What happened to lauren london on games people play

Before losing her fiancé, the actress spoke about playing a basketball wife in BET's "Games People Play."

By Paula Rogo · Updated October 23, 2020

Lauren London is headed to the small screen in BET’s new guilty pleasure that has her playing the wife of a newly-drafted professional basketball player.

Games People Play is set to launch later this month, following the series finale of the BET hit, Being Mary Jane.

And as London told The Grio before the tragic murder of her longtime partner Nipsey Hussle over the weekend, she’s ready to take on more mature roles.

“Usually the roles I’ve done before [were] like really fun and sassy and you know kind of surface roles,” she said. “This was a broken wife and a woman and I feel like I’m 34, I have kids and I have lived some life that I can put into this.”

London plays Vanessa King, “a loyal yet skeptical wife who married her high school sweetheart,” played by Insecure’s Sarunas J. Jackson, “as he was being drafted into the nation’s premiere professional basketball league,” BET describes the show. “Her lifestyle changed overnight as they went from college sweethearts to a power couple astride a world of money, easy sex, and glamour.”

The show’s cast also includes Parker McKenna Posey and Karen Obilom, who play an ambitious actress and journalist.

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Marcus King may be perfect when it comes to basketball but can't seem to be perfect when it comes his marriage. That's right, he's a serial cheater. 😒 #GamesPeoplePlay premieres on TUES April 23 10/9c after the finale of #BeingMaryJane!

A post shared by BET Networks (@bet) on Apr 2, 2019 at 1:25pm PDT

“This is the first time I’m on set with co-stars [that] I’m older than. This is a first,” London said. “I was usually the youngest. I think that would be a part of my role here outside of us working together. Being a Black woman working with these Black women, I think that I should be in a position of loving leadership.”

Based on Games Divas Play, the book by former ESSENCE editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray, the show is executive produced by Burt-Murray, Tracey Edmonds, Vanessa Middleton and Kim Newton. Middleton and Newton also serve as co-showrunners for the series.

The show premieres at a special time on April 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, following the series finale of Being Mary Jane. Starting April 30, the series will resume at its regular time at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Around the time that BET’s Games People Play premiered last spring, its main star, Lauren London, was reeling from the loss of her longtime partner, rapper Nipsey Hussle. She wasn’t capable of participating in efforts to promote the series, aside from encouraging people to watch it when it was set to begin.

So when the series was greenlit for a second season, many wondered in what capacity London would be able to film it, and now we know. According to Deadline, she will be appearing on the show in a limited role while Karrueche Tran will step in to star.

London plays Vanessa King, the wife of cheating basketball player Marcus King, played by co-star Sarunas Jackson. She goes to extreme measures to protect her family. Tran will enter the picture as character Eden Lazlo, the daughter of the LA Vipers owner who is the new VP of basketball operations. It sounds as though her character will end up being another love interest for Marcus, sure to bring some drama.

The hour-long drama from Tracey Edmonds also features Parker McKenna Posey, Jackie Long, social media star Kendall Kyndall, and Karen Obilom. It’s based on the book, Games Divas Play, written by Angela Burt-Murray.

Since the passing of Nipsey Hussle, London has been focused on honoring his legacy and helping to continue the mission of The Marathon Clothing. She recently collaborated with Puma and TMC to launch a campaign, Forever Strong. The performance brand reissued the collection they did with Hussle with the beauty front and center.

“Lauren London is proud to join forces with PUMA to support her on this next chapter of her journey, they said in a statement early this year. “This piece was a creative vision Lauren wanted to bring to life to signify the continuation of her marathon alongside PUMA. Forever Stronger.”

She’s also been focused on family. In her first interview following his passing, done with the Los Angeles Times, London talked about trying to stay strong for their kids, including their son Kross, who just turned 4.

“I’m going to keep my head high and always represent for my king to the fullest,” she said. “He loved his kids. He was a family man. His family came first.”