The Boondocks (TV series)
The Boondocks | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Aaron McGruder |
Based on | The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder |
Voices of |
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Narrated by | Regina King |
Theme music composer |
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Opening theme | "The Boondocks Main Title" performed by Asheru |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 55 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Editors |
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Running time | 19–23 minutes |
Animation services |
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Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Adult Swim |
Release | November 6, 2005 June 23, 2014 | –
The Boondocks is an American adult animated sitcom created by Aaron McGruder for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim.[1] It is based upon his comic strip of the same name.[1] The series premiered on November 6, 2005. The show focuses on a Black American family, the Freemans, settling into the fictional, friendly and predominantly white suburb of Woodcrest.[2] The perspective offered by this mixture of cultures, lifestyles, social classes, stereotypes, viewpoints and racialized identities provides for much of the series' satire, comedy, and conflict.
The series ended its run on June 23, 2014, with a total of 55 episodes over the course of the show's four seasons, the last of which was produced without any involvement from McGruder, reportedly because "a mutually agreeable production schedule could not be determined".[3] The series also has aired in syndication outside the United States and has been released on various DVD sets and other forms of home media.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest animated series of all time,
Development and production
The Boondocks began as a comic strip on Hitlist.com, one of the first music websites.
In the meantime, the development of the TV series continued. McGruder and film producer/director Reginald Hudlin (President of Entertainment for BET from 2005 to 2008) created a Boondocks pilot for the Fox network, but found great difficulty in making the series acceptable for network television. Hudlin left the project after the Fox deal fell through, though McGruder and Sony Pictures Television were contractually obligated to credit him as an executive producer for the first two seasons.[15] Mike Lazzo, president of Adult Swim and executive producer for Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost Coast to Coast, stumbled across the pilot and declared it "too networky". He then ordered a 15-episode season and told McGruder to "just tell stories".
The series has a loose connection with the continuity of the comic strip, though during the final year of the strip McGruder made a point to try to synchronize them. He introduced Uncle Ruckus into the strip, and the comic-strip version of Riley's hair was braided into cornrows to match the character's hair in the series. During Season 1, McGruder put the strip on a 6-month hiatus beginning in March 2006. He did not return to the strip the following November, and the strip's syndicate, Universal Press Syndicate, announced that it had been canceled.[16]
The opening theme song used in the series (slightly remixed for Season 2 and 3) is performed by hip-hop artist Asheru.
The series was produced in
In 2014, it was announced that McGruder would not be involved in the show's fourth season. Adult Swim stated, "a mutually agreeable production schedule could not be determined."[17] The fourth season premiered on April 21, 2014, ending its run on June 23, 2014.[18]
Setting
The series opens with the Freemans settling into the fictional, peaceful, and mostly
Proponents of the
Characters
- Ballin'". He is a highly skilled kung-fu fighter, and beats Riley with ease in all of their fights. He has only lost to a few opponents.
- The Fundraiser" Huey tries to warn him directly about the foregone conclusions of his poor decisions, but Riley offhandedly rebuffs him. The bulk of the series focuses on Riley's misadventures (most of which are fueled by his love of gangsta rapand a desire to emulate other people he admires) or on his various outlandish schemes, which his grandfather often endorses and aids. Despite his wild nature and attempts to appear tough, Riley occasionally shows a softer, innocent side. While his brother practices martial arts, Riley is skilled in street fighting, as shown in "Home Alone" and "Smokin' with Cigarettes".
- Robert Jebediah "Granddad" Freeman (voiced by Three Stooges-style corporal punishment and has developed a remarkable degree of speed and dexterity in wielding his belt for this purpose. He was an avid civil rights activist during his salad days.
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 15 | November 6, 2005 | March 19, 2006 | |
2 | 15 | October 8, 2007 | March 23, 2008 | |
3 | 15 | May 2, 2010 | August 15, 2010 | |
4 | 10 | April 21, 2014 | June 23, 2014 |
Both the comic strip and the cartoon were influenced by McGruder's love of
The episode "Pause" presents a thinly veiled parody of Tyler Perry, presented as using his religion to hide his cross-dressing. The episode reportedly angered Perry, with the network responding to his complaints by saying that they should have warned him before the episode aired.[34]
While the series was originally going to end with the third season, on March 21, 2014, it was revealed via press release from Adult Swim that The Boondocks would return for a fourth and final season.[35][3][36] It was later revealed that the fourth season would be produced without the involvement of the series creator Aaron McGruder. The reason cited for the split between the creator and the company was a disagreement over the production schedule.[3] The fourth and final season was co-produced and animated by South Korean studio Studio Mir.
Social critique
Political criticism
The Boondocks gives commentary on American politics from a black perspective.[37][38] The series accomplishes this by using satire and controversial statements, such as the opening lines of the series, "Jesus was Black, Ronald Reagan was the devil, and the government is lying about 9/11."[39] The show has also given input on subjects like the American government's response to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War, and other controversial political events that took place throughout the 2000s. When asked about the show and the approaches taken that make it so controversial, series creator Aaron McGruder said, "I just hope to expand the dialogue and hope the show will challenge people to think about things they wouldn't normally think about, or think about it in a very different way."[40]
Black cultural relevance and critique
The series typically features appearances by well-known entities (singers, rappers, public figures) within Black popular culture as well as parodies of them. Episodes often feature cameos, as in the episode "Let's Nab Oprah", which features appearances from
The series often challenges the ways African Americans behave and think.[37][38] It has used sardonic humor to teach lessons and get people thinking since it was a comic strip, critiquing the behavior of famous African Americans throughout the early 2000s.[37] McGruder was interviewed by Nightline in early 2006 on the episode "Return of the King", which sparked much controversy after Martin Luther King Jr. was portrayed reprimanding a crowd of African Americans for being lazy and unaware of their political climate. In the interview, McGruder said, "In the episode, King is critical of our apathy and inactivity... We carry the blame of our own apathy and inactivity... We deserve to take a look at that and be honest about it."[44]
Use of the word "nigga"
The Boondocks is known for its frequent usage of the word "nigga", which has been a source of controversy for the show throughout its tenure.[40] McGruder once said about the word, "I think it makes the show sincere... the word Nigga is used so commonly now, not only by myself but people I know, that I feel it's fake to write around it and not use it."[37] He also said in a 2005 ABC News article, "This isn't the nigga show... I just wish we would expand the dialogue and evolve past the same conversation that we've had over the past 30 years about race in our country."[40]
Exploration of Black ideology and identity
Writer Terence Latimer asserts that many of the characters in The Boondocks can be seen as caricatures and personifications of recurring identities and ideologies in the Black-American community:
Reception
The Boondocks received critical acclaim even though the fourth and final season was poorly received.
Critic Jeffrey M. Anderson of the San Francisco Examiner said, "Each episode is beautifully crafted, with an eye on lush, shadowy visuals and a pulsing, jazz-like rhythm... the show is almost consistently funny, consistently brilliant, and, best of all, compulsively watchable."[52]
Mike Hale of the
Criticism and controversy
This isn't the 'nigga' show. I just wish we would expand the dialogue and evolve past the same conversation that we've had over the past 30 years about race in our country. [...] I just hope to expand the dialogue and hope the show will challenge people to think about things they wouldn't normally think about, or think about it in a very different way.
—Aaron McGruder during the series' launch in 2005[55]
The Boondocks has been a frequent subject of controversy since its comic-strip debut in 1999, with
During Season 2, two episodes were removed from broadcast without any official word from the network.
In 2010,
In June 2020, when the initial run of The Boondocks was uploaded to HBO Max, the Season 3 episode "The Story of Jimmy Rebel" was intentionally excluded due to perceived racial insensitivities over the episode's portrayal of a racist country singer named Jimmy Rebel (a parody of real-life white supremacist country singer Johnny Rebel). Upon being asked for comment, an Adult Swim representative stated that "When Adult Swim transitions series to a new platform we determine what episodes are selected through creative and cultural filters and our standards and practices policies. Oftentimes these decisions are made in collaboration with the show's creator". Episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and The Shivering Truth were also excluded from the service for similar reasons.[67]
Attempted film spin-off
McGruder launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $200,000 in order to produce a live-action film focusing on the character Uncle Ruckus. He stated that crowdfunding would be the sole source of funding for the film's budget.[68] The campaign was from January 30 through March 1, 2013, 7:00 p.m. EST, ending with 2,667 backers and $129,963 of the $200,000 goal.[69] The project ultimately never got off the ground.
Canceled reboot
On February 6, 2019, McGruder revived the comic strip on
On September 18, 2019, it was announced that the reboot had been picked up with a two-season order for WarnerMedia's then-upcoming streaming service HBO Max. It was also announced that McGruder would return as showrunner and serve as executive producer along with Norm Aladjem, Seung Kim and Meghann Collins Robertson. The series would premiere with a 50-minute special, with each season consisting of twelve episodes.[73][74][75][76] The reboot was originally set to begin with the Freemans settling into Woodcrest; and would follow them as they go on to fight the regime of Uncle Ruckus, who rules over the community government.[77]
Witherspoon died on October 29, 2019.[78][79] On February 3, 2022, Cedric Yarbrough said in an interview that Sony Pictures Television had "pulled the plug" on development of the series.[12] However, it was reported that Sony was looking at alternative options.[80] In February 2023, Gary Anthony Williams said that the reason for the reboot's cancellation was that it took too long to make. Williams also revealed he had finished voiceover recordings for eight episodes as Uncle Ruckus before the cancellation.[81]
International broadcast
Outside the U.S., The Boondocks airs on
In
In Japan, it was broadcast on Animax but Seasons 1 and 2 only. That intro theme song is Megalopolis Patrol by the Japanese hip-hop trio, Soul'd Out. It also aired in Latin America on Animax (Latin America).
Home media
All four seasons have been released on
The Boondocks was also released on
.References
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