Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network canceled it’s romance drama Love Is_ after just one season following allegations of domestic violence against executive producer and showrunner Salim Akil, husband of the show’s executive producer Mara Brock Akil.
“OWN has decided not to move forward with the second season of Love Is_,” the network announced Wednesday.
Salim Akil, 53, faces charges of domestic violence from a former lover, actress Amber Dixon Brenner.
Brenner filed two lawsuits in state and federal courts alleging domestic abuse and accusing Salim of stealing the idea for Love Is_ from her.
The lawsuits detail “frequent and repeated instances of physical abuse” during their decade long affair which ended recently. The Akils were married in 1999.
Brenner, left, has been married to film editor David Brenner, right, since 2006. They share two children together.
Brenner dropped her federal copyright infringement lawsuit last week in a voluntary dismissal without prejudice. The dismissal absolves OWN Network of any wrongdoing. But Brenner is pursuing the domestic violence case against Salim in state court.
The cast and crew of Love Is_ were paid all of their wages for a complete season, according to Deadline.com.
The Akils are also showrunners for the CW series Black Lightning which remains in production.
Salim’s lawyer, Stephen D. Barnes, told Deadline.com on Dec. 2 that the allegations against his client are “totally untrue.”
There has been no formal response to the complaint on the court docket, according to Deadline.
Photos by David Livingston/Getty Images, Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
