John Amos and BernNadette Stanis have sounded off on the upcoming Good Times animated series reboot.
Amos, who played stern-but-loving father James Evans and Stanis, who played James’ daughter Thelma, have said that while they haven’t seen the animated series for themselves, it will be hard for the new series to live up to the original.
“I really can’t form an opinion, as I’ve not seen any of the episodes yet,” Amos told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that the high bar the original series set makes it hard for other shows trying to emulate the original series’ success.
“Norman [Lear]–and the entire cast and company–set the bar pretty high,” he continued. “They’ll have a hard time reaching that level of entertainment [and] education. I wish them the best. I see people aspiring to that, but I don’t see anybody reaching that goal, especially in an animated version.”
Stanis also said that a lot of viewers who are outraged at the new series might not know why the series is using the Good Times name.
“Probably a lot of people don’t know how Hollywood works. A lot of times, you use a certain name to open up the door for a new show. That could be what it is,” she said. “But I’m sure a lot of people will be a little confused at first because they have to think that it’s us. They think, ‘Oh, my God! That’s got to be Thelma, J.J. and Michael.‘ And then you come in there, and you don’t see anything like that.”
She also added that she and Jimmie Walker, who played Thelma’s eldest brother J.J., voiced some characters in the series, but that their voice work was very small. She also said how she wasn’t told a lot about the type of show they were creating.
“I did a little voice for them, but I did not know it was going to be the way it is,” she said. “I thought it was going to be different…But I think they did that becuase they knew what their show was going to be like. So I guess they figured, if you put us in there, it wouldn’t look so bad or whatever.”
Recently, Carl Jones, best known for his work on The Boondocks and Black Dynamite, revealed on X that even though the series credits him as a creative voice.
“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,” he wrote last weekend. “So I haven’t even seen one episode or script of this version of the show…”
Yvette Nicole Brown, who lends her voice to the series as main character Beverly Evans, has defended the series, writing on X last week, “This verison of #GoodTimes is edgier and more irreverent than the Good Times of our childhood, but it’s still a show about family, fighting the system and working to make things better despite where you start out in the world. That 100% lines up with my values.”
“It’s called #GoodTimes because it was championed by @TheNormanLear. He was excited to update the story and use the freedom of animation to point out what still isn’t fair and equitable to Black folks. That is what we do with the show,” she continued. “I’ve spent my whole life shining a light on the things that matter & calling out the systems that keep a boot on our necks. At times, I take parts in projects that do the same–even if they are irreverent or risky. Coming for me as if that’s wrong is a fool’s errand.”
