Viola Davis, Andre Braugher, Tiffany Haddish to Star in ABC's Live 'Good Times'
December 12, 2019 | by Rick Porter |
Hollywood Reporter
ABC has lined up a pair of Emmy winners to star in its re-creation of
Good Times for the second
Live in Front of a Studio Audience special.
How to Get Away With Murder star Viola Davis and
Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andre Braugher will head the cast for the
Good Times episode. Tiffany Haddish,
When They See Us stars Asante Blackk and Jharrel Jerome,
Saturday Night Live alum Jay Pharoah and Corinne Foxx round out the ensemble.
Additionally,
Black-ish star Anthony Anderson and R&B legend Patti LaBelle will perform the show's theme song during the special.
Live in Front of a Studio Audience, set to air Dec. 18 on ABC, will re-create episodes of Norman Lear's
All in the Family and
Good Times. It follows a successful May staging of episodes of
All in the Family and
The Jeffersons, which drew
better than 10 million viewers for its first airing and grew to more than 12 million with delayed viewing.
Davis and Braugher will play Florida and James Evans, parents of the working-class Chicago family at the center of
Good Times (Esther Rolle and John Amos played the parts in the series, which ran from 1974 to 1979). Pharoah will play eldest son J.J. (Jimmie Walker in the original), known for his "Dy-no-mite!" catchphrase. Foxx and Blackk will play kids Thelma and Michael Evans (Bernnadette Stanis and Ralph Carter in the series), and Haddish will play neighbor Wilona Woods, originally played by Ja'net Dubois. Jerome's role is being kept under wraps.
Foxx's dad, Jamie Foxx, played George Jefferson in
The Jeffersons episode in May.
For
All in the Family, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz will reprise their roles from the May special as, respectively, Archie and Edith Bunker, their daughter Gloria and her husband, Mike "Meathead" Stivic. Kevin Bacon, Jesse Eisenberg and Justina Machado will also star.
Live in Front of a Studio Audience comes from Kimmelot, ACT III Productions, Gary Sanchez Productions, D'Arconville, Simpson Street and Sony Pictures Television. Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Brent Miller, Kerry Washington, Will Ferrell, Justin Theroux and Jim Burrows will executive produce, with Pam Fryman and Andy Fisher set to direct.
