News

“The Neighborhood” is looking to expand its universe with a second potential spinoff series.

A spinoff series centered on Marcel Spears’ Marty and Sheaun McKinney’s Malcolm is in the works at CBS, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap. The show is currently in development for consideration for the 2025-26 broadcast season, though it has not yet received an official greenlight.

The new series would be a planted spinoff in “The Neighborhood’s” upcoming Season 7 finale. The premise would follow Marty and Malcolm Butler as they embark on new adventures, finally leaving their parents’ nest to start the next chapters of their lives, finding themselves the newcomers in a neighborhood that’s both close by yet worlds apart: Venice Beach, per the official logline.

“The Neighborhood” star and EP Cedric the Entertainer is set to executive produce the spinoff series alongside Bill Martin, Mike Schiff, Aaron Kaplan, Wendi Trilling and Eric C. Rhone.

The Tracy Morgan-led spinoff of The Neighborhood at Paramount+ continues to add to its cast.

Adrian Martinez, Braxton Paul and Finn Maloney have joined Crutch, which stars Morgan as Francois Crutchfield, aka Crutch, a Harlem shop owner — and cousin of The Neighborhood’s Calvin Butler (Cedric the Entertainer) whose life is upended when his adult children move back in with him. The show’s cast also includes Jermaine Fowler and Adrianna Mitchell as Crutch’s kids and Kecia Lewis as his sister-in-law.

Martinez (Unfrosted, ABC’s Stumptown) will recur as Flaco, Crutch’s childhood best friend, most loyal confidant and general manager of Crutch’s flooring shop. Fun-loving, optimistic and chatty, he is the yin to Crutch’s yang.

Paul and Maloney will also have recurring roles Lisa and Mase, Jamilah’s (Mitchell) kids and Crutch’s grandchildren. The 12-year-old Lisa is the conscience of the family who challenges...

Exclusive: Tony winner Kecia Lewis (Hell’s Kitchen) has joined the Tracy Morgan-led cast of Paramount+ new multi-camera comedy series Crutch, an offshoot from CBS’ long-running sitcom The Neighborhood, which has started filming in New York.

Developed by Owen Smith, who will serve as showrunner, Crutch centers on Francois “Frank” Crutchfield (Morgan), who goes by “Crutch,” is a brash, yet beloved Harlem shop owner whose world is turned upside down when his highbrow son (Jermaine Fowler) and free-spirited daughter (Adrianna Mitchell) move back into the family home.

Lewis will play Antoinette, Crutch’s (Morgan) meddling sister-in-law who, much to his chagrin, has inserted herself as the de facto matriarch of the Crutchfield clan. Elegant, worldly, and self-righteous Antoinette is a long-time divorcee whose life revolves around her weekly hair appointments and her job as a correctional officer at Rikers Island. However, when her sister’s children come back to...

Adrianna Mitchell has been cast in the upcoming Tracy Morgan comedy series “Crutch” at Paramount+, Variety has learned exclusively.

Mitchell is the latest addition to the series’ cast, joining the recently announced Jermaine Fowler. The show was originally announced back in May with Morgan in the lead role and is said to be set in the same world as the CBS comedy “The Neighborhood.” Production is set to begin this month in New York.

The official logline for the series states, “Francois ‘Frank’ Crutchfield (Morgan), who goes by ‘Crutch,’ is a brash, yet beloved Harlem shop owner whose world is turned upside down when his highbrow son (Fowler) and free-spirited daughter (Mitchell) move back into the family home.”

Mitchell’s character is named Jamilah. She is described as “a free spirited, naturalista with a dry wit and sharp tongue. Notoriously fickle, the most consistent part of her life was her...

Paramount+ has announced that Jermaine Fowler will star opposite Tracy Morgan in the new comedy series, Crutch, a spin-off of the long-running sitcom The Neighborhood. Developed by Owen Smith, who will serve as showrunner, the series centres on Francois “Frank” Crutchfield, a celebrated Harlem shop owner, played by Morgan. Fowler portrays Jake Crutchfield, Frank’s highbrow […]

Jermaine Fowler Joins Paramount+’s Crutch...

Jermaine Fowler will star opposite Tracy Morgan in the upcoming Paramount+ multi-cam comedy series “Crutch,” Variety has learned.

The show was first announced back in May and is said to be set in the same world as the CBS comedy “The Neighborhood.” Per the official logline, “Francois ‘Frank’ Crutchfield (Morgan), who goes by ‘Crutch,’ is a brash, yet beloved Harlem shop owner whose world is turned upside down when his highbrow son (Fowler) and free-spirited daughter move back into the family home.”

Fowler’s character is named Jake. He is described as “an Ivy League educated lawyer who forgoes a high-paying position at a swanky, white shoe law firm to provide low-cost legal aid in Harlem.”

The role brings Fowler back into the Paramount fold, as he previously starred in the CBS multi-cam “Superior Donuts” for two seasons. His other TV credits include the FX limited series “A Murder at the End of the World...

Jermaine Fowler has been tapped as a lead opposite Tracy Morgan in Paramount+ new multi-camera comedy series Crutch, an offshoot from CBS’ long-running sitcom The Neighborhood.

Developed by Owen Smith, who will serve as showrunner, Crutch centers on Francois “Frank” Crutchfield (Morgan), who goes by “Crutch,” is a brash, yet beloved Harlem shop owner whose world is turned upside down when his highbrow son (Fowler) and free-spirited daughter move back into the family home.

Fowler’s Jake Crutchfield is an Ivy League educated lawyer who forgoes a high-paying position at a swanky, white shoe law firm to provide low-cost legal aid in Harlem.

The Neighborhood star Cedric the Entertainer and Eric C. Rhone executive produce Crutch via A Bird and a Bear along with Smith, Aaron Kaplan for Kapital Entertainment; Wendi Trilling for TrillTV; and Morgan. The series is produced by CBS Studios and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Exclusive: The Black List and Google today revealed the four writers who were selected as the inaugural Black List x YouTube Originals Black Voices Creator Fellows. The recipients are Beverly Chukwu, Shannon Hawkins, Brandon Hines, and Duchant Johnson. More information about the Fellows is below.

The Black Voices Fellowship provides financial grants and creative support to writers in developing proofs of concept for a television show pitch. Each Fellow will receive $40,000 each for the purpose of producing a proof of concept and developing a pitch for their television series that authentically reflects the Black experience.

The Black List and Google also pair each fellowship recipient with one showrunner mentor and two additional writer mentors. This year’s showrunner mentors are Monica Owusu-Breen (Alias), Owen Smith (Blask-ish), Aaron Rashaan Thomas (Friday Night Lights), and Larry Wilmore (Insecure). Additional writer mentors included Kay Oyegun (This Is Us), Karen Joseph Adcock (The Bear...

Dean Jones: Actor in Disney movies. Dean Jones dead at 84: Actor in Disney movies 'The Love Bug,' 'That Darn Cat!' Dean Jones, best known for playing befuddled heroes in 1960s Walt Disney movies such as That Darn Cat! and The Love Bug, died of complications from Parkinson's disease on Tue., Sept. 1, '15, in Los Angeles. Jones (born on Jan. 25, 1931, in Decatur, Alabama) was 84. Dean Jones movies Dean Jones began his Hollywood career in the mid-'50s, when he was featured in bit parts – at times uncredited – in a handful of films at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer In 2009 interview for Christianity Today, Jones recalled playing his first scene (in These Wilder Years) with veteran James Cagney, who told him “Walk to your mark and remember your lines” – supposedly a lesson he would take to heart. At MGM, bit player Jones would also be featured in Robert Wise's...

Phil Cutrone has learned a few things about auditioning: Be nice. Be humble. If the casting people are unpleasant, leave. These rules apply especially to the open call, an audition situation many actors dread. Cutrone had heard horror stories from friends about waiting for hours in lines around the block.Still, the nonunion actor, a teacher by day who took up community theater about nine years ago, was drawn to the casting notice for "Apartment 3A" in Back Stage in fall 2007, partly by the play’s author—Jeff Daniels—but mainly by the character of Dal, the practical codger landlord. Cutrone decided to brave it—his first open call in New York City.Sign-in began at 5 p.m. When Cutrone arrived a little early, he was relieved to see no one waiting outside. He was buzzed into the building and slowly descended two flights of stairs, gingerly, with a cane,...