What's Happening Now!!
What's Happening Now!! | |
---|---|
![]() Opening titles from 1985 | |
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Eric Monte |
Written by | Eric Monte David Silverman Stephen Sustaric Michael S. Baser Kim Weiskopf |
Directed by | Michael Schultz |
Starring | |
Composers | Henry Mancini Bruce Miller |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 66 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Michael S. Baser Mike Milligan Kim Weiskopf |
Producers | Larry Balmagia Bob Peete Michael S. Baser Kim Weiskopf |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | First-run syndication |
Release | September 7, 1985 March 26, 1988 | –
Related | |
What's Happening Now!! is an American sitcom sequel to the original ABC 1976–1979 sitcom What's Happening!![1] focusing on its main characters as independent people. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until March 26, 1988.
Premise
[edit]In the series, Roger "Raj" Thomas (Ernest Thomas) has graduated from the University of Southern California, and become a fledgling writer. He and his new wife Nadine (Anne-Marie Johnson), a social worker, move in to his old home in Watts (given to him by his mother, Mabel Thomas (Mabel King), now remarried and living in Phoenix, Arizona). His sister, Dee (Danielle Spencer), is away at college. Childhood friend, Dwayne Nelson (Haywood Nelson), has become a computer programmer, while Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs (Fred Berry) is now a used-car salesman. The old soda shop hangout, Rob's Place, has gone out of business and has been left abandoned. Reminded of his youth, and seeing an opportunity, Raj and Shirley Wilson (Shirley Hemphill), who used to wait tables there, decide to buy the business together, renaming it "Rob's."
Episodes
[edit]Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | |||
1 | 22 | September 7, 1985 | March 16, 1986 | |
2 | 22 | September 27, 1986 | March 28, 1987 | |
3 | 22 | September 26, 1987 | March 26, 1988 |
Cast
[edit]- Ernest Thomas as Roger "Raj" Thomas
- Anne-Marie Johnson as Nadine Hudson-Thomas[1]
- Haywood Nelson as Dwayne Nelson
- Fred Berry as Fred "Rerun" Stubbs (season 1)
- Shirley Hemphill as Shirley Wilson
- Reina King as Carolyn Williams (season 1)
- Martin Lawrence as Maurice Warfield (season 3)
- Ken Sagoes as Darryl (season 3)
- Danielle Spencer as Dee Thomas (recurring)[2]
Recurring guests
[edit]- Meshach Taylor as Buddy Carlton (2 episodes, seasons 1–2)
Cast change
[edit]After the first successful season, as he had done during the original What's Happening series, Fred Berry attempted to negotiate a salary increase based on what he perceived as the popularity of the "Rerun" character. In response, producers fired Berry from the series.[3]
Home media
[edit]On June 12, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of What's Happening Now!! on DVD in Region 1.
DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
---|---|---|
The Complete First Season | 22 | June 12, 2007 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "NBC's 'The InBetween' Series Premiere: How You Know The Cast". International Business Times. May 29, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ "'What's Happening!!' co-star Danielle Spencer is ailing". Pix11. October 12, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ "What's Happening!!: Up From the Ashes". TVparty.com. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
External links
[edit]- 1985 American television series debuts
- 1988 American television series endings
- 1980s American black sitcoms
- American English-language television shows
- First-run syndicated sitcoms
- American sequel television series
- Television series about marriage
- Television series by Sony Pictures Television
- Television shows set in Los Angeles