Cedric The Entertainer Lives in Poor Neighborhood

(l-r) Cedric the Entertainer and Max Greenfield star in The Neighborhood

By Darlene Donloe

I wanted desperately to like The Neighborhood, the new CBS comedy starring Cedric the Entertainer, Tichina Arnold, and Max Greenfield.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

It was poorly executed, lackluster, boring, formulaic, unfunny and stiff.   There were no sparks on this show whatsoever.  It makes one wonder why stars like Cedric the Entertainer (CTE) and Tichina Arnold, both of whom have had several hit shows, attached themselves to such a project.

The show opens with Max Greenfield’s character, Dave Johnson, driving his family to their new home, which happens to be in a black neighborhood. They recently moved from Michigan.  They move next door to Calvin Butler, a blowhard played by Cedric the Entertainer, who lives there with his wife (Tichina Arnold) and son, Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney).

The Neighborhood, which premiered Oct. 1, was bogged down with dialogue that landed with a thud.  For instance, when Dave Johnson, who is white, watches Cedric The Entertainer’s character, Calvin Butler, grill, he walks over and says “let’s take a look at your meat,” to which, of course, CTE shoots a look.

 

The Cast of The Neighborhood

There was an Archie Bunker (All in the Family) and George Jefferson (The Jeffersons) familiarity rolling through the show that is dated. You have a big-mouthed, boisterous racist who doesn’t like a particular race. Boring! Been there! Done that!

For some reason, Calvin Butler, a mechanic, took an immediate dislike of Dave Johnson, who is a conflict mediator. He doesn’t understand his motives for moving into the neighborhood and is certain that Johnson would find Rihanna attractive because he has “lots of black friends.” A particular uneasy scene had Dave Johnson’s son, Grover (Hank Greenspan), counting the black people as his family drives to their new home, to which his mother, played by Beth Behrs says, “Sweetie, please stop counting black people.”

Ugh! Really?

With a cast that includes Cedric the Entertainer and Tichina Arnold, this should have been a better Neighborhood.

The Neighborhood also stars Sheaun McKinney (Vice Principals), Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls) and Marcel Spears (The Mayor).

Executive producers include Jim Reynolds, Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor, Wendi Trilling, Cedric the Entertainer and Eric Rhone.

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likeable), ) (oh, yeah) and E (excellent), The Neighborhood gets an N (needs work).