EXCLUSIVE: I hear TBS is finalizing a deal to order 90 additional episodes of the Ice Cube/Joe Roth-produced comedy series Are We There Yet?, bringing the total order to the sitcom based on the 2005 feature starring Ice Cube to 100 episodes. This marks the third straight series from distributor Dembar-Mercury to receive a massive pickup following a trial 10-episode run on TBS and the first for a non-Tyler Perry show. I hear Debmar-Mercury is planning to take out Are We There Yet? in syndication shortly, following the template it developed with Perry for House of Payne that was also used for Perry’s Meet the Browns. The pickup also establishes Ali LeRoi, along with Perry, as the leading black showrunners having created and run two consecutive series that have gone the distance. Before Are We There Yet? LeRoi co-created and executive produced Everybody Hates Chris with Chris Rock. Vince Totino is an executive producer and Revoution financed with Cubevision producing.
With House of Payne, Meet the Browns and Are We There Yet? TBS reaffirms its status as the only network doing African American sitcoms at the moment. (BET is looking to get in the field with the upcoming series The Game and Let’s Stay Together.) I hear Are We There Yet’s 10 episode trial run averaged an 1.9 rating, just shy of the 2.0 that would’ve automatically triggered the 90-episode order. Still, the show was considered a solid performer for TBS and the network started pickup discussions with the producers and Debmar-Mercury shortly after Are We There Yet’s 10-episode run ended on June 30.
The series stars Terry Crews in the central role of Nick, played in the movie by Ice Cube. It is executive produced by Ice Cube, who also has a recurring role on the show, Roth, Matt Alvarez, Vince Totino and LeRoi. Roth’s Revoution financed the project, and Cube’s Cube Vision is producing the series. Are We There Yet? was put together by WME, which is also behind House of Payne and Meet the Browns.
Good for Cube. He built his brand and it’s all paying off I guess. I haven’t watched any of the episodes because judging from the previews, it’s typical, predictable, stereotypical humor, pandering to the expectations and comfort levels of others when depicting black interaction. Hence, the Tyler Perry comparisons. In my honest opinion, one Tyler Perry is more than enough. I’ll pass but I wish him well.
Is this show shot in atlanta or LA? I’m curious if these things only get these massive orders because they’re largely cheap and non-union.
The show is actually shot in CT and it IS a union show.
It’s funny how the media dictates the timing of announcements. That deal was closed long ago. They are not filming in LA or ATL. They are actually filming outside of NYC specifically in Connecticut. Terry and his family have already moved there. I wish them the best of luck, they are great!!!
Ding, ding, ding, ding. You are a winner. The new BET series are also going to be filmed in Atlanta. TBS has become the new CW or was that WB or did I mean UPN.
the show was shot in Stamford, Ct. and completely union. in fact a N.Y. based crew.
This show is shot in… Connecticut, and with an all Union crew (IATSE).
I would think that Cube’s audience is pretty much the same as Tyler’s. They must be insatiable to want to watch 300 episodes between them. Advertising (and production costs) must be dirt cheap.
I watch a good amount of TBS, but I swear to God I thought Meet the Browns and House of Payne were the same show until about 6 months ago.
“I hear” tally for this story: 3. Today’s total so far: 3.
These shows are produced like soap operas. They shoot multiple episodes per week. This brings down production costs.
In six months or so, they will complete all 90 episodes and move on to the next project.
If Cube wanted to make this to 200 episodes- he’d toss in a Latin family and they could push some boundaries in race that just can’t be touched on the big networks.. and his audience would grow like wildfire.. Just a thought
Uhhh actually he is in another series of Old Spice commercials. He’s only wearing a bath towel. Funny as they were, I wish I could get a wet, glistening Terry Cruz scrubbed out of my mindscape.
Uh. . yes Terry Crew IS in Old Spice commercials. It’s a YouTube sensation . . Hello!
I’m reading all of these comments and I’m trying to figure out why they seem so negative? I don’t get it. There are NO SHOWS for African-Americans on the “Big 4” networks. None. TBS has found a formula that works for them and caters to an audience that none of the networks seem to care about, and all you white people(I’m assuming by your comments that you all are)want to do is complain. Well, guess what? This time, you’re not the target audience. So it doesn’t matter what you think. There will be a number of African Americans employed in this industry for a while, thanks to Tyler Perry and Ice Cube. Deal with it.
Are We There Yet? is okay for a sitcom – it is comfort food. The shows on TBS remind me of the straight to syndication sitcoms back in the 1980’s like “Small Wonder” where it was like minor leagues in acting and production values.
I watch “House of Payne” and I just cringe when they get to a point of hitting a funny homerun and it flops around and dies a slow death instead. I don’t know if they just pull the punches or it really is because the actors don’t have the chops.
Congrats to Ali and everyone at AWTY. He is supremely talented and a great guy. I can’t wait to see what other tricks he has up his sleeve.
Curious George: This series is shot in Conn. Yes, Conn. (due to tax kick back) and Yes, it is union.