‘Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart’ Is Lifetime’s Most Watched Movie In A Year!
Biopic is the network’s highest-rated original since 2015’s “Whitney”
“Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart” drew 3.6 million total viewers on Saturday night, according to Nielsen data, making it the most watched Lifetime original movie in more than a year.
Starring Lex Scott Davis as R&B singer Toni Braxton and airing at 8 p.m., the movie drew 1.8 million adults ages 25-54, 1.7 million adults 18-49, 1.4 million women 25-54 and 1.3 million women 18-49 in live-plus-same day numbers.
“Unbreak My Heart” was Lifetime’s most watched original movie in total viewers since Whitney Houston biopic “Whitney” premiered in January 2015, and was the highest rated cable original movie since “Whitney” in adults 25-54, women 25-54 and women 18-49.
Following the movie at 10 p.m., interview special “Beyond the Headlines: Toni Braxton” drew 2.8 million total viewers.
“Unbreak My Heart” was produced by Link Entertainment with Braxton, Craig Baumgarten, Erik Kritzer and Marcus Grant serving as executive producers. The movie was directed by Vondie Curtis Hall from a script written by Susan McMartin and produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
Source: The Wrap
Chris Rock’s Rep Shuts Down Oscar Producer’s Monologue Predictions!
“Chris has made no decisions about the content of the show,” his publicist says.
Chris Rock hasn’t yet finalized how he’ll confront #OscarsSoWhite during the Academy Awards.
On Monday, his rep shot down the idea that the host rewrote his opening speech for the glitzy Feb. 28 awards evening televised on ABC, as show producer Reginald Hudlin said over the weekend.
“Regarding Reggie Hudlin’s comments about Chris Rock’s Oscar hosting duties, neither he nor anyone else speaks for Chris,” his publicist, Leslie Sloane, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Chris has made no decisions about the content of the show. All will be revealed on February 28th. We will not comment further on this,” Sloane added.
Hudlin, who was tapped as co-producer of the Oscars this year along with sports programming vet David Hill, stated at Saturday’s NAACP Image Awards Nominee Luncheon that there would be changes to the monologue.
“Chris is hard at work. He and his writing staff locked themselves in a room,” Hudlin said to Entertainment Tonight. “As things got a little provocative and exciting, he said, ‘I’m throwing out the show I wrote and writing a new show.'”
Rock, who has joked that the Oscars were the “white BET Awards,” has been under increasing pressure to respond to the snowballing issue of diversity at the honors since the nominees in the acting categories this year were revealed to be all-white.
After the nominees were unveiled, Spike Lee, along with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and others, have said they are skipping the show this year. The criticism of the show prompted the Academy to unveil dramatic changes to its organizational structure on Friday to encourage diversity in its ranks.
Corey Hawkins Of ‘Straight Outta Compton’ To Star In Fox’s ’24’ Spinoff!
Corey Hawkins will star in the pilot for “24: Legacy” — the “24” revival series in the works at Fox— Variety has learned.
The “Straight Outta Compton” alum has nabbed the leading role of Eric Carter in the pilot. As previously reported, the new “24” will not bring back Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer, so while Hawkins’ character is not a direct replacement, he will topline the potential series. (Sources tell Variety that while only a pilot has been ordered, “24: Legacy” is expected to land a 13-episode order.)
Described as strong and smart, Eric came from a very rough background and turned his life around in the Army Rangers. Now back home in Virginia with his wife Nicole (yet to be cast), he’s pulled back into action as his past comes looking for him.
Since his breakout role as Dr. Dre in “Straight Outta Compton,” Hawkins’ profile has been quickly rising. Few television projects are more hotly anticipated than the “24” reboot, and the project should surely shoot the actor into household name territory. Up next, Hawkins, who’s recurred in “The Walking Dead,” will star in the “King Kong” prequel film “Skull Island.”
The pilot order for “24: Legacy” was confirmed earlier this month at the Television Critics Association press tour, where Fox bosses Dana Walden and Gary Newman said the leading man would be a diverse actor. Insiders tell Variety that Hawkins has been the star of choice for quite some time, but his deal just now closed.
“24: Legacy” will revolve around a military hero’s return to the U.S. and the trouble that follows him back — compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil.
Hailing from 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television, in association with Teakwood Lane Productions, original “24” producers Howard Gordon, Manny Coto, Evan Katz and Brian Grazer will return as exec producers.
Hawkins is repped by ICM Partners and Jackoway Tyerman.
Source: Variety
On This Day In Comedy… In 1996 ‘Moesha’ Premiered On UPN!
On this day in comedy on January 23, 1996 Moesha premiered on UPN
Originally ordered by CBS, the Tiffany Network got cold feet at the prospect of a sitcom starring a teenage black R&B singer (Brandy Norwood) set in South Central L. A. so they pulled out and gave the new UPN network its first hit and one of the greatest successes in the history of that network.
Moesha centered on the escapades of the title character, her prank playing younger brother (Marcus T. Paulk) and her friends (Yvette Wilson, Shar Jackson, Countess Vaughn, Lamont Bentley). The show tackled issues such as teen pregnancy, premarital sex, drugs, gang violence, racism, parental death and infidelity. On the show Moesha’s father, Frank (William Allen Young) is a car salesman and a widower. The latter part is where we get our conflict because he married Moesha’s vice-principal (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Moesha doesn’t like it. Additional conflict comes in a pivotal episode when it’s discovered that Frank was unfaithful to Moesha’s mother and his nephew is actually his son. Moesha moved out and the show got very real.
Created by Ralph Farquhar and written by Sara V. Finney and Vida Spears, Moesha featured Fredro Starr as Moesha’s love interest and real life brother Ray J as TV brother, Dorian. Bernie Mac was a recurring character as were Ricky Harris, Kara Brock, Jo Marie Payton, Antwon Tanner, Jon Huertas, Merlin Santana, Jazsmin Lewis, Ginuwine, Olivia Brown, Usher, Lahmard Tate and Master P. The list of guest stars was staggering: Kobe Bryant, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Doctor Dre, Faith Evans, Jamie Foxx, Adele Givens, Meagan Good, Robert Guillaume, Bo Jackson, Quincy Jones, Jermaine Dupri, Sanaa Lathan, Lisa Leslie, Marsha Warfield, Kym Whitley, Russell Simmons, Sinbad, A Tribe Called Quest, Lil Kim, Nancy Wilson, Octavia Spencer, DMX, Deion Sanders, Keith Sweat, Shaquille O’Neal, Nia Long, Jessica Simpson, MC Lyte, Shemar Moore, Vanessa Bell Calloway, LeAnn Rimes, Silk, Kellita Smith, Gabrielle Union, Morris Day, Johnny Gill, Boyz II Men, Maureen McCormick, Ja’Net DuBois and Loretta Devine.
Moesha was nominated for almost 40 awards over its six season run, winning an Image Award for Best Supporting Actress for Countess Vaughn and an Outstanding Youth Actress for Brandy as well as The SHINE Award for Comedy Episode for Brandy. The highly acclaimed series also spun-off the sitcom, The Parkers, starring Countess Vaughn, Mo’Nique and Yvette Wilson.
Moesha aired its last episode of May 14, 2001, but its appeal internationally is impressive for an American sitcom. Not only was it syndicated in the UK, but since 2008 it’s also been seen in Spain, Italy, Russia, Jamaica, France, Korea, Singapore, South Sudan, India, China, Israel, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, The Netherlands, Kenya, Germany, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Brazil, Ireland and Ethiopia.
On This Day In Comedy… In 2003 ‘Chappelle’s Show’ Premiered on Comedy Central!
On This day in comedy on January 22, 2003 Chappelle’s Show premiered on Comedy Central.
Created by Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, this sketch comedy show became legendary. With precursors such as Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and In Living Color, Chappelle’s Show took hard hitting sketch comedy to a new level. The show reflected its times and left no scatological rock unturned. It skewered every topic / person with equal delight and because it was on an up-until-then low rated cable network, Chappelle and many in the cast thought it would be canceled at any moment so the artists threw everything against the wall and damned if they didn’t make them stick.
From the outset Chappelle’s Show became an instant, bonafide comedy classic. Its star and master of ceremonies, Dave Chappelle would offer up a brief monologue / dialogue with his live audience and then one by one introduce each prerecorded sketch (with an occasional live skit) and wrap it all up with a live performance by a soul or hip hop artist(s). Season 1 kicked things off with a sketch about a blind white supremacist who just happened to be black and when he found out he divorced his wife for being a nigger lover. From there the show piled on. There was the lily white family circa 1950 who were named The Niggar Family. There was the Racial Draft where races drafted members to other races (Wu Tang Clan got to be Asian for example). Boisterous, yelling Samuel L. Jackson has his own beer that’s advertised just like Samuel Adams (complete with Chappelle dressed as Jackson dressed as Adams). Wayne Brady debunked his image as a puedo-Uncle Tom in a skit where he’s really gangsta. There were so many: Dave living out the perks of dating Oprah. What if the Internet was a real place? Why is working at McDonalds not good for a young ghetto dwelling person’s self-esteem? What happens when keeping it real goes wrong? And of course there was the joy of “The Playa Haters Ball”; the parody of the notorious annual Players Ball; a flamboyant celebration to pimps everywhere.
The writing was brilliant. Not every skit worked, but their batting average was Hall of Fame caliber. The fan base for Chappelle’s Show grew quickly and the show gave them the recurring characters they came to love. Lil Jon appeared with an Ivy League accent after Chappelle had played a slightly exaggerated version of Jon. It was all “yeah” and “okay”. He had comedy legend and cast member Paul Mooney doing “Negrodamus” where he predicts the future from a black point of view. Charlie Murphy was featured in “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories”; based on his real celebrity adventures with Rick James (where footage of the real Rick James was intercut as the funkster attempted to throw shade on the show’s version of him) and Prince. There was Tron Carter, the richest man in the world who gained his fortune through reparations and a hot dice game. There was also Tyrone Biggums, the overzealous crackhead, Donnell Rawlings as Ashy Larry (the name says it all), Robot Dancing Man (he does the robot anywhere and everywhere without a word or acknowledgement of anybody by him or them) and many others.
Unfortunately, the show’s run ended in controversy. Having broken all existing DVD sales at the time, Dave Chappelle was offered a sweetheart deal in excess of $50 million to keep the romance going. The deal had been made and the advertising juggernaut was in full force. Then the unexpected happened. During a taping Dave was doing a sketch about a Nigger Pixie and a white crew member emitted a laugh that was not so much laughing with Dave as much as laughing AT him. This changed the comedy paradigm for the artist, who had already expressed dismay about how the show was a 20 hour a day commitment which had taken him away from stand-up comedy which was his first love. Sure, he’d been approached in public settings with non-blacks using the “term of endearment” word (aka N-word) and had his reservations regarding the lack of public understanding when it came to satire, but this was different. He was now made to feel uncomfortable in his work environment. Dave Chappelle needed to reanalyze the genie he’d let out the bottle. So he left and went to Africa to chill with relatives; all the while the feces was hitting the fan and after he refused to return to the show if his creative demands weren’t met the executives leaped into action.
The third season was dubbed “The Lost Episodes” and aired without the participation of Dave Chappelle. For this abridged version of the show (3 full episodes), cast members Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings were enlisted to act as co-hosts. Chappelle had made it clear that if shows were aired without his okay he would never, ever return. The cast members did not know this. The suits did. So the die was cast and the lightning in the bottle was extinguished.
Executive produced by Chappelle, Neal Brennan and Michele Amour, Chappelle’s Show had a cast of comedians and comedic personalities. It featured Bill Burr, Guillermo Diaz, Dominique, Brian Dykstra, Sophina Brown, Drake Hill, Yoshio Mita, Anthony Berry, William Bogert, Randy Pearlstein, Nick Wyman, Amanda Rowan, Drago Ruschinsky, Allen Levy, Max Herman and musician / actor, Mos Def. The guest starring list included Arsenio Hall, Eddie Griffin, Susan Sarandon, Rashida Jones, Jamie Foxx, Joe Rogan, Jim Breuer, Carson Daly, Star, Michael Rapaport and Ron Jeremy. Also seen were musical talents Ice T, Method Man, Redman, RZA, GZA. Q-Tip, De La Soul, Fat Joe, Killer Mike, Anthony Hamilton, Kanye West, Slum Village, Questlove, John Mayer, Cee Lo, Ludacris, Talib Kweli, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Snoop Dogg, Common and Erykah Badu.
TV Guide ranked Chappelle’s Show as #31 from their list of “TV’s Top 100 Shows” The last televised episode aired July 23, 2006.
On This Day In Comedy… In 2005 ‘Are We There Yet?’ Was Released!
On this day in comedy on January 21, 2005Are We There Yet? Was released by Columbia Pictures
Originally intended as an Adam Sandler project, Are We There Yet? was produced by Revolution Studios and stars Ice Cube. In this literal road comedy, Cube plays a kid despising suitor determined to make Nia Long his woman. That means getting along with her two kids who do not like suitors. They terrorize all who’ve come around with devious booby-traps and at first Cube is no exception. The traumatizing twosome want to see their recently divorced parents get back together and until then all other men are the enemy. However, after volunteering to take them to their pre-planned destination when their real father wigs out, he wins them over, but not before experiencing the journey from Hell. The adorable little tykes get him beat up at the airport, destroy his prized new truck and run off to be with their dad. Once with pops they discover that guy isn’t thinking about their mother. He’s got a new woman and kid that mathematically is older than their parent’s divorce. Hurt and salty they warm up to Cube. If he went through all they put him through and still wants their mother – that’s okay with them.
Directed by Brian Levant, Are We There Yet? features the talents of Aleisha Allen, Philip Daniel Bolden, Jay Mohr, M C Gainey, C Ernst Harth, Nichelle Nichols, Sean Millington, Henry Simmons and the voice of Tracy Morgan.
Are We There Yet? was not a big hit with critics, but what do critics know when it comes to what the public likes? The film opened #1 at the box office. On a $32 million budget it grossed $97,918,663 worldwide ($82 million domestically and $15,244,265 internationally) and sold 3.7 million DVDs. It was so popular (sorry critics) it spawned a TBS television series in 2010 starring Terry Crews (in the Ice Cube role and Essence Atkins in the Nia Long role). It was nominated for the 2005 Teen Choice and 2006 Kids’ Choice Award for best Comedy and won the BMI Music Film Award.
HBO Cancels The New Lorne Michaels Comedy ‘Brothers In Atlanta’!
“Brothers in Atlanta,” a comedy series hailing from Diallo Riddle, Bashir Salahuddin and “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels, is no longer moving forward at HBO, Variety has confirmed.
“After assessing our programming needs we talked to Bashir and Diallo and decided moving forward didn’t make sense for us at the time,” HBO said in a statement. “We feel they are immensely talented and we hope to work with them in the future.”
The series would’ve followed Langston and Moose (played by writer-exec producers Riddle and Salahuddin), two struggling entertainers and best friends, as they attempted to navigate relationships and life in Atlanta. It was ordered to series in April 2015.
Andrew Singer and Tim Story were also attached as executive producers, with Jeff Field, Doug Griffin and Anna Dokoza producing. Story (who has directed films including “Think Like a Man” and “Ride Along”) helmed the pilot.
Source: Variety
Craig Robinson’s Star Shines In Sundance Film ‘Morris From America’!
Chad Hartigan’s “This Is Martin Bonner” (2013) established him as a subtle, original filmmaking voice attuned to stories of uprooting and dislocation, and he wrings a more accessible and no less specific variation on the same theme with “Morris From America,” a warm and winsome portrait of an African-American teenager adjusting uneasily to his new life in Heidelberg, Germany. Set to the pulsing hip-hop music that fuels Morris’ dreams and offers him refuge in a place that can seem friendly and threatening by turns, this coming-of-age dramedy explores how the challenges of being young, black and misunderstood can be compounded in a foreign environment, but goes about it in a grounded, character-driven way that never smacks of manipulation or special pleading.
Although livelier and more upbeat than “This Is Martin Bonner” in a way that should be reflected commercially, Hartigan’s third feature (he debuted with 2008’s “Luke and Brie Are on a First Date”) retains the same gift for dramatic concision and understatement, particularly in the way it avoids the sort of overly broad fish-out-of-water comedy that might have waylaid a different project. A shrewdly judged opener revels in the playful smack-talk of 13-year-old Morris Gentry (Markees Christmas) and his widower dad, Curtis (Craig Robinson), then quietly pulls back to reveal that the two are living in Heidelberg, a picturesque Teuton town where no one else looks or talks like them — though Morris is making at least a token effort to change the latter by taking German lessons from a big-sister-like tutor, Inka (Swiss actress Carla Juri).
How and why they ended up in this improbable new home isn’t fully sketched in until later, and it’s secondary to the movie’s focus on how Morris, a good kid with a tubby build and an understandably wary streak, copes with his strange new reality. Inka and Curtis encourage him to make friends and attend summer classes at a local youth center, but for the most part, Morris keeps his head down and his ears covered, relying on a steady stream of hip-hop (all original compositions by Keegan DeWitt, neatly sidestepping the need for expensive source music) to not only distract him, but also inspire his future career as a freestyle rap artist.
Things perk up when the lonesome Morris catches the eye of a pretty 15-year-old, Katrin (Lina Keller), who strikes up a friendly flirtation, invites him to a summer party, and treats him rather better than the other “German d—kheads,” as Morris calls them. Katrin, who comes off as the sort of smart, strong-willed young woman we could easily follow into an interesting movie of her own, does her part to open Morris’ eyes and especially his ears (DeWitt’s score incorporates the propulsive EDM tracks that are her generation’s music of choice). Naturally, she also plays with his emotions and stirs his libido, as we see in a scene of privately enacted, pillow-abetted romantic fantasy that feels sweet, funny, awkward and tender in equal measure.
That sort of universally relatable sexual innocence stands in stark contrast to the explicit rap lyrics that Morris writes and performs in his spare time: “F—kin’ all the bitches, two at a time / all you can take for just $10.99,” goes a sample excerpt (actually written by Hartigan himself when he was around Morris’ age). In one of its sharpest scenes, the movie zeroes in on the profound gap between the vulgar, violent swagger of so much hip-hop music and the actual life experience of its youngest and most impressionable fans. “You don’t know s—t,” Curtis tells Morris bluntly, encouraging his son to create something authentic and lived-in, rather than merely repackaging someone else’s moribund misogyny.
Hartigan’s willingness to be tough on his young protagonist is what distinguishes “Morris From America” as an unusually mature and clear-eyed specimen of its type. Yet the filmmaker doesn’t let anyone else off the hook, either, and he has a healthy appreciation for the various micro-aggressions that minorities often absorb on a day-to-day basis. That turns out to be no different in Heidelberg, where it’s automatically assumed that the new black kid will want to play basketball, and a teacher knows exactly whom to confront first when a marijuana joint is found on the premises. (Even the well-meaning but naive Inka jumps to the wrong conclusions when confronted with behavior she doesn’t understand.) By the time Morris busts out his uncensored hip-hop stylings at the youth-center talent show, you can’t blame him for wanting to unleash some of that pent-up aggression, though the movie is sufficiently fair-minded that it’s hard not to sympathize with how everyone else reacts as well.
The third-act story beats are nothing we haven’t seen countless times before in superficially similar coming-of-age fare: a forbidden road trip, a triumphant on-stage climax, a father-son heart-to-heart, a romantic rivalry that leaves everyone sadder but wiser. But there isn’t a moment of it that doesn’t feel fully inhabited, and Hartigan gives the production a vibrant pop energy, whether he’s orchestrating a tracking shot across the bustling youth-center playground, or alternately slowing down and speeding up a scene of Morris and Katrin dancing with carefree abandon at a party where they’re conspicuously under-age. Sean McElwee’s clean, textured lensing lends the Heidelberg locations (with occasional shooting in Frankfurt and Berlin) a warmth and brightness that never feels touristy.
The supporting roles are well cast across the board: Keller has the sort of irresistible on-screen spark that brings Julie Delpy to mind, while Juri, unrecognizable here as the toilet-frotting heroine of “Wetlands,” nicely fleshes out the role of a student and teacher about to embark on a life-changing journey of her own. But the heart of the movie is the relationship between Morris and Curtis, and Hartigan excels at testing its soft spots and vulnerabilities; for their part, Christmas (a terrific discovery) and Robinson strike so many wonderfully varied notes — swapping penis jokes and bashing each other’s rap styles one minute, laying bare their hurts and disappointments with piercing honesty the next — that an entire feature could conceivably be cobbled together from their back-and-forth alone. The work of a filmmaker who knows how to listen to his characters, “Morris From America” shows how authentic communication becomes its own form of freestyle.
Source: Variety
‘The Carmichael Show’ To Do Bill Cosby-Themed Episode!
NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show has proven it’s not afraid to tackle complex, topical subjects. In its six-episode run last summer, the critically praised multi-camera comedy – loosely based on the life of 28-year-old comedian Jerrod Carmichael – riffed on everything ranging from the Black Lives Matter movement to gun control to transgender acceptance.
But for the show’s second season set to launch this spring, Carmichael is pushing one of the hottest buttons in Hollywood: He has written an episode about Bill Cosby.
Yes, the once-revered comedian – about whom more than 50 women have made sexual assault claims (and who last year was charged with aggravated sexual assault stemming from an alleged 2004 incident in Pennsylvania) – will be the subject of an entire installment of a prime-time comedy. And not just on any network, but NBC, the former home of multiple shows starring Cosby, including the generation-defining 1980s family sitcom The Cosby Show. The network ultimately severed ties with Cosby in late 2014, dropping the new family sitcom it was developing with the actor as allegations continued to pile up. (Cosby has maintained his innocence against the assault claims; his lawyer, Monica Pressley, said he was “not guilty” of the sexual assault charges.)
The episode – which is co-written by Carmichael co-executive producer Mike Scully (The Simpsons) and being filmed Thursday night in Los Angeles – explores the themes of fallen heroes, loss, and the difficult process of trying to separate the artist from the art. The plot begins with Maxine (Amber Stevens West) becoming upset when Jerrod (Carmichael) surprises her with tickets to a Cosby concert, igniting a firestorm of debate within the family. “The episode is [about] the dilemma of any fan,” says Carmichael, the show’s star and co-creator. “And it’s a thing that I’ve found myself going through with Bill Cosby in my personal life, being a comedian and in the same industry and admiring him. But I think a lot of people go through these things with whoever they’re a fan of, anytime this happens. It’s about that moment of decision, where you’re trying to figure out how to adjust that fan-person relationship. It’s about that moment where you’re trying to figure out: Where do we place Bill Cosby in our minds?”
Such an episode is guaranteed to generate headlines and debate, something of which both NBC and 20th Century Fox, the studio which produces the show, are keenly aware. “It gives you butterflies, but the good butterflies – that, ‘Wow, we’re going to see something that’s smart and provocative that will ignite a social conversation in the way that great television should,’ ” 20th Century Fox Television president Jonathan Davis tells EW. “Jerrod and [executive producers] Danielle-Sanchez, Nick Stoller and Ravi Nandan were like, ‘Trust us, we’ve got something great here.’ And when we read the material, we were just blown away. And give NBC credit too. We just said, ‘We have to back this, they’re saying something in that Norman Lear kind of way where it’s funny and it makes you think about all of our hypocrisies and gets you talking. This episode will certainly be part of the cultural conversation.”
“Jerrod’s comedy and the storylines for his show are meant to be funny but also provocative and sometimes even challenging,” said NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke in a statement issued to EW. “He embraces issues that are being discussed in many aspects of our culture today – gun control, race, gender identity – and he and his producers approach these topics head-on, exploring them from all sides. We embrace this and we’re proud to be in business with him.” (A representative for Cosby had no comment.)
It sounds like Carmichael will be proudly embracing controversial debates in season 2 beyond Cosby as well. “There’s an episode coming up about gentrification,” he says. “There’s an episode that explores Islamophobia. There’s an episode that explores cheating, trying to explain the emotions around the death of a family member. It’s some fun, rich topics. … I like the excitement of television and what it can mean.”
Right now, though, he wants to talk about The Carmichael Showtaking on the Cosby scandal.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What does this episode say about Bill Cosby? What kind of statement does it make? JERROD CARMICHAEL: Removed from the legal aspects of it, removed from all of the accusations, I think it’s the most fair argument on what’s happening with Bill Cosby that you’re going to see on television. It’s the most honest, sincere argument about it. It’s both sides. It’s people not knowing what to do with it. There’s doubt, there’s the acknowledgement of how horrendous the accusations are. I think we balance the argument. That’s what we try to do with every episode, but especially this one because we didn’t want any agenda, any narrative. This isn’t a “Let’s defend Bill Cosby” episode. This is also not a “Let’s persecute him” [episode]. It’s really just, “Well, this is how I feel about his work. This is what he meant to me and with these circumstances, this is how I’m trying to deal with that.”
So, the whole debate is a springboard for you to explore these questions in the episode, without having to reach a conclusion…
If you’ve ever liked an artist or someone who then does something or is accused of something extremely corrupt and your moral conscience won’t allow you to accept that artist, the truth is then that creates a void in your life. Because then something you loved was taken from you. You justify it because you’re like, “Well, I am doing the right thing by removing myself from this person’s work,” but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a void. It really is a void. If you lose a parent – even if you had your history with that parent and that parent did something horrible – you still just don’t have a parent anymore. So it’s hard. The episode is really exploring the fact that the reality is it’s difficult. Even if you want to say it’s black or white, it still doesn’t make it easy. It’s easy in a tweet to just say, “I don’t support this anymore,” but if it became a part of your personal life, it’s hard to stop.
The show is a comedy, but you’ve shown you’re not scared of tackling controversial subject matters. Was it a big challenge here finding where the comedy was?
If you talk about a thing long enough and you explore it from so many angles, the laugh is going to come. And we have this obligation to tell the truth, and we are acting, and there are funny things that happen and there are funny elements around it. The same thing we did with the protest episode where the topic isn’t a source of humor, but the reactions and feelings around it are. So it’s easy to find humor in the reactions around it while maintaining the respect of the topic. Because that is very important, and I do want to say, even some of the lines reflect the argument more than any of my or the actors’ personal beliefs, but [these are] just important things that we feel like need to be said. … I think people will still be willing to hear it out, and I think it’s a really funny episode of television.
I imagine that NBC had some reservations. What was that process like?
Oh, what a process it was. [Laughs] We have champions within the network who realize a lot of these things needed to be said. And it’s a fight and there are legal things and more people are involved and there’s a lot of caution. And rightfully so: It is a corporation and they have to be cautious and they have to protect their best interests, but ultimately I think creativity won. And I’m very thankful. … I just know there were champions within the network who were really excited and knew this could be important television. Even though there was a process and there was caution and there were questions and there were concerns, ultimately I saw a lot of excitement. Even in the process, even in the hesitation I saw a lot of excitement. I think it really connected with why a lot of people got into television in the first place and it is to do things that are genuinely provocative – not shocking, but genuinely provocative – and I think a lot of the execs really appreciated that.
What was the very first reaction you got from NBC when you pitched the idea?
No. [Laughs] To put it in its truest and simplest form, “No.”
So it was a process of persuading the network that this was worth doing and worth the risk?
Well, yeah, I knew I wanted this to be the season 2 opener while we were doing season 1. And you know, sometimes I’ll say certain things and sometimes I think some execs think I’m saying it as like a, “Nahhh, he’s just talking.” And I’m like, “No, no, we really want to do this episode.” [Costar] Loretta Devine thought I was joking. I was like, “We’re going to do a Bill Cosby episode. It may upset a few people.” And she was like “Ahhh, I’m not listening to you.” And then she got the script and she was like, “You were serious? We’re doing this?”
What are your own personal views on Bill Cosby? How do you feel about what’s been going on, and what conclusions have you drawn?
I was a huge fan. And so many of us were. My family and my friends were huge fans of his stand-up, and especially the show. And I’m using the term “allegedly” because I have to. It’s a difficult thing where it’s like… we know. We know the answers. With so many accusations, we know the answers, I never want to come across as being naïve to it or like, “Well, maybe…” We’re pretty aware. It’s just not a good feeling. I feel bad about it because it’s a thing where nobody wins. These women were robbed of something that’s very very important, and they are hurting and it’s painful. And, I mean, that’s obviously disgusting. And the public gets robbed of art that we grew up on and a comedic mind that we loved and embraced. That gets taken away from us. It’s a situation where everybody loses. And that’s sad. You know? That’s just really sad. All around.
Do you feel that he’s guilty?
Honestly, it’s not my place to say. I have eyes and ears and I know what sounds like the very commonsense answer. But it’s genuinely not my place to say. I don’t think that 55 people made something up. I don’t think there’s a grand conspiracy either… It’s not that I don’t know, it’s just not my place to say. Does that make sense? We all know the answer. But the same way it’s not my place to say, it’s the legal place to say. If someone was speaking guilt or innocence, I have my feelings on it, but my feelings don’t put anyone in jail.
What will Bill Cosby say when he sees this episode? What would you imagine his reaction would be – or what would you want it to be?
Listen, Bill Cosby’s a very smart man. And once again, this answer is removed from the legality of it. I think he would watch. I hope that he would watch and realize that that these are conversations and feelings that people have. And I think you have to respect that. And I hope that he does.
You know this episode is going to cause a stir. Are you bracing for that? Do you welcome the debate?
You know, I don’t really check the Internet and social media a lot. … I’ll gauge people’s honest reactions. If people talk about it, I just hope it sparks honest conversation. We take ourselves to these edgier places, but I think it’s done with enough truth to where I think people who actually listen to the episode will understand the intention of it. So I don’t worry about the reaction. I remember before we did the protest episode, just hearing the Carmichael Show is going to cover issues relating to the police killing black youth, and I think it was just this uproar. Someone was just like, “No, you can’t!” Because if you just hear the buzzwords, you’ll shut down. And I think people who actually listen to the episode and listen to what’s being said and listen to the emotional arc of what the characters are going through will understand, and I think they’ll embrace it and I think it will spark honest, intelligent conversation. Or they’ll hate it. Either way. [Laughs]
Souce: EW
Chris Rock Is Rewriting Entire Oscars Show After Boycott!
This weekend news leaked out that comedian and host Chris Rock was going to re-write his entire opening monologue at the Academy Awards because of the lack of diversity with the nominations and the back lash. With that being said, Entertainment Tonight caught up the Executive Producer of the Oscars, Reggie Hudlin to ask him if this was true on the red carpet of the NAACP Nominations Luncheon.
