In an era when networks are constantly racing to grab whatever intellectual property they can find and reboot, we didn’t think that the 2005-09 UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris would be one of those shows ripe for a reboot. But rebooted it is, into an animated sequel series. Tyler James Williams is too old and too busy on Abbott Elementary to play Young Chris Rock again, but Rock is on board, reprising his roles of executive producer and narrator.
EVERYBODY STILL HATES CHRIS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: “Brooklyn, 1987.” Chris Rock intones, “Life is a test. And my biggest test was an actual test, the GED.” We see live-action Young Chris (Tyler James Williams) taking the test.
The Gist: When he goes to dinner with his family and they find out he failed the GED, his mother Rochelle (Tichina Arnold) smacks him “into animation.” As animated Young Chris (Tim Johnson Jr.) rubs his face, his younger brother Drew (Terrence Little Gardenhigh) stays handsomely above the fray and his evil little sister Tonya (Ozioma Akagha) tries to figure out hos to use this to advantage. Hardworking and frugal dad Julius (Terry Crews) gives back Chris’s dinner for a refund because he didn’t pass.
Chris has missed so much time from school, that he’s going to have to repeat 10th grade, but he hates going to his mostly-white school, which takes three buses to get to; everyone is suspicious of him and he gets beat up on a daily basis. At the very least, he’s determined to come back to school in nice threads, which he buys for cheap from the neighbor upstairs, who sells off the clothes of people who are “customers” of his funeral home.
Since Drew is starting the 9th grade, they’re going to the same school for the first time. But, as expected, Drew has an easy time getting there and getting along, usually surrounded by girls. When he gets there, covered in poop he slipped in, even his nerdy buddy Greg (Gunnar Sizemore) refuses to be seen with him.
But because of his Polo windbreaker, people start assuming that Chris joined a gang in his time away, a notion that he encourages just so he doesn’t get pounded every day. But when Principal Morello (Jacqueline Mazarella) gets wind of it, she expels him.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Of course, Everybody Still Hates Chris is a sequel to the 2005-09 UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.
Our Take: Instead of rethinking the original Everybody Hates Chris as an animated sequel, writer/producer Sanjay Shah decided to give Everybody Still Hates Chris the same family-sitcom spirit as the original, and just going for more visually-oriented gags because of the freedom animation gives. This isn’t like the Good Times animated reboot, which decided to push buttons at the expense of character and story. With Crews and Arnold back as Rochelle and Julius, the heart of the original remains intact, and that helps the new show a lot.
The original was full of cutaway jokes and visual gags, but animation can take that to a new level, like the graffiti that talks to Chris as he waits for the bus, or the symbols of things that are shown to represent each member of his family, like the various implements Rochelle uses to discipline Chris, and the imaginary tiara Tonya wears on her head because she’s Julius’ princess. It was also funny to see Tonya’s countenance darken and become sinister every time she evil-laughed in Chris’ presence.
Much of the show’s humor still leans on the tropes of what Brooklyn was like in the ’80s and how much mistrust there was of Chris when he was bussed to the all-white high school. It may seem like old news 15 years after the original show ended, but there are parallels to how things are going today, especially in a world where we may get a second Trump administration.
Lke we said, there is some traditional family sitcom stuff here, like Rochelle working at the same mattress store where Julius has gotten a third job, just to prove to her husband that she doesn’t quit jobs all the time. Does it work out? That’s not hard to figure out, but at least Arnold and Crews are as funny as they usually are, with their chemistry translating from the sitcom set to the voice booth.
Just like the original, the episodes still have happy-ish endings, even if Chris doesn’t have things go his way for long. We’re just happy to see these characters back together again.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: Chris is surrounded on the bus by gang members who are pissed that he’s wearing their dead buddy’s windbreaker.
Sleeper Star: We love how Terry Crews’ Julius is so frugal that he can leave a store being owned money because he stacks so many coupons. By the way, there are plenty of guest voices on this season, with a few of them being in this episode.
Most Pilot-y Line: Principal Morello announces to the school that Chris failed his GED. “But it wasn’t his fault; it wasn’t in Ebonics,” she says cheerfully.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Everybody Still Hates Chris is a funny continuation of the original sitcom from the 2000s, with the same amount of heart as the original.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’ On Comedy Central, An Animated Sequel To Chris Rock’s ‘00s Sitcom About His Teenage Years appeared first on Decider.
