Exclusive: Cameron J. Ross on writing & acting in Lifetime's Mary J Blige Presents 'Be Happy'
Premiering Saturday, February 7th at 8/7c as part of the winter 2026 Love of a Lifetime slate is Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy. Making her television film directorial debut is Academy Award nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe with a cast that includes NAACP Image Award-winners Tisha Campbell and Mekhi Phifer and SAG Award nominee Russell Hornsby. The script was written by by Cameron J. Ross (The Summer I Turned Pretty), who also acts in the film.
The film explores themes of reinvention, intimacy, and the turning points that define midlife as one woman embarks on a journey to rediscover her purpose and her voice to reshape her future.
Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy follows 50-year-old Val (Tisha Campbell, Operation Aunties, Act Your Age), a devoted wife and stay at home mom, who is eager to reignite the spark in her marriage when her youngest child leaves for college. Grappling with empty-nest feelings, loneliness and growing emotional distance from her husband Ross (Russell Hornsby, BMF, The Hate U Give), Val begins to realize that her marriage and the woman she once was, may be slipping away.
A spontaneous escape to New Orleans to support her pregnant daughter, Kayla (Zing Ashford, Sistas, Camp TV), awakens long-buried dreams and passions and introduces her to Peter Mosley (Mekhi Phifer, ER, 8 Mile), a handsome and charismatic photographer who sees her in ways she has forgotten to see herself. Reawakening her artistic spirit and rediscovering her worth, Val must face a life-altering question: is it ever too late to choose yourself and the love you truly deserve?
Cameron, who wrote the screenplay and plays Jacoby in the film, is an award-winning multi-hyphenate whose career spans Broadway, film, and television. His credits include writing for Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, acting and writing on Netflix’s Peabody-nominated Gentefied, and receiving a Special Tony Award as a co-founder of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition.
Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy is produced by Blue Butterfly Productions, Monami Productions, Motion Entertainment and Swirl Films for Lifetime. Through her production company Blue Butterfly, Mary J. Blige serves as executive producer, joined by Bruce Miller and Milana Edwards Brooks as co-producers. Mona Scott-Young and Angela White serve as producers and Nick Roses, Mychael G. Chinn, Stephanie R. Gayle and Michael Lang serve as executive producers for Monami Productions
Blackfilmandtv.com's Wilson Morales talks to Cameron J. Ross on writing and acting in Lifetime's Mary J Blige Presents 'Be Happy'.
