Damon Wayans Sr. and Damon Wayans Jr. support each other on “Poppa's House”

(Editor's note: The following contains some spoilers for Poppa's House.)

The CBS series Poppa's house brings father-son duo Damon Wayans Sr. And Damon Wayans Jr. as executive producers and co-stars of this family sitcom. Poppa (Wayans Sr.) is a happily divorced talk radio host turned podcast host whose point of view is constantly influenced by his adult son Junior (Wayans Jr.) and his co-host Ivy (Essence Atkins). While his son works alongside his wife Nina to be a responsible father and supportive husband (Tetona Jackson), he is more of a dreamer when it comes to planning his professional life. The inherent chemistry and playfulness between Wayans Sr. and Wayans Jr. makes the family atmosphere immediate and undeniable, and it's clear that they want to make themselves and each other laugh along with the audience.

During this interview with Collider, the real-life father-son duo the Wayans talked about the fun that comes with working with family when there is so much trust in one another, the freedom they have to explore their characters, and the belief that there is a creative solution to every problem, the magic of being able to laugh at work, how they handle disagreements, a particularly standout moment from the pilot episode that was actually improvised, and why they decided to do things right away by turning Poppa from a radio host to a podcast house and how that benefited the series.

Damon Wayans Sr. and Damon Wayans Jr. just want to bring the fun to “Poppa's House.”

Collider: I love everything about the fact that you guys are working together. Not only do you both star in it together, but you're also the executive producers, so you can't really outdo each other. What's the best thing about making a family sitcom with a real family? Is there a challenge or is it all fun?

DAMON WAYANS SR.: It's all fun for me. There are no differences. We both have the same goal, which is to make a great show, so there's a lot of trust. I trust that he is funny and understands his character and his story, and even my character and the dynamic between us and vice versa. It always says: “Yes, and. . .” It says: “I like this, and what about it?” “Yes, and what about it?”

DAMON WAYANS JR.: It's very collaborative, very familial. So it's easy. Well, it's not easy. Of course, making TV shows is a challenge in itself, but the process is much easier when you have a family.

What did you enjoy most about working here? Is there anything you've discovered about each other through working together in this role? What do you value about each other as scene partners?

WAYANS JR.: What I like is just knowing that I have the freedom to explore this character on a level that I probably wouldn't be able to do if I wasn't doing it with my dad and I wasn't on an EP the show. We find these characters as we work on the (episodes), and I have the confidence that if I say something that's not necessarily in the script, I'm going to set him up for something and he'll do the same to me. There is a lot of comfort in that.

WAYANS SR.: I love the fact that I come to work and I know I'm going to laugh and have a good time. There will be challenges and problems to solve, but overall it will There are creative solutions for every problem. It's just knowing that I'm working with someone I love and respect and who has the same sense of humor but a different sensibility. It's just very calming.

Related

Damon Wayans raises his adult son in the trailer for Poppa's House.

The series premieres in the fall.

When you do something like that, laughter is important. Do you ever have days where you're in the middle of something and it just doesn't feel like it's clicking and it just doesn't feel like it's fun? And what are you doing to shake this up and turn it around?

WAYANS JR.: It's an interesting process because we rehearse on Tuesdays, and while we're rehearsing the show, we'll sit down and rewrite every scene and make jokes just to make it as funny as possible. When we start filming at the end of the week, we have already done the fine-tuning. So if we have to improvise, it will only be in addition to what is already funny. There are no days when we don't laugh.

Who doesn't want to laugh all day at work?

WAYANS SR.: Yeah, it's pretty magical when people come over and experience it. Not only are we a family, we are also an extended family with Kim, Shawn, my nephew, my granddaughter and my daughters. And then there is the extended family, the people we worked with In living colorAnd My wife and my childrenincluding the cameramen and prop men. Everyone knows everyone and loves everyone, that's why it's so easy to go to work.

Damon Wayans Jr. is confident his father will always make the right decisions for Poppa's House

There still have to be days when not everyone agrees. So is there a procedure for disagreements?

WAYANS JR.: I trust my father's ability to make the right decision for the show. I will have a say, but ultimately I leave it up to him and it usually works out in the end. And then he is very cooperative. He's not the type of person to say, “It's my way or the highway.” He listens and is very cooperative. And the show's showrunner, Dean Lorey, wrote it Major Payne with, that just shows you how family-like this process is. He is also a very good cooperation partner.

WAYANS SR.: We don't sit around and say, “No.” When we say, “Yeah, I like that, what about that?” we're building on someone's idea to make it work, rather than rejecting ideas. People get into arguments if you just shoot it down. We don't do that. We want to hear it and then say, “Okay, there's something there,” or “There's something not quite there, but what about that?” You always feel like you have a seat at the table.

WAYANS JR.: I also believe that lack of ego is key. Nobody goes there and is proud of their pitch. If a pitch doesn't work, it might inspire something. The key is to leave your ego at the door and just go in and make a great project happen.

WAYANS SR.: I just complimented an author on his ability to be so relentless because everything he suggests gets shot down. But every now and then he'll suggest something brilliant and you'll say, “Okay.” His rapport is far off, but he's persistent. He keeps coming back like he's never been rejected before, and that inspires other people.

Related

Two “New Girl” roommates will reunite next year for an episode of “Poppa's House.”

There will also be a mini-reunion “In Living Color” on the Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. sitcom on CBS.

The interesting thing about comedy is that when you're really good at it, it seems simple, so people get the impression that it's a lot simpler than it actually is. I knew nothing about how comedy worked, but then I went to a live taping In living colorAnd the thing that really struck and impressed me when I saw what everyone was doing was the variety that everyone offered and the different versions of the skits. It was so much fun to see how this process works. Is this also a show where you can play and explore some of that diversity while you're at it? Are you improvising a lot at the moment?

WAYANS SR.: Absolutely. We don't come to work to do what's written on the page. What's on the page is a blueprint for what we bring to the stage. Every scene has a structure – a beginning, a middle and an end – but what we do in between is the core of the magic. Sometimes (my son) says something and I think, “That’s great,” and you just go with it. You want to be supportive. Essence (Atkins) and Tetona (Jackson) will also improvise, and we’ll just go along with it.”

There's a brilliant little moment in the pilot where Poppa and Ivy have a little rap exchange, and we see more of that in the bloopers at the end. How hard was it to get this moment right? If the rhythm has to be perfect to work, how often do you have to shoot it?

WAYANS SR.: We actually only shot it twice. The outtake you saw was my first attempt because it was improvisation. She rhymed with me and I said, “Okay, I have to rhyme with her.” So I made up a rhyme and I knew in my head what I wanted to say, but it didn't come out right the first time. So we did another take and that's what's in the show. Things like this are where the magic happens. It's about listening, trusting and letting the gift take over. You just have to trust that it will be fun.

Moving from radio to podcast host opened up new opportunities for “Poppa’s House”

This series has already evolved since the beginning, moving from a radio show to a podcast. How do you think the changes in the stories you can tell now have really helped?

WAYANS SR.: What I realized at the radio station is that Dr. Reed was on an island. We do this family show and she is not part of the family. So how can we engage them? So we had to bring it to my house. It says Poppa's houseso let that be the show. I bring her to my house and the podcast introduces her (my son) and his wife and they become best friends.

A legendary talk radio host faces new challenges both at work and at home. A young co-host upends his professional life while he remains at home caring for his adult son, a dreamer who struggles to balance his creative ambitions with family responsibilities.

Release date

October 21, 2024

Pour

Damon Wayans, Damon Wayans Jr., Essence Atkins, Tetona Jackson, Bryan Safi

Seasons

1

network

CBS

Poppa's house airs on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+. Check out this series preview:

Watch on Paramount+