[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Poppa’s House series premiere.]
When was the last time two brand new multi-cam sitcoms premiered within days of each other? Reba McEntire‘s Happy’s Place debuted to positive reviews from fans and critics alike on Friday, October 18 over at NBC. And Poppa’s House brought the Wayans family back to TV on Monday, October 21 on CBS. The pilot did the necessary leg work of setting up the comedy’s premise: Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. play a father and son whose generational differences both cause problems and provide solutions. While the format may feel like it’s from a bygone era, Poppa’s House only gets funnier from here and is aiming to “push the envelope,” Wayans Jr. tells TV Insider. Even if you don’t like the premise, good luck not being charmed by the Wayans duo.
Wayans Sr. and Jr. are in the roles they were born to play as father (Poppa) and son (Junior). Poppa is a legendary talk radio host and happily divorced man whose point of view is challenged as he finds himself still parenting his adult son, a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passion while being a responsible father and husband. The premiere revealed that Poppa would benefit from some change, as his commentary on the radio show is dated and lacking emotional intelligence. His comments make the station bring in a new cohost, Essence Atkins‘ Ivy Reed, a psychologist and author who wants Poppa to share his feelings. They become instant adversaries.
Junior is afraid of ending up working for his father-in-law, J.J.’s (Geoffrey Owens), company if his filmmaking career doesn’t take off. His hustle takes his focus away from his wife, Nina (Tetona Jackson), and their two kids, but it’s not hard to get his attention back. They move in next door to Poppa, and Poppa pretends he doesn’t love it.
The New Girl alum hopes to revive the adult humor of the genre’s classics while redefining what the multi-cam style can be today. They’re doing that by combining modern topics with the classic sitcom format. Topics for parents, like husbands using weaponized incompetence and how best to discipline your children, are covered in later episodes. Ivy, who’s also divorced, has biases about men that need to be challenged. And Poppa has to learn how to hold space for criticism of his parenting during Junior’s childhood. The series also experiments with breaking form in a future episode when incorporating mockumentary and sketch comedy styles.
“The goal of this show is to push the envelope. We make CBS uncomfortable a little bit, and they’re letting us have fun,” Wayans tells TV Insider. “That’s what they signed up for. You get two Wayans, we’re going to do gross stuff sometimes. But I think we also make sure that the episodes are heartfelt and that you fall in love with these characters and that they feel like real people. We’re trying to find that balance, and I think we find it more and more each episode.”
Below, Wayans explains how Poppa’s House only gets better from here. (Let us know your thoughts on the pilot in the poll at the bottom of the interview.)
Poppa and Junior’s generational differences are a through-line in each episode. How much of the plot is inspired by you and your dad’s real-life experiences?
Damon Wayans Jr.: All the episodes start as personal stories, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be from me or from my dad. It can be from somebody in the writer’s room. But we make sure that every episode starts in some truth because I feel like people can tell when stuff is manufactured. And so that’s the goal. It’s an amalgamation of everybody’s experiences in the writer’s room and my experiences and my dad’s experiences and our experiences with each other. I like that old school versus new school competition we’re having. Like who’s right as far as discipline? Is it right to discipline your kid the old school way, or is it better to do it the new school way, or is there a happy balance? Stuff like that I think is fun to explore. And I think it’s relatable.
Robert Voets / CBS
Tell me more about how Poppa, Junior, Ivy, and Nina are going to make each other grow.
It’s not just going to be a happy-go-lucky, goofy show. There’s going to be goofs in it, but tackling real issues and having those real conversations about parenting, about romance, about love and friendship, these things are essential to creating a show that people actually care about, to create a family that people actually care about.
I like people going on this journey with us and seeing us grow and challenge each other and grow closer as a unit. And also, I like the idea of people showing up for different characters. The show is called Poppa’s House. I am starring alongside my dad, but I want people to show up because they like Essence Atkins’ character, or showing up because of Tetona Jackson’s character. I like people having their preferred characters, like in Modern Family, how everybody has their own favorite. Stuff like that, I think is essential to a long life of a show like this.
There’s lots of improv worked into the show. Did it become a competition between you and your dad and the rest of the cast to see who you could make break the most?
What’s funny is, everybody’s easily broken in this show except for me. I feel like I’m really good at holding it together, even if it’s really funny because I want it to get in the show. And I know that sometimes it’s like that first time is the best performance of it. So I try to hold it together. I bite the inside of my mouth, I’ll pull a pubic hair out, just anything to keep me from laughing [laughs]. And it usually works for me.
Working with your dad, it seems like it’s the best thing. And the chemistry is great between the whole cast.
Yeah, it’s so much fun. Essence is a comedic powerhouse and a wonderful actress. And Tetona, this was her first time doing comedy. She’s grabbing it by the horns. This is her first time. She is phenomenal. It’s a pleasure to work with her and seeing her mind work. I like to do a lot of improv, so I can see it in her eyes. She’s ready, especially if it’s a scene with just her and I. She brings it, man.
Robert Voets / CBS
And the kids you have playing your children, they’re funny.
So funny. And they get better every episode. They’re both little stars. I’m so glad that we got them before the world got to see them because we would not have gotten them. They’re that funny, and their energy is just palpable.
You pay homage to mockumentaries and sketch comedy in a future episode. Why break form, and will there be more of that?
There will be more format breaking, To the degree, I’m not sure. But we did have fun doing that and I think it’s a great way of storytelling. It goes hand in hand with Junior and his wants and his desires to be a director, so I think that’s a great way for us to break format and it not feel like, what’s going on?
The closer Junior gets to reaching his goals as being a successful director, the more we’ll see the breaking away of the normal format. But obviously [multi-cam] works. That’s why it’s been here for so long. This will be how we usually see the show, in the traditional sitcom format.
Between Poppa’s House and Happy’s Place, I feel like we could be having a multi-cam revival.
I love this medium. It brings you back to the ’90s, the early 2000s as well. Being able to just have that on, have that show on while you’re doing something else, and then the laughter from the show or the joke brings your attention back to it. You live with these characters, and what I like about CBS is that they allow shows to develop. They allow these characters to really find their niche and to become a real family that you actually enjoy seeing and visiting with.
They’re like the last people doing it, some of the last people that are letting shows breathe and not canceling them two seasons in. It’s frustrating. I see it in your eyes. You’re like, oh my god.
It’s the worst. I want 22-episode seasons. I am so sick of eight episodes.
What is eight episodes? Like how?
You’re not making a long movie, you’re making a TV show. Make a TV show.
Yes.
Poppa’s House, Mondays, 8:30/7:30c, CBS