BET Original Productions

Not to be confused with BET's new television production arm, BET Studios.

Background
BET (also known as Black Entertainment Television) is an American cable television network owned by ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks through BET's parent company, BET Networks. The network launched as a USA Network timeshare on January 25, 1980 and as a full-time channel on July 1, 1983.

1st Logo (2001-2005)
Logo: On a black background, we see this text:

© 2001 BET All Rights Reserved

in the Times New Roman font. The "BET" in the copyright stamp is the 2001 BET logo.

FX/SFX: None, unless you want to count the fading in and out.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Rare. Seen on the 7th Annual BET Walk of Fame.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2005-2007)
Logo: Just the 2005-2010 BET logo on a black background.

Variants:
 * A copyright stamp may appear below the logo on some shows.
 * On season 1 of American Gangster and Ultimate Hustler, the logo is in a white rectangle.
 * Also on season 1 of American Gangster, the logo is stretched.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme of the show.

Availability: Rare. Seen on BET shows from 2005 to 2007.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (2007-2010)
Nickname: "The Audio Waveform"

Logo: An audio waveform is seen zooming out. After a few seconds, it morphs into the BET logo, which flickers for a while. A copyright stamp fades in below.

Trivia: BET was initially referred to as Black Entertainment Television. This name is still used as the legal name of BET Networks, BET's parent company.

Variants:
 * From 2007 to 2009, the logo was stretched for 16:9 programming.
 * Starting in 2009, the audio waveform is slightly enhanced and the copyright stamp is smaller. On 16:9 programming, the logo is not stretched.
 * On the 2010 Black Panther animated series, the animation is sped up.
 * On season 6 episode 9 of College Hill, the logo is squished.

FX/SFX: The audio waveform morphing into the BET logo.

Music/Sounds: A hip-hop beat accompanied by static and whoosh sounds.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On season 5 episode 11 of College Hill, the logo is silent.
 * The 2010 Black Panther series has the closing theme playing over.

Availability: Seen on BET shows from 2007 to 2010.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (2010-2016)
Logo: On a blue, green, or purple gradient background, we see a flash of light. The flash dies down to reveal the 2010 version of the 2005 BET logo (with the filled-in star), which zooms in. Copyright info is seen below.

Variants:
 * For original BET productions, the background is green. "THIS HAS BEEN A" is seen above, and "ORIGINAL PRODUCTION" is seen below, followed by the copyright stamp.
 * Season 4 of The Game has the above variant on a blue background. The copyright stamp is not seen in this variant.
 * Being Terry Kennedy has the text below the BET logo reading "ORIGINAL PRODUCTIONS". Also, it lacks the "THIS HAS BEEN A" text above the logo.
 * For other productions that air on BET, the background is purple. "THIS HAS BEEN A" is seen above, and "PRODUCTION" is seen below, followed by the copyright stamp.
 * On The Book of Negroes, the 2005 BET logo (with an outline of the star) is used, with "NETWORKS" underneath.

FX/SFX: The flash of light and the zooming in of the logo.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh sound, followed by 4 piano notes.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Sometimes, only the whoosh is heard.
 * A version exists where only the 1st note is heard after the whoosh.
 * On some shows, the closing theme may play over.

Availability: Seen on BET shows from 2010 to 2016.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (2016-)
Logo: It starts on a black background. Then we see several white, blue and pink lines. They reveal the BET logo on a dark grey gradient background. The copyright stamp is seen below.

Variants:
 * Like the previous logo, for original BET productions, "THIS HAS BEEN A" is seen above, and "ORIGINAL PRODUCTION" is seen below, followed by the copyright stamp.
 * Also like the last logo, for other productions that air on BET, "THIS HAS BEEN A" is seen above, and "PRODUCTION" is seen below, followed by the copyright stamp.
 * A different font for the text is used starting in 2019.
 * Starting in 2020 for shows in association with BET, a variant exists that has "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" above the logo, and a larger copyright stamp underneath the logo.

FX/SFX: The lines revealing the BET logo.

Music/Sounds: A bass drop sound, followed by a whoosh.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * The theme from the previous logo is heard on some shows.
 * Starting in 2021, 3 hip-hop record scratching sounds are heard, followed by a 4-note trumpet fanfare, which echoes at the end. The bass drop and whoosh can still be heard.
 * On season 2 of First Wives Club, only the 4-note fanfare is heard with the bass drop and whoosh. Also, it is high-pitched.
 * On some shows, the logo is silent or the closing theme plays over.

Availability: Current. Seen on BET shows from 2016 to present.

Editor's Note: This logo is still being used on a few of BET's shows, even though BET debuted a new logo (the one below this one) 4 months earlier on June 27, 2021.

6th Logo (October 5, 2021-)
Nickname: "Black Canvas"

Logo: On a light red background, we see the BET logo (with the letters in a different font than the last logo) in a black rectangle. The "BE" letters move up and to the right, while the "T" and the star move down and to the left, forming a square version of BET's current logo with the "BE" at the top and the "T" and the star at the bottom. The logo then zooms in, changing the background to black and causing the letters to separate and zoom into corners. Then, the letters join together and turn black in a light red square. The logo then zooms out, revealing the copyright stamp.

FX/SFX: The BET letters moving and zooming.

Music/Sounds: So far, none.

Availability: Brand new. First seen at the end of the 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards, and is expected to be seen on future shows that air on BET.

Editor's Note: This is part of BET's network rebrand that started on June 27, 2021 with the 2021 BET Awards. This didn't start being used as a production logo until 4 months later.