After years of Rochelle Rock (Tichina Arnold) threatening to slap her son Chris, then performed by Tyler James Williams, into the center of subsequent week/final evening/one other nationality/or some other random idiom every time he acted out on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, the matriarch of the Rock household has lastly made good on her promise. In Everybody Still Hates Chris, which premiered on Comedy Central Sept. 25, Rochelle threatens to slap Chris into animation after he fails the GED take a look at. And that’s precisely how the animated sequel to the 2005-2009 sitcom about Chris Rock’s childhood begins.
“I really nerded out on the idea of making a show that would seamlessly connect with the original, knowing that: Look, we’re streaming now,” showrunner Sanjay Shah tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The original show sits on these platforms, and I was just thinking, as a fan myself, if I was watching the original, I would want it to flow right into the animated version and make sense of why we were going live-action to animated. I didn’t want to just start animated and not explain it.”
Intentionally not a reboot of the unique comedy — “everybody hates a reboot,” grownup Chris jokes within the pilot episode — the animated sequence sees a lot of the present’s unique characters return, like Arnold, who now voices Rochelle, Terry Crews, who continues his portrayal of Julius Rock, Jackée Harry, who stars as Rochelle’s pal Vanessa, and Jacqueline Mazarella as trainer Vivian Morello, along with Chris who will as soon as once more narrate the sequence as his grownup self. The present additionally introduces new voices like Tim Johnson Jr., who now portrays a teenage Chris, and Terrence Little Gardenhigh and Ozioma Akagha who voice his brother and sister Drew and Tonya. A bunch of celeb visitor star appearances are additionally lined up, from Busta Rhymes, who can be heard voicing graffiti wall artwork within the pilot episode, to Ayo Edebiri and Natasha Rothwell, who're set to have roles in later episodes.
The sequel acquired a 20-episode order out of the gate, with the primary 10 episodes airing in two-episode pairings weekly for 5 weeks, and the remaining 10 episodes set to debut at a later date.
Below, Shah talks with THR about placing collectively his dream writers room, the one solid member who was a bit hesitant concerning the sequel and the key weapon of Chris Rock.
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This has been a little bit of a very long time within the making, with the present first introduced in 2021. How and when did you come on board?
I met Chris over the pandemic. I used to be working at Pixar on a undertaking, and I heard that he was searching for takes on a reboot, and I initially mentioned no till I heard he needed to do an animated reboot. To me, that meant we're going to do one thing contemporary and distinctive, that would probably be its personal permutation of the unique present. That’s what actually appealed to me. And then from our first assembly, we actually related. We had quite a lot of overlap in a few of our private historical past and the way in which we have been introduced up. And then we had a shared imaginative and prescient for what an animated model of the present may appear like and why it wanted to be animated.
The transition from the live-action sequence to the animated sequel is seamless. Talk about writing the pilot.
That was the factor that I used to be most enthusiastic about in pitching to Chris my take. I mentioned, “I want to start seconds after the original ended,” and I had that joke to elucidate why we’re beginning seconds afterwards, which was actually interesting to him. That bought fun, and I felt like I sort of had him on board from that time. I actually nerded out on the concept of constructing a present that will seamlessly join with the unique, understanding that, look, we’re streaming now. The unique present sits on these platforms, and I used to be simply pondering as a fan myself, if I used to be watching the unique, I'd need it to stream proper into the animated model and make sense why we have been going live-action to animated. I didn’t need to simply begin animated and never clarify it. We may have achieved it, the viewers would have caught up nice, however I needed it to reside within the language of the present, constructing on a operating gag that has been a part of the present for the reason that starting in 2005.
Was there ever a thought to place the story in current time just like the current Good Times reboot?
No, I don’t assume it was ever a part of a dialog with Chris. It didn’t attraction to me as a result of I need to know concerning the earlier than Chris, not the at the moment Chris. The at the moment Chris is a star, and the earlier than Chris, the Chris who remains to be developing, is an everyman. And I do know Chris feels the identical manner. I’ve heard him say as a lot in interviews. The minute he turns into well-known, he’s not an everyman. To go into that a part of his life is attention-grabbing, nevertheless it’s attention-grabbing for an episode. It’s attention-grabbing for a film, however not for a sequence.
I need to see the Chris who's the Black Charlie Brown, which is how he describes the character. One of the issues that I grew up studying was Peanuts, and also you’re all the time like, “that poor kid.” And you're feeling that manner about Chris, however one huge distinction between Charlie Brown and Chris is that Chris had a straight again. So though he’s being humiliated, there’s energy within the character, which Charlie Brown didn’t have, which is why all of us who learn Peanuts had melancholy after we grew up (laughs). Having been in conditions that actual Chris had been in at school and being in primarily white establishments, and being the one minority, to see a stiff-backed one that’s getting humiliated and abused is wish-fulfilling for us who went by means of that. And that’s what the genius of the character design was, to me. So that’s what I needed to put in writing.
You introduced again the present’s unique writers. Did you let anyone new within the writers room?
I spent quite a lot of time deciding how this room was going to be composed, so there are a number of unique writers after which it’s principally writers who're newer and of various generations and life experiences. This is the second time I’ve been a showrunner, and I do know a very powerful factor is the composition of your writers room. Someone mentioned to me, it’s such as you’re organizing one of the best ceremonial dinner since you need there to be a wide range of factors of view and experiences for that ceremonial dinner to be full of life, to be humorous and so that you can not be drained speaking to those folks. And that’s what creates an excellent present.
I labored for Mike Royce, who labored on Everybody Loves Raymond with Phil Rosenthal, and Phil’s strategy to creating that present — sneakily probably the most profitable reveals that has ever been made, it’s not talked about sufficient however franchised all through the world and such a easy premise — was he composed a author’s room of individuals with totally different experiences. He had regular hours, uncommon for a half-hour [show] on the time, as a result of what he needed was for folks to go dwelling, have a life, get in an argument along with your partner, go to the PTA assembly, go and attempt to decide any person up in a singles bar, then come again in tomorrow and inform us about it. And that’s how I seemed on the room. I needed individuals who had institutional data from the unique that they may herald. I needed individuals who have been mother and father. I needed individuals who have been single and younger. I needed totally different generations’ attitudes. I actually spent quite a lot of time sweating the composition of the room. And I bought all people that I needed who was right down to do it.
You then needed to wrangle the outdated solid. Did anybody take convincing? Was there anybody you couldn’t convey again that you just needed to?
The present continues seconds after the finale of the unique, which meant the youngsters wanted to sound the way in which that they did then and have that exuberance conveyed by means of animation. Lots of people who don’t work in animation, they don’t understand or perceive simply how tough of a science it's, trial and error actually, to determine what voice matches a design to get that sort of really feel out of a personality. That’s why we invited Tim and Ozioma and Terrence to affix us for the child roles and Gunnar [Sizemore] for Greg. But Terry and Tichina, Chris wouldn’t have achieved it with out them. I wouldn’t have achieved it with out them. Terry took somewhat convincing as a result of I don’t know if you recognize this concerning the man, however he was a visible artist earlier than he grew to become an actor. He went to artwork college to be an animator. So his factor was, I’m simply anxious that I’m not going to love the drawing of me. So we have been like, “oh, we will show you the drawing.” We are joyful to get your notes on the drawing. So we despatched him the drawing. He had no notes, and he was in.
Comedy Central
Busta Rhymes makes a visitor voice look in episode one. I noticed a few standout names within the credit, like Ayo Edebiri and Natasha Rothwell. Anything you'll be able to share about their characters or getting them on board?
Well, the company overlords have undoubtedly despatched a number of emails out about don’t spoil issues. What I can say is, I believe followers of the OG present are going to be happy with a few of the characters that return to this present. I believe they will additionally be happy to know that we’re treating the unique as canon. So we’re nerding out on like, I'm wondering what’s behind Julius mistaking Pam’s butt for Rochelle’s in season one? Is there a deeper problem there, maybe? But as for the brand new characters, this was our alternative to actually increase the world of Bed-Stuy and New York, and past New York — I’m teasing that as properly. An alternative to convey new actors to affix our household and create a neighborhood that feels much more like Bed-Stuy of 1987.
Getting 20 episodes for a sequence feels unprecedented presently. How did you handle that?
My secret weapon was having the identify Chris Rock concerned in your undertaking. It helped quite a bit in getting 20 episodes and getting WGA standing. I attempted to get us WGA standing and I used to be getting nowhere. And it was actually texting Chris like, “hey, I’m trying to get us WGA status, what do you think about that?” I despatched that textual content on a Friday evening, and by Monday 9 a.m. we have been WGA, so it actually helps to have somebody of Chris’ stature go to bat for you, and in that manner, he’s been such an amazing collaborator. He cares very a lot concerning the present and its legacy. He cares concerning the inventive course of. He desires folks to have an excellent time. And if I didn’t actually really feel that manner, I simply wouldn’t say something. But it’s been unbelievable working with somebody who’s actually an artist first and cares about good episodes, issues that imply one thing, ensuring the present is humorous, nevertheless it’s additionally saying one thing. He’s stored us true to that.
The unique present was on UPN and the CW, which have been very a lot networks that catered to Black audiences. How do you're feeling this sequel suits into Comedy Central?
Chappelle’s Show was on Comedy Central. We had a pair provides for the present, and with out naming platforms, some have been larger than others, and I pushed for Comedy Central as a result of I felt like there was an amazing inventive connection between what Comedy Central stands for and their strategy to comedy in half-hour type, that I felt served our present properly. At the tip of the day, Chris is an artist, and I don’t need to put my identify on one thing that I don’t consider in. I assumed one of the best model of our present may be made at Comedy Central. They’ve achieved proper by us. They’re pairing us with certainly one of their most-watched reveals, Family Guy, and our lead-out is basically The Daily Show. So they’ve given us an amazing spot, a lot help, and we get to do the present that Chris desires to do and that I need to do.
It’s been 19 years since Everybody Hates Chris debuted, 15 because it’s been off the air. What makes this a sequence that audiences from two generations can hook up with?
So few reveals these days are true co-viewing reveals the place adults and children can watch, and never be bored and have somewhat little bit of edge too. One of my finest inventive experiences was engaged on Fresh Off the Boat, and what actually blew me away after we first began airing was any person posted an image of 4 generations of their household sitting down to observe an episode collectively. And we did some loopy stuff on that present. For an 8:30 p.m. ABC present, I couldn’t consider a few of the stuff that we did edgewise. When I sat right down to re-watch this present, as a result of I watched it when it first aired, and now I’m a father, and a part of my analysis for any assembly is I re-watch reveals, on this specific case, I needed my child to observe a number of episodes to see how he reacted to it. He was 11 on the time. And he sat and watched all 88 episodes with me. It held up. He actually noticed himself in Chris the way in which that I in all probability noticed myself in Chris the primary time I noticed it. But now I’m seeing myself extra as Julius and Rochelle than Chris. And I, once more, was astonished. He’s laughing at stuff, I’m laughing at stuff. Sometimes we’re laughing collectively, there’s one thing for each of us.
The second factor that I’ll say is somewhat bit extra macro. We’re dwelling in a time the place there’s an enormous hole between wealthy and poor and we want extra reveals concerning the working class, interval. I come from the working class, and once I bought to Hollywood it was such a shock to see that reveals that have been written concerning the working class are primarily written by youngsters who went to personal college. I'd be the one public college child on the desk who’s labored a quick meals job. I used to be so joyful when Kamala [Harris] mentioned, “I worked at McDonald’s,” like I labored at Burger King and Jack within the Box. Not solely are there not reveals concerning the working class, they’re not written by individuals who have any actual expertise with it, in order that was essential to me.
And the very last thing I’ll say is, I believe all of us, and particularly, curiously, our teen and tweenaged youngsters — at the least my child — and the explanation why reveals like Stranger Things achieve this properly, is as a result of there’s this craving that even they've for a time earlier than cell telephones, a time earlier than the web and a time earlier than social media. He watches Stranger Things, and he’ll marvel like, did you guys go to the mall? Did you guys trip your bikes rising up? And wanting that so badly. That’s one of many issues that’s occurring below the hood of this present. It’s providing you with that feeling of nostalgia. It’s providing you with this path in the direction of possibly having somewhat bit much less of a digital life. We’re dwelling in such an remoted time. And one of many issues that got here up on the Comic-Con panel we did, certainly one of us requested, what are favourite moments that the viewers has from the present and probably the most stunning issues — though, it’s not a shock when you concentrate on it — is folks love the scenes the place the household’s sitting collectively on the eating room desk. And if you concentrate on it, it’s as a result of we miss that. I’m not a thinker or author, it has to be humorous first. But it’s want achievement that we’re placing out into the world. I need to give folks these good emotions.
Everybody Still Hates Chris airs Wednesdays on Comedy Central at 10 p.m.
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