She became the youngest African American female showrunner when she created the sitcom Girlfriends (2000–2008), airing on UPN and The CW, and the first African American female showrunner to have two series concurrently on broadcast network television when she created its spin-off The Game (2006–15) on The CW before moving to BET.
[10][11] In her freshmen year, Mara volunteered to help some friends in the campus' Black sketch comedy group Out Da Box.
[16][17] In 1993, Mara Brock performed as an actor in a minor speaking role in the feature film With Honors (1994) in a scene shot in Chicago.
[15][18] In 1994, while working on the show, she knew that its executive producers Ralph Farquhar and Michael J. Weithorn were developing a TV pilot, so she began writing scripts she hoped for them to read.
The comedy drama, centered on divorcee single mother Joan Mosley and her three children, aired for one season spanning 10 episodes from April 5 to June 7, 1994 on Fox.
Brock Akil recounts of her experience working for Farquhar: "I really appreciate the way he ran Moesha and that he gave access to us and taught us how to [...] not just write script, but how do you produce that [...] I wanted to learn from him.
"[9][19] Brock Akil next worked as a supervising producer and writer on the fourth and fifth seasons of The Jamie Foxx Show where her episodes aired between September 24, 1999 and October 29, 2000.
The sitcom co-created by its namesake and Bentley Kyle Evans aired for five seasons spanning 100 episodes from August 28, 1996 to January 14, 2001 on The WB.
She struck a deal with Kelsey Grammer, and his involvement with Paramount Pictures was able to sign on as an executive producer for the show.
Chronicling the life of Joan Clayton, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, and her three friends, the show ran for eight seasons, lasting through the production switch from UPN and the launch of The CW network.
[25] Following the launch of the CW network, Brock Akil created a spin-off series to her first show that follows the life of Joan's cousin, Melanie Barnett, played by Tia Mowry.
She places her dreams of being a doctor on hold and moves to San Diego to be a supportive backbone to her boyfriend, professional football player Derwin Davis, played by Pooch Hall.
She is the creator of BET's Being Mary Jane, starring Gabrielle Union premiered July 2, 2013, and became the couple's first hour-long scripted show.
[35] Speaking in the 2020s, Brock Akil stated she begins her morning drinking lemon water and alkaline water, before drinking green tea or matcha latte later in the day; she does intermittent fasting after 8 PM or 9 PM, excluding Fridays and Saturdays; she likes to cook baked chicken with vegetables and brown rice for her family on Sundays; and she loves to journal, especially before bedtime.
Their first encounter was in 1997 at Insomnia Cafe on Beverly Boulevard—where Mara often spent time writing—when Salim was visiting Los Angeles from the Bay Area while finishing work on his debut film Drylongso that he co-wrote.
Their second encounter was in 1998 at a furniture shop on Melrose Avenue, by which point Salim had moved to LA to attend Columbia College Hollywood.
Robinson argued she had thought of the show first because her novel chronicles the life of Stefanie Porter, a senior studying law at UCLA, who ceases her hopes of becoming a lawyer to support the dreams of her boyfriend, star football player Ricky Powers.
[45] The Akils created Love is, which was based on their relationship, but was canceled after a woman accused Salim of domestic violence in an alleged extramarital affair, as well as copyright infringement by using her screenplay as the basis for the series.