'Everybody Still Hates Chris' Finally Releases Trailer, Reveals Guest Stars
'Everybody Still Hates Chris' Finally Releases Trailer, Reveals Guest Stars
So many guest stars! So many reprisals! And yet they waited until 2 days before premiere!
It was two days before Comedy Central premieres Everybody Still Hates Chris, its animated revival/reboot of the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. The network announced the series premiere date on August 26, just about a month out from premiere, which was already creating a rather small window. It took until Monday to actually release a trailer that wasn’t a TV spot before Wednesday, September 25 at 10 PM.
The trailer features voiceover from creator and reprising narrator Chris Rock, basically saying basic stuff. As for the visuals they pretty evidently show life beating down on young Chris. However, the trailer also boasts a guest cast list of dozens, which includes Ayo Edebiri, Sally Jessy Raphael and Busta Rhymes, Tisha Campbell, Sam Richardson, Bell Biv DeVoe members Ricky Bell, Michael L. Bivins, and Ronald Boyd DeVoe Jr., Nicole Byer, Monét X Change, Eugene Cordero, Andy Daly, Loretta Devine, Ron Funches, Jackée Harry, Phil Hendrie, Dave Herman, Cree Summer, Rob Huebel, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Phil Lamarr, Jessica Lowe, Laraine Newman, Gabrielle Nevaeh, Kevin Michael Richardson, Natasha Rothwell, Jaida Essence Hall, Latrice Royale, Lindsey Stoddart, Thirstin’ Howl III, Vanessa Vanjie, Rack-Lo, Jenny Yang, and Earthquake.
Also listed was Vincent Martella, who played Chris’s best friend, the girl-obsessed, status-conscious Greg on the original series. He is not reprising the role, but a separate class of guest stars who are reprising their original series roles was also announced. Who is playing Greg is Gunnar Sizemore. The reprisals that are happening include Paul Ben-Victor as Coach Roy Thurman, Mike Estime as Risky the bootleg dealer, and Antonio Fargas as Doc Harris the local grocery store owner. To break, Todd Bridges was also listed as an upcoming guest star, but not included among the reprising, even though he should. He played “Monk”, Doc’s Vietnam veteran of a nephew who would run things whenever Doc was away. The other reprisals are Kevontay Jackson as Chris’s other friend Jerome, Jacqueline Mazarella as Ms. Vivian Morello, Chris’s teacher with a racist streak but also a heavy attraction to black men, and Ernest Thomas as funeral director Mr. Omar. Mikey Kelley, who voiced Michelangelo in the 2007 TMNT movie, and Dead of Summer’s Paulina Singer are listed among those reprising a role, but no such role exists, even on his IMDb and they’re the only one by that exact name. He has a role but they’re not back for an old one. Unless they were extra unnamed children back in the day and are becoming fleshed out characters? It’s unclear but I made sure to check.
Everybody Still Hates Chris continues the stories inspired by Chris Rock’s experiences growing up a bit nerdy in a large working-class family in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, during the late 1980s. Terry Crews reprises his role Chris’s father Julius, a gentle giant with a relentless work ethic and tightwad approach as he works two jobs with a third for his days off, taking the lessons from his poorer upbringing. Tichina Arnold is back as Rochelle, Chris’s smart, strong-willed, no-nonsense and protectively hot-headed mother. The series stars Tim Johnson Jr. as Young Chris, a nerd who yearns to be cool while outshined by his “golden child” younger brother, tortured by his little sister, and foiled by his dad’s frugality; Ozioma Akagha voices Tonya, Chris’ feisty and torturous baby sister. She has the “face of an angel and the heart of a demon”, who gets along with Drew, voiced by Terrence Little Gardenhigh, but leaps at any chance to get Chris in trouble. Drew is considered is the epitome of Black Excellence: the handsome, athletic Casanova.
Everybody Hates Chris originally ran from 2005-2009, with its first season on UPN before easily surviving the merger that formed The CW where it spent its latter three seasons. The series won a NAACP Image Award and was a Golden Globe and several-time Emmy nominee. Everybody Still Hates Chris counts Sanjay Shah as its showrunner, and is produced by CBS Studios’ animation arm, CBS’ Eye Animation Productions. Rock executive produces through Chris Rock Enterprises, doing so with Shah, Ali LeRoi, and Michael Rotenberg and Dave Becky of 3 Arts Entertainment will executive produce. Animation studio Titmouse has Chris and Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio and Ben Kalina as its representing executive producers.
While the series won’t be paired with anything new, the Family Guy reruns that precede it have still been touted.
Source: Deadline
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