*Comedian Jerrod Carmichael stars in a new NBC sitcom inspired by his relationship with his own parents, played by David Alan Grier and Loretta Devine on the show. Back in March, THR reported that the network greenlit a six-episode series order to the twice-developed multi-camera entry, previously titled “Go Jerrod Go.”
The comedy narrowly missed a series order last pilot season when it was filmed as a low-budget presentation, but as Jerrod told us during a recent Q&A session, “We redeveloped (it), and then this amazing cast came together and its been pieces of a puzzle coming together over a course of a few years. I have a genuine love for television and a specific vision of what needed to be done so I think some downtime was necessary in order to get it as true to my vision as possible.”
How did you snag two amazing stars like David and Loretta?
Jerrod: I ask myself that every morning in the bathroom mirror. They are so amazing. You grew up loving David Allen Grier’s work and you grew up loving Loretta Divine. In a very real sense, they feel so familiar that the chemistry feels instant. They feel like family. As far as television goes, David and Loretta have been in my home more than most family members. Just being here and acting with them, you feel connected to them.
I’ve known David from stand-up. I hadn’t met Loretta but they came in and it was an immediate, ‘yeah, of course!’. They were interested and we were so excited. It was a very simple process. The first day we were trying to cast and reaching out to people and they came in and it was like, ‘Yeah, it works!’
How much of your personal relationships, especially with your parents, actually inspire the show?
Jerrod: More than anything, it’s about perspective, especially in this format. It’s important to have it driven by perspective so, being a naturally argumentative person, who’s from a naturally argumentative family, where nothing is off-limits and we can talk about everything, and we’re excited to talk about everything – everyone has a view on something. When I say it’s inspired by my life, it’s more that aspect of it. I just want to depict honest American life and honest American conversations. You can agree with whatever side you want to agree with. The intention is to make you feel something.
Do you feel a weight on your shoulders – to set the bar high because this is your show?
Jerrod: No, more so it’s an excitement. My friend Angelo would always say, ‘It’s all shower thoughts.’ It’s all things you think of in the shower and then you get really excited to go and talk about those things with an audience. It’s that same energy for this show. You get excited to have it go from a thought in the shower to live in front of a studio audience. There’s a responsibility because it only matters if it’s good, like any art, and especially with the topics that we’re dealing with because we want to handle it with as much integrity as possible.
What are you hoping viewers take away from watching the show?
Jerrod: The biggest thing that I get most excited about is, my family and I would watch television together, and we weren’t just passive viewers. Something would happen and then we would walk about it. When Will Smith was shot on “Fresh Prince,” that sparked a conversation about safety. We watched all these classic shows like” Murphy Brown” and “Cheers,” and we would comment about it. So if people can watch this show and in any sense spark a conversation in their own homes and lives, then our mission is accomplished. That’s what television did for me and my family and my relationships, and I hope I can contribute in that way as well.
Carmichael, Nick Stoller (“Neighbors”) and Ravi Nandan serve as executive producers on “The Carmichael Show” which premieres this Wednesday, August 26 at 9:00/8:00c on NBC.
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