The Breakfast Club - Breakfast Club Classic: Cedric The Entertainer Learned Never To Gamble With Michael Jordan, Talks 'The Neighborhood' + More

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for. Why do I watch the walk up? That's like asking me, why do I breed? And it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fit.

It's not just a game. It's your culture. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. Listen to American football on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Joy is essential and it's also elusive, but now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence.

Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotby. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Open your free IHeart Radio app. Search Joy 101 and Listen Now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby is presented by CVS. My first guest is Terrence Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerrin. Have surprises?

Many surprises. Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast where the group chat comes to life. What? You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. It's lemonade. This is Sweet 305. Here, oversharing is encouraged. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You'll get no ribs. No, here we go. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envi. Just hilarious. Salomey Nagai. We are the Breakfast Club. Lawn La Rosa is here as well.

We got a special guest. in the building. The legend. Cedric the entertainer. Welcome back. Good morning, good morning, morning. How are you? What's up? Good, good, man. All is well. Can't complain. Good to see you. Good. Great seeing. You jazz. What's up? Everybody, man. The first thing Cedric said when he walked in is, you know, today is to bring your kids to work

that. He said, y'all ain't bring your kids. Oh, no. You didn't see no black kids running out of here. Hot Cheetos and everything. It's just up everything. No, no. It was a bunch of little white kids on the elevator. I was like, okay. They had on their little quarter zips and everybody was looking like

they're looking like little business people. I thought, okay. I was expecting it. You know, if you got like, how many kids? I got six. Yeah, it would have been crowded in here. How about you guys? Full?

Yeah, so that's coming. I got two. Okay. That's American right there. That's a Mexican. Well, she married to American, so that's going to change. Shut off. Oh.

That's going to be pregnant right now. She might be pregnant right now. That is so true. Anyway, black Americans, anyway. Yeah. How are you feeling, though, brother? I feel it good, man. I've been in the city, chilling, man.

I've been, you know, here doing Broadway, so I've been, like, here through the blizzards and now the weather's starting to break a little bit. But it changes, like, from day to day, though. That's what you're killing me. New York was like, one day you had your little nice little shirt, short sleeve on, and by the time the night come. You need a cut.

Put a mink on. Yeah, crazy. I mean, scarf. up barring people clothes. I'm like, let me get that jacket from me. So what got you back in the Broadway? Between all the comedy specials, you being on the road, the movies, what made you say, you know what, let me sit down for a minute and just focus on Broadway. This was a good transition, man, you know, after doing a sitcom for eight seasons, so, you

know, we did the neighborhood. It wrapped up. And eight season, that's a blessing, man. But, you know, I wanted to do something different. I didn't really want to be another TV dad or just kind of go straight to that. And the opportunity to do Broadway was going to be, you know, just one of these places where you get to, try your real acting chops you on this stage once they once they're once them lights come up you out there you know this is this is you know this is the dojo for for real actors this is where they go to work and get stronger and so uh it was a blessing man i ran into debby allen last year i come to see uh othello and saw denzel and knew he was doing all these august wilson plays just

kind of you know spoke it into existence really manifested it so uh then i saw debby debby allen and she called me and, you know, it was just, it lined up perfectly. The timing from when we were rapping the neighborhood to when they was going to start this was perfect. So it's been, and it's been great, man. It's been a great transition. I want y'all to come see it if anybody, you know. Is it a musical?

No, no, this is a real, this is August Wilson's Joe Turner's come and gone. This ain't no play, play, play, play, play. This ain't no, this is a sacred ground, right here. Yeah, August Wilson was a great African-American playwright, great playwright period, though. But he's got, you know, shows like fences and Ma'Ame's Black Bottom and all these women. Denzel is as committed to do all of them as a film. So he'll, we'll do the plays, and then they'll make a movie out of it. And so that's been a blessing.

But, no, it's serious work. And then, you know, Taraji's co-starring and we got Ruben Santiago Hudson and Joshua Boone. There's some dope people in here. It's bad. When you think about this play, right, coming here, gone. Did you feel pressure walking into that legacy or did you walk in like, I'm a Saturday's entertained. I've got it.

No, man, I mean, you know, it's one of those things that you know, you definitely don't want to take you know, for granted, like, yeah, just your fame is going to work in this space, right? Because this is, like, sincere, Broadway, you know, it's the big time. You're on the floor seats of acting as far as what, you know,

what the world sees, right? And so, you know, you're, you got to come in there and hold it down. And you know that there's other, like, Tony Award winning people in the play, including, you know, working for Debbie Allen, you know, she ain't ready to play no games. So it's just, it was the one where I wanted to be prepared. And I came in after doing the neighborhood. So I literally finished the neighborhood on Tuesday and had to be here Sunday. And so I felt like I was behind. Like, you know, actors was kind of off book already.

And I'm still in there, like in rehearsals. Like, so I was a little nervous for a while. But Debbie, she just got me, she was like, look, you good. Just keep working. Keep working. We got the time. Just keep working. You're good. I was like, I,

because it is intimidating. You do feel like, you know, all these, you know, high-level actors, like being in the scene with Denzel or somebody,

you know, you'd be like, am I going to be able really hold this down? You know what I'm saying? So, but I trust it, though, you know?

How do you get somebody to feel something serious, though, say? As soon as you walk on stage, I might just laugh because it's sad. Like,

you know what I'm saying? Your deposition. What the word? It is. It is. Deposition. Disposition. Disposition.

Yeah, your disposition. You put you on the deposition. You got a deposition. Let me talk to my lawyer. You know what? But your disposition is just funny when you walk in a room. It's so true, though, man. And I think, you know, that kind of happens, too, with the audience, like, you know, right away when they see me, it's this idea that.

And, you know, and so, Debbie actually encouraged it. So I don't play away from the fact that I make people laugh. But the character is this sincere guy. You know, Seth Holly, he owns a boarding house in 1911. So all the people are kind of the great migration. People are coming up from the south, coming north, we in Pittsburgh. And it's about people come and transition to trying to find their life, find their footing, find where they're going. And so I own this boarding house.

So I just played them as like one of them, OG, you know, uncle, grandfather, and they're funny, even though they're serious. So once you see me like lock into the role, you'll understand the serious parts and then you'll get, but I kind of did that in Barbershop too. Like it's moments in the barbershop movie where I'm really sincere and you can believe it. And then as opposed to like the moments where I'm just telling jokes.

So this is more of that is more like the sincere of the character, but I have an opportunity to be myself and to let people laugh. and I didn't get to do that in the American Buffalo the first time I did Broadway. It was all serious. It was David Mammon. And I remember my audience would want to laugh at things that wasn't funny,

but they just needed that release because it was me. They were like, oh, that's crazy. You'd be like, I didn't say nothing funny. How's the schedule? Does the schedule, you know, because, I mean, you're doing what,

eight shows a week? Eight shows a week. You do one Tuesday, two Wednesday, one Thursday, one Friday, two Saturday, one Sunday. So it's a grind. You got one day off. So Monday is the only day off.

And you got to try to get it all in, whatever. You know, your relaxation, your bills pay, your doctor visits, everything. Got to happen on that Monday. So it's been to chill. Yeah, you got to rest. Yeah, because, I mean, when you're doing these shows, you know, you do have to project. They have you mic'd up a little bit. I think it's more, you know, more modern than it used to be the old way where you had to, like, project everywhere.

But you are miced up, but still is important to. let the back of that the DA to hear your voice, right? And so you can't really count on the microphone. So it is an opportunity. So we do all these little warm-up exercises and stuff like that to kind of keep yourself where you know, where you let people hear you.

I got a good voice, though. I got like a natural kind of big voice. So that, I just, you know, I got that St. Louis, so sometimes people don't understand what I'm saying, I guess. Yeah, you could have did radio or you could have been in a group with Gerald Laverter somebody.

Oh, Larry. written all over your face. You don't have to say a word. You don't have. You know, I was wondering with that being said, do you ever get nervous? Like, what's the craziest thing that ever happened while you were acting, right?

Did somebody forget their lines? Did you forget your lines? You come out too early. Did something, the lights go out? What was the craziest thing that happened while you were before? Yeah, well, one, I come out as a scene where I drop a bucket,

and this bucket has got like pots and pans in it because that's what I do as a little side hustle I make pots and pans and so it drops and bucket fall over and then it's like two levels of the stage and it started to roll

where it would have fell into the audience and so I'm like looking like and other people talking about it's like I just go and get it because I see about to roll off the stage so it's just one of these moments where And then for me to scoop it all up, he's just making more noise. I just turned around.

I was like, eh? And then just kind of walked off. But it was one of those moments where you have to decide, like, it's live. So when things are happening, you just got to go with it. I definitely, like, early on and drop lines where you just, you're like, I don't know where I am. Because there's so many words. Like August Wilson write with a lot of words and these speeches, and it's kind of like, you know, 1911 vernacular

so you got to kind of like say it a certain way but it's it is one of those things that once you get to doing it and like all of us we learn to trust each other it's almost like a trapeze family right like you gotta know like the other person when I let go

this is your job to catch me and that's kind of what happens we'd be out there like if you see somebody losing it and you can tell they off you just go and them, just run up and take them to the next thing and let it go. Because the audience don't really know unless they know, you know. Like, there's people that's super theater folks and they're going to be like, you know, you guys dropped the line and seem to.

That happens? Somebody came up to you and said? I hope not. No. But it is folks like that that are very, like, super Broadway and they're coming there for that. So, you know, we don't want to, you know, but we actually, Debbie works so hard that it's not like we do that. a lot. It just happens, you know, because your brain is just going to slip sometime out there.

You know, it's every night. Sometimes you do two shows, that's when it really happened when you do two shows because you feel Jess will know this, like, even when you perform, like stand-up, but on a multiple show night, you'll know, like, I said this joke already. You're like, so you'll be out there

thinking, like, I say it. Did they hear it? Did they hear any of it? Am I repeating it? Oh, okay, yeah, yeah. Right. Then you'd be looking, be looking around like, yeah, you said this is it twice. Is there any room for improv in your character? No. No. That's the only thing, you know, that the playwright, you know, these guys, like, this play is called August Wilson's Joe Turner's coming home. So he's the top of the food chain on here. So you got to do, you got to do the words and that's what's important. And so, I mean, there are, you know, again, like, it's times where you may be. be a variation where it just come out your head the way you would say it, but you still need to be saying the context for the most part. Yeah, you don't get to just kind of take a full left turn and just like hit them with the new junk that's in your head. Like, I got some,

I got some bars for this. I don't think people understand, you keep saying August Wilson. I don't think people understand how like major August Wilson is, like a certain group of people. When I went to at Del State, if you did anything theatrical, you know, they focused on August Wilson like it's kind of like Shakespeare but it's our version of Shakespeare like people lean so heavily in on August Wilson in black spaces

yeah he's got like it's 11 or 10 plays for sure in a series and I believe it's 11 of these all just super I mean very important plays that kind of tell the story of us you know history from slavery and in these different stages

of our culture like Joe turn and come and gone is this stage when slavery was over and people are looking and trying to find who they are and they're looking for their families because people have been separated and yet you know in the south they would still keep people and in this is one character Loomis his character has been captured and he was trapped for seven years and then he gets out and he's looking for his wife and he comes and stays at our boarding house and so he's a guy that's on a journey to find like his life and his footing and all this stuff and yet

I've never been a slave my character so I'm kind of arrogant and a little bit a little bit of such a much in a way you know what I'm saying but but all of it you learn from everybody else's journey as it goes along so this was really

special about it and I think that's what makes his writing as far as the stories of African Americans really resonate with us because It's spiritual. It's funny. It's like it definitely is like it's, it's written heavy,

but because it's us, like culturally, black people in there talking to us. You know, they're laughing. It's just like, yeah, it's the same quality of going to any black film where you, you know, where we, people sitting there. And because it's theater, it feels like we're in your living room.

Like, you're sitting in that audience like, you don't do that. Why are you going to that girl? You know, you hear that all the time. Like, you like, Y'all black. You're black as hell. Y'all are going to be talking to us like this.

But it's all right. You know, we've learned to embrace all of that. That's the energy that feels like love and the love that you want to get, you know, that celebration of who we are. An I-Heart Radio Experience. You end up hell with weekend gold tickets to Lassau, Montreal. Thomas Rett. Mufford and Sons.

Here's my pride. Here's my share. I'm a party, Old Dominion, Carly Pierce, and more. And the prize gets even sweeter. With flights from Porter Airlines, three nights at Residence in downtown Montreal, and $1,000 cash. Download the free I-Heart Radio app, listen to Pure Country for 10 minutes, and enter to win. Lassau, Montreal.

Every day you listen is another chance to win. I love the sounds, the buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place soccer, football, at home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force.

From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull.

It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the MyCultura Podcast Network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Okay, if you know me, You know this. I'm always searching for inspiration, for support, and useful tools to help maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover all of that together. We're going to have these meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges that she never saw coming. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer. And that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartum depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety.

Olympic champ Sean Johnson revealed why she had no choice but to be a gymnast. There was something about gymnastics that was intoxicating to me. It's given me a belief that we all have one of those treasures inside of us. We just have to find it. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My first guest is. Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerin, Samira and Gracie.

I'm so excited on the bouncy bed. You have surprises, many surprises. Welcome to Sweet 305 where the group chat comes to life. What up! It's like a way to say like, Oh la a friend, hello, my friend, hello, my brother. What up? Look, I never have ever been to have to be able to anyone.

Except with my kids, my kids, my son. I know my amante. Uff! Oof! That incredible! Yeah, the telenovela. You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. It's lemonade.

I know there's someone. I'd like to collaborate with this person. This is Sweet 305. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons as part of my Coulthura podcast network on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What did Broadway expose about, I guess, your craft and your skill set, that TV and stand-up never did? man you know I think it's that that idea that of connection right it's something that you have to have as a stand-up where you connect to an audience but I think the idea of being able to do the combination because as an actor you get to stop and start over and go you know and look look for that that feeling that you want or you didn't say the words quite the way you wanted to land you know a scene but I think here you know it is a this ability to take

what is in innately your power, like this ability to connect with people, this ability to be somebody that you recognize and then turn it on and then go out there and be it, right? You know, right at the moment. And I think that's what I try to do

because my character starts off the play. So I have to bring you into this play, like right away, right? You know, and I think I look at that as my job. Like the job is once somebody started, then, you know, that's pretty much how it is, right? Like, you're going to say,

all right, man, you're the first one out here. You got to make it happening, you know, and it's, it's Taraji and I, but, you know, we're on there,

and we're kind of setting up the pace, and then it just goes. And so, you know, it's important that I think that I had to learn to take, trust what I do, you know, as a stand-up,

like the ability to walk out there on your own, which is the craziest sport of them all. I kind of feel like, stand-up is like, you don't have no support. You can't get a drum or something.

or none of that. I think that's the hardest thing to do on stage. Yeah, that's it. Being a stand-up comic going up there by yourself, talking to hundreds, thousands of people trying to make them laugh. Yeah. They got the expectation to laugh. I think that's the hardest thing to do on stage.

I think it's Broadway because, see, at least stand-up comedian, you practice you on your own. But Broadway, you gotta play off of what somebody else does. Yeah, but y'all got lines. But if they mess up their lines, or they forget their lines, or you forget your lines. See, jokes, you practice that. It's the same thing, you practice both of them.

Yeah, but I mean, but, Stand-up to me is still a little bit more. I kind of agree because you just don't have no balance. Like, say, in a Broadway play, if you do mess up and you've been rehearsing, somebody else can pick it up for you. It's almost like in a band, right? Like, if you drop or you forget the lyrics, they just start playing, you know? You know, like, I mean, we used to go to the C, like, New Edition of them or Bobby Brown.

He'll just tell you to sing for 35 minutes. Right. Right. He was saying. You're like, you're like, don't you. I'm here.

Oh, man. You're like, don't you, I'm here, I paid money. You should be thinking, right. Bobby's saying to dance now.

Bobby'd be like, man, y'all go ahead, man. Yeah, but I figure with comedians, I figured there was, for both of y'all, I figured there's this one joke

y'all got in the cut just in case y'all forget. Y'all get a brain fart or brain freeze and be like, I forgot where I was, that you could just go back to that. Y'all don't have that? Oh,

I mean, man, sometimes. That's tough, though. Like, if you lose your balance up on stage sometimes, you know, it is a, it can take a minute to turn it back on, right? Just to kind of find your way back to it because a lot of it is in the setup. You didn't, like, wrote a joke and you did the setup and then you forgot. Like, you forgot where you were, and you're like, oh, man, then I blew the setup. You mean, like, ah, I kind of blew the joke because I blew the setup. Like, now I don't know if I can go back and reset it up.

I'll try. You know what I'm saying? but most of the time you have to move on. Then you'd be mad. You'd be like, man, I ain't get to do that joke last night. And that's one that you really wanted to do. Like, oh, I'm going to execute it. I hate when that and my gang can tell me that too.

You know, you come off and they'd be like, you didn't even do so-and-so tonight. You'd be like, man, that audience would have killed that, you know? You'd be like, man, you hate when you do that like that's, but that is that, that's that free will and spirit of being a stand-up though up there. Because you, a lot of times you are, you got your routine, but then you just, you just, kind of, you have to go at some time. You just be out there. Did anybody doubt that you could do the role?

No, you know, no, no, no, no right away. I think that was really great. I had great confidence. Debbie was the main person that really need to be behind me. I think that, you know, probably some of the other actors maybe, you know, and not saying, I didn't know them personally, but at the time. But I think that, you know, people assumed that you are just going to come in and not take it serious and, like, kind of take your, use your fame,

or whatever your popularity and just kind of come in and not respect the words. Because that's the thing about Broadway kind of, to every's point, is that it is a sincere space. Even though the play can be fun, the space is real.

And I just, and Don Chito doing a play up here too, and we went to lunch before. And, you know, he's considered a serious actor, so we just had, you know, at dinner just was talking about it. But he was like, man, you know, you're a nice.

natural. Like trust it. Don't get all in your head about you got to be some other thing. You know, be yourself and it'll show up and then you'll make the character real and that's what I really embrace more than anything. Cheeto is a proof. Yeah, proof with I-O., which is dope.

That's dope too. We went to go see that. I wanted to ask, you know, another question. Yeah, I was going to say, like, the play, right? The play explores a bunch of different stuff, right? It talks about finding your trauma. Finding yourself after trauma. It talks about identity, freedom. What part of that? personally hit you. Man, you know,

I think it is the idea of me as like continued discovery. Like what I had to, what I realized is that when I was making this choice that I wasn't comfortable

or really still happy with being like successful my whole life, right? Like if I say when man, I've been successful for a long time, I had a lot of TV shows and all these things. things, it was an emptiness that needed that something else needed to happen. And that happens in the play where you're looking for something else. And this choice to kind of almost, you know, because Broadway is not, it's big time,

but it's lower money, right? Like, so you make a choice. Like, you make a choice to come in and do this for six months. I've been here since February, and we run to July. So this is a long time of, like, I, like, I, I'm just going to butt. And then you work a lot. You work different.

You work every day, eight shows a week. It's totally different. Like you say, you might do a movie. You got three days on. You come in and do your little scenes and leave. You know, you got a trailer and SUV outside. And it's shiny. You know, this ain't that shiny.

Like, you know, I got to get my own lunch. And, you know, it's that kind of thing. Yeah, no, it's, it's Broadway. You do your own makeup. It's everything. Everything is like this is what you. you do. Like this is not, you know, but they, you know, they make it comfortable for you, but it's not, it's not the, not the whole glam squad and all the big old shiny stuff that you

get when you do movies. So you don't bring your own squad with you? Because I know some people will bring their own people. Yeah, I don't know. Not with that, not for that money. Because that's too expensive. That's right. I brought my wife. I got, I got, you know, my kids will pop up. But, you know, like, I'll bring my team in for, for, certain things, but, you know, like, mainly, like, big press runs and stuff like that, but, you know, like, just on a daily basis, no.

That's every day. Every day, you know. I mean, I'd have to get them a place to live. They had to have travel. I'm like, mm-na. Is it true that Michael Jordan made you quit gambling? No, I just lost money playing with him playing golf one time, you know.

But this MJ, like, you know, he'll gamble on anything. So I'm just trying to, you know, be, be a I'm trying to be in the game you know just play and I bet a thousand dollars a hole and lost every hole so

you lost every hole god damn said that was crazy that's a lesson learned and he wanted his money he wanted his money because he's a billionaire so you know no no

when you gamble you got to pay MJ ain't playing like that when you lose a hole do you be like ouch like what do you like what do you pause man not that type of hole man cut it out that's right

You'd be like, out. That's $1,000 every hole. Well, you be thinking you're going to win one of them, you know. Do you play golf? Mm-hmm. You didn't win none? No. But you got to know, you got to act your wage too.

But you do. And you try to get favors. You like, hey, give me four strokes his whole. Give me three strokes. Oh, gee, please. Yeah, yes. That was great. Please, OG.

That was disagree. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is golf, man. Man, you realize how now you trip off how golf's down actually that way, man.

Give you that stick out the bag. Hey, whoa. How many strokes you got in this way? I'm going to get in the hole. Hey, man. I keep losing my balls. Like a lot. That's a lot.

I didn't realize. You didn't even notice that until being a big of me. No, man, that's pretty much. Everybody's going to be playing golf. Like, whoa, buddy. Oh, man. That's a lot, man. You know, it's funny because you talk about the money you're not making with Broadway.

But I don't know if we understand what you just did with the neighborhood. No, man. Right. 156 episodes. I think the last episode is next month, right? Yeah, the last episodes will come on next month. Yeah. I think the last few.

And, man, it was, that's a blessing because, you know, like I did, we did five seasons on Steve Harvey, five seasons on Soul Man and then eight on on the neighborhood. Respect to all of those sitcoms, this is a little different. No, this is. It's CBS. No, that's a, yeah.

You're going to be a syndication forever, say. And it's one of those things that, you know, we had a great time doing the show. I mean, you know, of course, Tashina Arnold, legendary. Every show she's been on being crazy. Max Greenfield, amazing, Beth Berry. The whole cast was just dope.

And we enjoyed it. enjoyed each other so much, man. So it was one of those shows you really didn't want to see come to an end. But, you know, you also get it too. Like, sometimes it's just like, all right, cool. But we felt like we could have told more stories forever. Like, you know, had a great writing style. I thought that was supposed to be a playing spinoff, no?

We had two. That didn't work. We did. We spent off with Tracy Morgan. We had to show Crutch that was going to be on Paramount Plus. We shot eight of those with Tracy and as the New York version of. of my character, like it was dope when his adult kids moved back home.

And then we had, we shot on with the boys, my two sons, where they had their own life and they decided not to go forward with it. And so it was one of those things that we did, like, you know, really economically, you know, it was like trying to do something for a budget because it was doing that time where CBS was up for sale

and it was all that, you know, it was lawsuits and the president was suing them. It was crazy, man. So, you know, they just didn't. They were really nervous about moving forward on anything like that, you know, where it was going to cost them money. So it was one of them kind of situations where the politics of it, I feel like hurt that.

But this show should have had a spinoff. Like, when you think about a show that's successful in eight years, it should have been at least another show that ran for a while. And we tried a couple of different versions, but it never worked. Like Big Bang Theory? Yeah, they're young children. Yeah. And they're doing something after young Sheldon, like, you know, so there's a couple of them that kind of spin like that.

But, you know, it's been, the exec's over on the CBS side been great, man. We've been having, you know, when talks trying to figure out something else to do. So, you know, I want to ask you, like, you're a comedian, right? And there's certain things. I know comedians want to check off their list. Having a hit sitcom is one of them. Yeah, man. When you look at the neighborhood, you say yourself, you said to yourself, man, I did that.

Oh, for sure, man, definitely. And, you know, when I was able to executive produce it and being, you know, and be in control. Like I was able to be in control of the show. Like I can say what happened and what didn't go and all these kind of things and, you know, part of casting and all that. So I definitely feel like, you know,

we checked that box, you know, and really feel great about the show, like how it represents, you know, definitely a lot of aunties. And, you know, I mean, it's captured more and more because it's like, what's that, traditional television? Yeah, linear.

Yeah, it don't get quite, like I didn't feel it like when it was on. like you get that love like back safe with fresh prints and everything these were the only shows you watch but now we kind of got like you know we got like cable and and streaming and all these things that the neighborhood felt like man it's popular but it didn't feel like when you walk out you get that crazy love but now in syndication it is it's crazy because when I did the view yesterday the other day they mentioned the neighborhood and the crowd screamed they just caught me off guard because Like, you know, when I walk around, you know, it's a degree of like, you know, everybody's been knowing me for their whole life. Like, and so when I realized, like, man, I've been around a long time. But it's that idea of the show being so popular that is a different kind of, you know, I guess that ear that you hear when people are like, oh, man, no, that's one of my favorite shows. I like that. So I'm glad that, you know, that syndication kind of got it to more people's homes because I think people just.

didn't on a regular basis watch, you know, like appointment TV like we used to do with the Cosby show and stuff like that. Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are at them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.

So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. I love the sounds, the buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place soccer, football, at home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force.

From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernando Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that.

As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Coutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Okay, if you know me, you know this. I'm always searching for inspiration, for support, and useful tools to help maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover all of that together. We're going to have these meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges that she never saw coming. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer.

And that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Olympic champ Sean Johnson revealed why she had no choice. but to be a gymnast. There was something about gymnastics that was intoxicating to me. It's given me a belief

that we all have one of those treasures inside of us. We just have to find it. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My first guest is Perix Holtin, Shakira, Luke and Yerrin,

Samira and Gracie. I'm so excited. On the bouncy bed. You have surprises? Many surprises. Welcome to Sweet 305 where the group chat comes to life. What a . It's like a way to say like,

Oh, my God, Hello, my friend, hello, Hello, my brother. Look, I never have ever been With my kids, my kids, if you know. I'm a man. Uff!

Oof! That's incredible, yeah, the telenovela. You're the only person I know that loves a Yellow Starburst. It's lemonade. No, there's anyone who you have a little I'm like you like you say, I'd like

to collaborate with this person. This is Sweet 305. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons as part of my Culture Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I was going to say, you talked about checking things off your list, right? Is there anything else that you want to check off your list that you haven't done yet as of yet?

I don't know, man. You know, I still kind of want to do like, you know, like like, like, like, kind of like a one hour kind of, you know, dramedy kind of thing. I don't know.

I love like that feel of, I ain't really landed like in that insecure space. I mean, I know that was 30 minutes, but I like that more things that feel authentic, like real, real or, you know, cool detective.

I don't know. Something that's, but that combination that's, you know, he's humorous, but he's funny and it's dramatic and it's dope story. So we're looking at all those kind of spaces. I directed a few episodes of the neighborhood. I don't really, I like directing, but I don't, you know,

so I didn't check that box too because it's one where that's the, that's a triple job. People don't know when you direct, you got to be there before the project started. You do the project and then you're there after the project. So it's not like when you act, you go once you do your job, you're out. You're like, deuces. So I was like, I don't know if I really want to love directing because it's that, it's like all the way with the project.

It actually can last a whole year on one project. You're like, I'm tired of this one. So that's the most difficult thing, because I actually heard Martin talking about that too with in line between love and hate. Like he had to direct and he was in it in writing and then produce it. And then, you know, when everybody else go home,

he can't. He got to be. So that is one of the hardest jobs. Yeah, directing. Yeah, directing is the one where you got to have the most commitment. And I realize that, too, once I've done a few movies, that they actually, it is talent.

Right, like, you know, a lot of times the director seems like this other person, but a talented director will make the difference. So, you know, you got to always take that and, you know, now that's a question I ask. That's why I haven't done a lot of movies because I always want to know, like, who directing now because you don't get, you don't get the, you don't get a lot of misses as black people. Like, if you miss, then people just feel like you blew it. Like, you know what I'm saying? And then oftentimes, unless the director is all. already famous, then the success of the movie going to land on the stars.

The success or the failure, right? But if the director famous, then they might be in it as well. But if they're not, then it's like, say that movie one, yeah, bum. You'd be like, well, no, this dude. Here's. He just cast me. He didn't work two days.

So, but yeah, that's the thing. I think I desire, you know, few, few things now. other than just kind of looking for like cool roles to take my audience on different journeys. That's all I look for now. When you're making your next project, right, like what's the happy medium between having big-name cats

and the money? Because when they announced the neighborhood, deadline said that it was an issue of cost because of the big-name cast. But how do you, you're going to have big-name people because of your relationships, right? So where do you fall in that? Well, I mean, you know, that, I mean, you realize

it's even more so now, and it's very interesting because, you know, you got, like, screaming, You got micro dramas. You got all these things where people definitely trying to cut the cost. And you have to decide on that. I mean, it's some super talented people out here. So a lot of times, you know, like after being on the neighborhood of eight seasons, I also know that you can cast without having to have big names anymore.

It's just talented people out here that's like they can do the job, right? But it's important to have somebody that you can market. Like somebody got to be famous enough to come on the breakfast club, right? Otherwise, you can't promote it, right? If they don't, you know, so if that person don't have enough of, you know, of energy to come to be booked on shows, then you just can't get it out there. So that's the important part. So that's where you balance it.

You know, when you're looking at that budget, you kind of look like, all right, cool. I need, I need, like, least one or two other people that can be known and go out there. And then I can cast all around that. So I think that's the biggest thing. And then, you know, after eight seasons, that's what everybody needed raises. And that's when you knew, like, all right, this show getting ready to be done. Because going on all the Friends days, right? When, you know, all right, everybody getting a million dollars of episode.

They're like, no, we don't do that no more. So that kind of, like, became very clear that that's what's going to happen here. That's how you know TV in a bad space. When they, a show can be performing viewership-wise. Yeah. But if it costs too much, we can't afford to pay y'all no more. No. No, no, they'll cut it down.

And that's, you know, and I mean, it becomes the case, right? and you realize that because you want everybody to eat with you, like, you know, because they'll be willing to pay me, you know, they be like, well, say, you know, you're going to come do another season. I'm like, well, would y'all got to take care of everybody else? And then that's literally what happened. It was like, I was like, because I had gotten a couple of different big raises throughout the whole time.

So, and I was like, well, I'm not getting ready to be that guy, like, where I'm just the only one eating. You know, I'm not going to do that. That ain't even cool. Like, you know, everybody needs to, you know, break people off and then. But when you look at that number and what people want it and, you know, like, I don't. And if they just move to a more affordable neighborhood, man, they keep the show. They keep the show.

Nobody thought of that. Nobody thought of that. Now we on Hulu or somewhere. I don't know, like, no. I don't know. Man, no, it was one of those things, like, you know. I don't know. If CBS can't afford you, then, I don't know.

You pretty much, that's it, man. I mean, Netflix, they're the only ones going to have to spend their money. Did you think about getting together, but, like, you know what, let's just cut out our fee a little bit so we can stay on television? Because it brings so much more than just that. All of those talks, but, I mean, it really ain't just the actors, though. Then, you know, the writers, everybody like this, a whole, you know,

everybody, all the union people, everybody, you can get eight seasons, they all want to be. So that number just keep climbing. So the actors are all agreed. We definitely wanted to just keep doing it. So we was all like, come on, we can do it. We good, everybody good, where we at? Like, let's do this.

Right? So, but that didn't really work for them. So it was cool. You were really diversified in your portfolio, though. I saw you and Anthony Anderson. Y'all got the barbecue spot in LA. Yeah, yeah, yeah. AC barbecue has been growing, man.

That's been four years now. So, yeah, we got the restaurant in L.A. We got a cookbook coming out in May. And then we got the sauces and the rubs everywhere, all the stores and the Kroga's and Amazon and all that kind of stuff. And so, man, it's been fun. We started that as a little, you know, one of those kind of pet projects. Like, you know, like when we got that from George Cleaning,

when they started Casamigos, like the friends just got together. Me and it used to be, you know, on our golf trips, grilling and hanging out. And so we came up with the idea and the kind of. concept was working, man. We loved the idea of barbecue. Love the fact that it was cultural and it was different. So we, like, we went, you know, I'm from St. Louis and from Compton, but we went to South Carolina. We went to Memphis. We went to Texas. We got all the different, we wanted to honor, but we decided we just wanted

to honor the idea of that, that cookout energy. And so it wasn't about our particular sauce. It's all about the cultural barbecue. And so that's what the, book about the Husky and the handsome guy, the grilling that's coming out, so that's going to be dope, man, and so that's been good. We're just going to keep building it, keep growing it. That's, you know, that's one of those things that businesses are.

You recognize, like, you know, these things, you wish they just were successful overnight, but you had to really grind on them because the restaurant business is tough right now, too, so. But we're in a, we got a sexy little spot, but we're going to have to move out of there because we don't have

we can't do Uber Eats and stuff because we're in the mall because the drivers can't park. Right. So it's like we realized like, man, we miss out on a lot of money. Yeah, so it's that kind of thing. So we just, but it's sexy and people love it. We've been having a great time with it. Does Compton really have good barbecue, man?

Because you're from St. Louis. I'm from Stock Carolina. I've been seeing some videos. There's this spot in Compton called Kitchen's Corner. Oh, that's what's good. Blue, boy. That's the man. That barbecue good for real?

The water boy is cold, man. Oh, man. It's a couple of, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, big, big, big barbacue places out there. But, but, my man, uh, bleto, who was a one of our big, uh, he was one of those, uh, one of those places where people migrated from, right? So when people from. Everywhere, right? Andy's family, his family from Arkansas, and his dad used to do the barbecuing,

and then he's the real chef with us, like, he ain't cooked more than anything. I'm a taste him, you know. Okay. Okay, yeah. You don't really cook like that. I mean, I can get down, but I'm more like a, well, you could use some of a little garlic powdery, man.

Look at that kitchen's corner. Look at that rib, man. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, oh, that's the under show. Yeah, these guys, no, this is dope right here. I'm going, I need to go to comedy. That's a good, though. You like that?

Hell, yeah. Yeah, you see that pause. You know, you're going to get some of that meat. You're going to get some of that meat. Come to me. So it's hard to meet. Yep. For us, it's just in that hole.

Shut up, yeah. I can't. Now, is the head that you have on, is that who's head? No, this was not. No, this is like, oh, this is the, the stats. This came, you know, this is the, from the, The little cowboy era that everybody was rocking. I like that.

I see you got the three mics on the side. That is fire. But I did, yeah. You know, I'll find the little pins. You added that. Yeah, yeah, I added that kind of stuff. I like that. But yeah, I still, but I do have, I do my hat brand.

I don't, I have the who said then I got the egg and butters, which are a little more high quality hats too now. Like so, I do those too. Yeah. You did it right, man. Yeah. All career. You just done everything the right way.

Yeah, man. Just keep it simple. I really feel blessed by that part of it, man. They just really just kind of stay steady, stay grinding, you know, stay humble, and just go get it. Like, I don't even worry about, like, the ups and downs of it, you know, because you'll have moments in your career where you up, you know, and it's super up, but then, you know, but in general,

I like to entertain people and I like, you know, so I was looking out there. I was like, man, I got a book too. And I was looking at it because y'all got all, everybody's books. I was like, I didn't come up here for my book, though. It was like a year ago. I don't think I came to promote my book. So I was like, man, I need to get my book in your library, man. Like, everybody's book was out there.

But, you know, like all the things you get to do in this life and this career has been super blessed, man. So I like it. I like that, you know, I like that spirit of that being, you know, we've talked about this one time. We used to gather. I liked this spirit of just, you know, you get a little more controversial than I am. But it generally, a good dude, like good people. I like, I'm like, I'm saying, man. Let me not put myself too close.

He said, no, no, no, no. You were there to be. When you were, when you do it, like, just like events and stuff, you know, you're like, Charlotte me, a little solid dude, man. Like, you know, but then you realize, like, you would look online, they would be like, people be mad at him, man.

I'm like, man. I'm like, man, what do? I was like, I was like, I was like. You did come up here for your book, though. They did. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, flip bob car. Okay.

Yeah. No, it ain't in the library. I love seeing comedians. I see more and more comedians working with each other. We'll get it up here. It's probably, it's probably. I've seen it recently. It's probably.

I was going to say, I love to see comedians working with each other. I feel like there's a shift where at one time it was like everybody was going at each other, but now I see more and more comedians getting together going out on the road. Do you notice that as well? Yeah, man. I mean, I really like that too, man. Because when I come from, that's where it really what it was. Like, we all like just kind of rocked together.

Of course, you know, Kings of Comedy is one of the, you know, the more kind of famous versions of that. But even like right after Def Jam, when Dev Jam first blew, that's how we went out and got bigger. Like everybody was on these big tours, and you could mix and match and people. And I did it with Comic View.

After I host a Comic View, we used to do a tour, put everybody out there, and we just go and have fun. And it's great to see, like, comics just out there working together and having a good time. And so it's a lot of, like, a lot of love in general.

Like, you know, you have one or two, like, you know, gunfights in the, in the comedy business or whatever, but I don't even think they be, you know, it's just, it's just the sign of the times, I think, you know, where people just be won clicks and they just say wild stuff. And then, you know, you see somebody in person, they mean, hey, man. Right.

Is that Kings of Comedy, too? Are they doing a Kings of Comedy II? And can you do a Kings of Comedy, too? We are talking about it. You know, you know, I taught to Steve and DL the other day. We had an offer, and so now we're just trying to figure out if that's going to make sense and why, you know, why we do it right now. Big older field, though, with Bernie.

Yeah, well, you know, we definitely going to do something with Bernie in there. I don't know how exactly we're going to figure it out, but we're not leaving Bernie out of it. We already talked to the family and stuff on how we're going to make sure that he'll part of this situation. too. And then, you know, it's a lot of, you know, it may be that idea like how you put somebody on next. It's a lot of like these guys out here that's like hiding. You'd be like, hi, cool, how we pass that torch and say what's next, right? You know what I'm saying? And maybe do it like that with, you know, us doing like smaller sets and, you know, I don't know. We're going to figure it out. But we like the idea of knowing that it was such a big brand and we all out

still doing it and, you know, we might as well, we might as well have some fun with it. Hell yeah. Who do you see? This is my last question. Who do you see out here now that reminds you of you?

Man. I got somebody in mind, but I want to know if you do what you think. More like me, I don't know. I mean, he actually can call his own lane more than anything, but I probably would say L'Rell like his,

but he ain't kind of been his own thing for a long time now, but like he was in that space. And then, I don't know, man. like this is kind of like just like div and dab and do a little bit of everything like I don't know who you're there

but me just on a straight comedy level Chico B Oh Chico man I see I see you I see I don't know why I just y'all like that could be your son or something Chico Chico how do you do I love this last clip he got away doing the Oakland dudes up there yeah but yeah Chico yeah he'd be

be swagged up and you know he yeah I love all them dudes though man My guys, man, like, all Carlos and D.C. Youngfly, all them guys, and Clayton, all of them. You know, them guys, it's fun, man. And they all, they all, like, just tight comedians and good at what they do. But, yeah, Chico is definitely fired with it, man, and a lot of fun. We did some shows together.

Yeah, he cool, dude. Yeah. I like a lot of these guys, man. I like the kid, Mojo Brooks, too. I like him a lot. I like Ronnie Jordan. I like a lot of these guys. they make me laugh.

Oh, Ronnie. Yeah, Ronnie is stupid. Yeah, yeah. Ronnie don't get enough credit at all. No, no, no, no. He can, you know, yeah. And then, yeah, so, man, it's, it's been fun, but, you know, and they're a good actor, too.

You ever see him in gas station pills? He's hilarious. Man, it's a show called, it's a show called I got a story to tell on Tooby. Okay. And he played a gas station attendant that's selling gas station pills. Oh, my God, man. That's so funny. He's so funny.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, he did, it was funny because. he did this corporate event not too long ago I was at and it was hard like the audience was hard for him but Ronnie was just like steady man so you know for comedians you know when a comic just like drive through it we you know I'm dying over there I'm like man because he he's just driving through he like I ain't trooping on y'all like y'all

you understand that I'm saying but I'm like he just murdering I'm like man I gave him I said boy you crazy man because that's where the comic is. Like sometimes it just ain't going to be your room, but you're just like, look, I ain't thinking about y'all. Man, this joke funny. All right. Well, ladies and gentlemen,

Sederate DeEnatina, you can check him on Broadway. Joe Turner's come and gone. I'm coming to see it. Yeah, definitely. All right. Well, we appreciate you for joining us. Yes, sir. Good job, man.

Thank you, man. Cedric the entertainer. It's the breakfast club. Good morning. All right. Yeah. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag.

whoever you root for. Why do I watch the Walk Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? And it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fit. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I like watching it with my dad.

It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. Listen to American Football on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Joy is essential and it's also elusive, but now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence, Joy 101.

It's a new podcast hosted by me, How to Coppe. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting, and moving on-air chats. Open your free IHeart Radio app. Search Joy 101 and listen now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotfi is presented by CVS. My first guest is Terence Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerrin. Have surprises?

Many surprises. Welcome to the Sweet 305 podcast where the group check comes to life. What a! You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst. It's lemonade. This is Sweet 305. Here, oversharing is encouraged. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons on the U.S.

iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akela Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 is about both of those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up in a majority black city, in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.