First Trailer For Netflix’s Animated ‘Good Times’ Series Arrives, X Users Say This Is Not DY-NO-MITE
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment / Netflix / Good Times
Good Times is back—well, sort of. Netflix dropped the first trailer for the upcoming animated series, and it did not go over well with social media.
The animated Good Times project focuses on the new generation of the Evans family. While the names have changed, the struggle for the Evans family remains the same.
The adult-themed satirical cartoon, which arrives on the streaming platform on April 12, stars J.B. Smoove (Reggie Evans), Yvette Nicole Brown (Beverly Evans), Jay Pharoah (Junior Evans), Marsai Martin (Grey Evans), Gerald “Slink” Johnson (Dalvin Evans) and Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola (Lashes by Lisa).
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment / Netflix / Good Times
The official synopsis for the show reads:
An animated reboot of the Norman Lear series finds the latest generation of the Evans family, cab driver Reggie and his wife, the ever-aspirational Beverly, scratching and surviving in one of the last remaining housing projects in Chicago along with their teenage artist son, Junior, activist daughter Grey, and drug dealing infant son, Dalvin. It turns out the more things change, the more they stay the same, and keeping your head above water in a system with its knee on your neck is as challenging as ever. The only thing tougher than life is love, but in this family there’s more than enough to go around.
X Users Are Not Feeling Good Times
The negative reactions to the trailer were immediate, with many focusing on the fact people like NBA hooper Steph Curry and Family Guy/American Dad creator Seth McFarlane are involved in the project as producers that follow a family growing up in the projects while never experiencing that kind of life themselves.
In a world that includes
Quinta Brunson
Donald Glover
Issa Rae
Jordan Peele
Ava DuVernay
Ryan Coogler
and many others@Netflix let Seth McFarlane produce an insulting caricature of Black life called Good TimesI imagine auditions were like Robert Townsends “Hollywood Shuffle” https://t.co/214YnHqCzZ
— Serious Black
(@NicsuPR) March 27, 2024
Why the hell is @StephenCurry30 executive producing this coonery and buffoonery knowing he did not and will never experience Blackness this way? NBA kid, elite private high school, elite private college, elite NBA star. https://t.co/wDD0QGPvfT
— Booker G. Washington (@TendentiousG) March 28, 2024
Other complaints focus on the show just not being a terrible reimagining of the original 70s sitcom that is full of racist stereotypes despite its predominately Black cast and showrunner, Ranada Shepard.
‘Good Times’ was a funny classic sitcom of a hard-working poor family dealing with society issues of the 70s. Despite the struggles, J.J. was an aspiring artist, Thelma was a college student, and Michael was an activist for the Black community. This Netflix joint ain’t it… https://t.co/bjFRABpy1W
— John C. Varner III (@LilHulkQ) March 27, 2024
Carl Jones Clarifies His Involvement, Yvette Nicole Brown Shuts Down Haters In Her Mentions
Many also felt the show was trying to emulate The Boondocks’ style, which is ironic because Boondock’s creator, Carl Jones, was involved with the show at one point but revealed in a post on X that he left due to “creative differences.”
For the record I was involved with the Good Times animated series in the very VERY beginning but due to creative differences, I had to walk away. So I haven’t even seen one episode or script of this version of the show…
— Carl Jones
(@iamcarljones) March 28, 2024
Yvette Nicole Brown even had to respond to people questioning her about her involvement in the “racist” show.
She followed up with a thread telling them no is forcing them to watch the show and explaining why she took on the role in the show.
Let me clarify how this page works for those who’ve forgotten:
1) This isn’t an op-ed /repository nor the complaint box. Hot takes are for YOUR page. Post your think pieces there.
2) Nobody’s forcing you to watch something you don’t want to watch. Just don’t watch. Solved.
1/
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) March 27, 2024
5) Now get out there & write your screeds about a show you’ve seen just a two-minute trailer for. Go off as if you know the fullness of the journey or the message we’re trying to share about the systemic barriers WE still face no matter our station in life.#GoodTimes Indeed!
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) March 27, 2024
Is The Immediate Fallout Justified?
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment / Netflix / Good Times
The immediate negative reactions to the Good Times trailer and people hoping for the show to fail also raise the question, are we too harsh on TV shows and movies geared towards us?
White folks have shows like this all the time: King of The Hill, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad, and they have all gone on to be successful, spawning many seasons.
All those shows depict White America’s tropes in a jokingly and, sometimes, serious light.
So when it comes to a show like Good Times that is trying to do the same, even though we can’t immediately tell that based on a three-minute trailer, is that fair?
Good Times is no different from Eddie Murphy’s stop-motion-animation show The PJs or Jones’ The Boondocks; the main complaints just seem to focus on the names regarding the production aspect.
But as we laud the original show, we can’t ignore the fact a white man was instrumental in bringing that show to television across the country.
We shall reserve judgment and see if this show is DY-NO-MITE when it arrives next month.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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