When Tia Mowry auditioned to play Melanie on The Game, the role initially went to someone else

After Sister, Sister ended, Tia Mowry appeared on a few TV shows and acted in movies like Seventeen Again and the hit 2005 Disney film Twitches with her sister. In 2006, fans saw her take on one of her first grown-up roles, marking her move from teen star to a serious actress. She left behind the role of young Tia Landry and became medical student Melanie Barnette, who followed her football player boyfriend to San Diego and chose a nearby school over top medical programs to be with him.

Melanie often reminded Derwin, played by Pooch Hall, during their arguments: "I gave up Johns Hopkins for you!" On The Game, Mowry had the chance to show her dramatic side, even though the show started out as a comedy before becoming more dramatic after switching networks.

In an interview with Cocoa Butter, Mowry shared that she was not the first actress picked for the role.

"So many people loved and still love that show. I'm so grateful that I was able to get that part because I didn't get it at first. When I had auditioned for Melanie, the role went to someone else, and I was devastated," she said.

Luck was on her side because the original cast didn't quite work. "What had happened was, the cast was rehearsing on set, and one of the producers was like, 'This just isn't jelling. We need a new Med School, we need a new Melanie.'"

They asked her to audition again, and this time Mowry got the part. If you watch the pilot episode, which appears in Season 6 of Girlfriends (since The Game is a spinoff and Melanie is Joan's cousin), you'll notice different actors played Kelly and Derwin. Eventually, the show found the right cast.