What's Happening Now!!
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| What's Happening Now | ||
|---|---|---|
 What's Happening Now!! opening titles during the complete first season. |
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| Genre | Sitcom | |
| Creator(s) | Eric Monte | |
| Starring | Ernest Lee Thomas Haywood Nelson Fred Berry (1985-1986) Danielle Spencer Shirley Hemphill Anne-Marie Johnson Reina King (1985-1986) Martin Lawrence (1987-1988) Ken Sagoes (1987-1988) |
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| Country of origin |  United States |
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| No. of episodes | 66 | |
| Production | ||
| Running time | 30 Minutes | |
| Broadcast | ||
| Original channel | Syndication | |
| Original run | September 7, 1985 – March 27, 1988 | |
| Links | ||
What's Happening Now!! was an American sitcom which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. It was the sequel to the popular American sitcom What's Happening!!
In the series, Roger Thomas (played by Ernest Thomas) had become a fledgling writer. He had bought half of the restaurant Rob's Diner (renamed Rob's) and he was running the business with Shirley (Shirley Hemphill), making money for himself and his new wife Nadine (Anne-Marie Johnson), who was a careworker and civic organizer. Dwayne (Haywood Nelson) had become a computer programmer, and Rerun (Fred Berry) had become a used-car salesman. Roger lived in the same house he grew up in, while Dwayne and Rerun shared an apartment. The antics and sarcastic one-liners were reminiscient of the first series. Roger's little sister Dee (Danielle Spencer) showed up on a sporadic basis in guest spots, with the explanation that she had gone away to college. Roger and Nadine also became foster parents to a young girl named Carolyn, played by Reina King (sister of actress Regina King), who had displayed of the sass that was seen in Dee when she was younger
Contents |
[edit] Second season
By the second season, both Fred Berry and Reina King left the cast. King's character learned that she had an aunt and moved in with her while Rerun's disappearance wasn't explained.
[edit] Third and fourth seasons
During the third and final season, the series introduced a pair of characters that harkened back to the original incarnation of What's Happening!! back on ABC. Maurice Warfield (played by a very young Martin Lawrence in one of his first major roles) was a teenager who spent his afternoons as a busboy at Rob's Diner under the supervision of Shirley and Raj while his best friend Darryl (Ken Sagoes) hung out with him. Together, they had many misadventures not unlike the original trio of Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun.
[edit] Production
The show was distributed during its original run by Colex Enterprises, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures Television and LBS Communications. CPT's successor, Sony Pictures Television, now has sole distribution rights.
[edit] DVD Release
On June 12, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be releasing the first season of What's Happening Now!! on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. [1]
[edit] External links
- What's Happening Now!! at the Internet Movie Database
- What's Happening!! and What's Happening Now!! Page
- UP FROM THE ASHES
- Jump The Shark - What's Happening Now!!
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Categories: Television stubs | 1985 television program debuts | 1988 television program cancellations | 1980s American television series | Black sitcoms | First-run syndicated television programs | Television spin-offs | What's Happening!! | American comedy television series | Television series by Sony Pictures Television
