Marlon Wayans recently alleged that if it were up to NBC, The Wayans Bros. never would’ve had one of the most iconic characters, John Witherspoon’s Pops. The gag is… network execs wanted someone like Danny Glover instead.
Imagine the beloved sitcom without its biggest scene-stealer! On the latest episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, Marlon shared that NBC allegedly tried to yeet Mr. “Yitadee” himself, John Witherspoon.
“We didn’t make it to NBC. We did a table reading, and they thought [Witherspoon’s character] was too ghetto. And they wanted us to have a different father…like a Danny Glover type, and we was like, ‘No,’” Wayans recalled.
NBC had a lot of power in the era of hit shows like ER and Friends, the Him actor and his big brother Shawn weren’t new to this. The silly siblings had their own track record of success as movie stars and network TV veterans of a historic comedy show.
In Living Color was such a breakout hit that it created the Super Bowl Halftime Show as we know it and solidified Fox’s status as the fourth major broadcast network. The same dynasty behind stars like Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx knows comedic gold when they see it.
Marlon Wayans & The Wayans Bros. Team Doubled Down On John Witherspoon With A New Network
“It’s the flavor of the show. We was like, ‘It’s John Witherspoon or it’s not.’ … We ain’t going to do the show. And they was like, ‘Well, negro, you’re not doing the show,’” he continued.
A legend like Danny Glover was tempting, but Wayans and his team refused to fumble the Friday star’s unmatched energy for respectability politics. Fortunately, the WB understood the assignment.
“We was like ‘Wait, hold on, Danny Glover, you say?’ But then, the WB was starting, and it was like, ‘I think that’s a great combination.’ So, everything is God. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and it’s not about the doors that close; it’s the ones that open up,” Wayans said.
The show went forward as planned, starring Witherspoon as the Pops we know and love. The series premiered on the WB in January 1995, with its fifth and final season ending in May 1999.
Witherspoon passed away from a heart attack in 2019 at 77 years old.
Wayans went on to discuss dealing with grief, starring in the next Jordan Peele film, his Wild Child tour, and the upcoming return of the horror spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6.
Check out Marlon’s full interview on Baby, This Is Keke Palmer below.
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