Its been over 15 years since Everybody Hates Chris‘ finale aired on The CW, with the titular character failing his G.E.D. The series was canceled back in the day due to the fact that the network was starting to put out other popular teen dramas like The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl, leaving little room for the sitcom to thrive. Since then, fans of the show have been hoping for the series to come back to the screen with its original ensemble. Thankfully, the sitcom based on Chris Rock‘s adolescence in 1980s Brooklyn will get a continuation, but it will look a little different from what audiences are used to.
Chris’ long-awaited return will be in animated form, with the teen dealing with the same old struggles at school and at home. The reboot will premiere soon on Comedy Central, and there is a lot to be excited about, including Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold reprising their roles as the protagonist’s parents. In case you are looking forward to the show’s anticipated comeback, here is a guide with everything that you need to know about Everybody Still Hates Chris.
When and Where Will ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’ Come Out?
The animated series will premiere on Comedy Central on Wednesday, September 25 at 10 p.m. EST. The OG sitcom used to air on UPN (a network that no longer exists) and then transitioned to airing on The CW. Since programming for the latter has shifted to Canadian dramas and procedurals, Everybody Still Hates Chris wouldn’t make sense to air on the channel nowadays. Comedy Central, on the other hand, seems like the ideal place to continue to tell Chris’ story. After all, it is the home of several animated shows, such as South Park and Futurama. The channel has also recently secured distribution rights to another beloved adult animation, Family Guy. The series started airing on the network at the beginning of September.
For those who aren’t able to catch episodes when they air on TV, Everybody Still Hates Chris will be available to stream on Paramount + at a later date. All four seasons of Everybody Hates Chris are currently on Paramount +, in case viewers want to rewatch it while waiting for the animated revival to come out.
Watch on Paramount +
Does ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’ Have a Trailer?
The series doesn’t have an official trailer, but in advance of its release, Comedy Central has been posting a few promo videos of the show. One of them is the clip above, in which Chris tells his family that he is a grown man, and his parents and siblings burst out in laughter. According to the narration, “at 17, Chris Rock was so hated that we had to animate it”. The rest of the video has quick glimpses of the protagonist getting picked on at school and blamed for things he hasn’t done, which seems about right considering what the main character went through in the original series.
What Is the Plot for ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’?
An official synopsis of the series hasn’t been divulged, but according to Entertainment Weekly in a recent article discussing the upcoming animation, the first episode will be a direct follow-up to Everybody Hates Chris‘ finale. The pilot will see the protagonist failing his G.E.D. and eating with his family at a diner after receiving the unfortunate news. Upon revealing to his parents that he did not pass his classes, Rochelle literally knocks him into animation, with the rest of the series being captured in 2D. After seeing Chris’ life in live-action form, it will be interesting to see him experience the trials of adolescence and interact with his dysfunctional family through animated visuals. The series will be set in 1980s Brooklyn, so the animations have been specifically crafted to capture the city according to how it looked like at the time.
Who Is in the Cast of ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’?
A revival wouldn’t be the same if members of the original ensemble weren’t somewhat involved in it. Thankfully, Terry Crews will reprise his role as Julius, Chris’ hardworking and sometimes goofy father. Tichina Arnold will also voice Rochelle (Chris’ obnoxious and strict mother), years after last playing the character on TV. In an interview with Collider’s own Meredith Loftus at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, Arnold shared that returning to this role has been extra special because she’s been hoping to venture into animation for quite some time.
“It’s exciting for me because it’s the first time I really was able to put my foot in animation, which I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. Once you’re on that mic, and you’re talking to Sanjay, everything started coming back to me. It forced me to remember things that we used to do. It made me remember just how invested I was in the character, and to see it played out and then, to finally see my animated character, so much fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
Although Tyler James Williams, Imani Hakim, and Tequan Richmond won’t be back as Chris, Tonya and Drew, the characters will be voiced by younger actors. Tim Johnson Jr. (Pacific Rim: Uprising), Terrence Little Gardenhigh (Coffee & Kareem), and Ozioma Akagha (Delilah) will play the protagonist and his siblings. Gunnar Sizemore, known for voicing Bao in Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, will play Chris’ best friend Greg in the revival. IMDb also credits Jacqueline Mazarella, who used to portray Principal Morello in the OG series, as a returning actor. As expected, Chris Rock will voice the main character’s adult version, allowing for the animation to continue to have the same tone as the OG series.
Who Is Making ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’?
Central Park‘s Sanjay Shah is the showrunner of Everybody Still Hates Chris. In the same interview with Collider, Shah teased what audiences can expect from his take on the beloved sitcom and why animation is the perfect medium to bring this story back to the screen:
“I love animation. I’ve been working in animation for almost 20 years—
King of the Hill
,
South Park,
I worked on a Pixar movie, a series that’s coming out next year,
Central Park
, for Apple. I’m biased. I’ve worked live-action, as well, on shows like
Fresh Off the Boat
. But
animation lets us explore more in every way.
You can use it to express emotions, to lean into fantasy moments. The camera can be anywhere. You can enter new worlds. Especially when considering how to do a reboot in a fresh way. This feels more like a reimagining, so we cannot depart from what made the OG show great and continue telling that story because there are so many stories left to tell. When [Chris and I] talked about what we would do with the show, we really gelled over stories that he still had to tell, and what we could do with the animation, but this allows this show to be its own fresh version of the OG show.”
He is also executive producing the series alongside Rock, OG series’ co-creator Ali LeRoi, 3 Arts Entertainment’s Michael Rotenberg and Dave Becky, as well as Titmouse’s Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio and Ben Kalina. The animation went into development in 2021, with CBS and Eye Animation Productions producing it.
How Many Episodes are in ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’?
According to IMDb, Everybody Still Hates Chris will have 10 episodes, which will be released weekly. Depending on how popular the reboot becomes on Comedy Central, it could be renewed for more seasons.
Watch on Paramount +
