's Awkward Black Girl and the Tracie Thoms-starring Bandwagon, two other popular Black-centered digital series. G2BR immediately reached the very pop culture icons represented on screen. Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina tweeted that the first episode was funny, and Jackée Harry, Chaka Khan, and Patti LaBelle were confirmed viewers. [5] [6]
Lee followed up the series with a film finale, Got 2B Trill: The Untold Story in December 2015. She later wrote for the series Pretty Dudes . [1]
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