Poppa's House

Over the years of my life, I've watched a lot movies with the different Wayans family members. Most everything, from "Scary Movie" to "Let's Be Cops", so I'm familiar with a lot of their comedy and family. I didn't have many thoughts when I saw early promotion for this series. It didn't seem like something I'd love or avoid, because the clips they showed weren't that memorable. I feel like, as I gave it a chance, it got better as the show went on. The writers got their footing. The storylines are very basic, and the comedy comes from both Wayans, mostly, and it's surprised me. It's now a show I watch every week and laugh out loud at. Do you know how few sitcoms can still do that? Not many. Now, as I mentioned, the show took a little while to set itself up, and the first few episodes didn't seem as impressive as the later episodes. Also, the writing really fluctuates between episodes. Some episodes are really, really silly, with Wayans, Jr. Just shrieking, making noises and doing all kinds of physical comedy. If he did much more, it would be too much, and the last commercial break before the last segment is always a forced dramatic moment. Not necessarily needed. Overall, though, the chemistry between real father and son is great, and the show is very funny, in my opinion. If you like any of the Wayans, or their previous work, you'll like this, too. I look forward to more seasons of this, and hope it doesn't get cancelled anytime soon.

The banter is witty enough, the characters are typical flawed goofy people like most multi-cam sitcoms. However the producers need to tone down the laugh track. The punchlines are too fast and the writers need to let the joke rhythm breathe a little bit more. Still, after two episodes, I think this has a chance to get renewed. CBS is hurting for viewership and it's possible that this show gets enough views on Paramount plus to keep around for a few seasons. And the writing should tightening up a bit a long the way. If you watched My Wife and Kids, this is kind of similar in terms of comedic tone.

I watched all the episodes but I really didn't get into it until the seventh episode. I felt that the show has finally coming into its own. Damon Wayans and Junior do a fine believable job. The humor and writing is getting better as we get used to the characters and sitcom premise. I don't exactly where it is set. Maybe in New Jersey, Poppa worked on the radio in nearby New York City. The cast of characters are slowly coming into form as the season goes on. I enjoyed the Misery segment when Poppa has a nightmare about his co-podcaster in the niddle of the night. I felt the physical humor in the seventh episode added to the show.

Just watched the first episode, and I had literally zero expectations for this, or maybe even negative, as I expected not to like it after watching the trailer. Even at the start, when Damon Wayans Jr. Knocked in the first scene and the laughter track audience was laughing like crazy, I thought I would skip this one. But it surprised me. The story and comedy work well, and most of the characters are likable. I liked Tetona's work in Home Economics, and here too, she's good at playing Nina. Her chemistry with Damon feels natural. Their characters and performances are what I liked the most. They've made the Poppa character mostly behave in a crazy manner, like a drunk teen, looking like Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, wearing a reverse cap, casual street clothes, and a gold chain. But sometimes he talks sensibly. His name is Poppa in the show. I thought by "Poppa," they meant father, and only his son would call him that. But since it's his name, everyone calls him Poppa, even if he gets a girlfriend in a future episode; she will call him Poppa too. For me, it's not as funny and doesn't have as many good characters as The Neighborhood, but it's still a decent time-pass family drama that you can try. 3/5.

Update: I've watched 6 episodes now, and the 6th episode is the best one so far. The show feels like a celebration of overly dramatic, overacting, and weird scenes, which I don't particularly like-especially what happened between Poppa and Junior at the start of the third episode. But I enjoy nonsense as long as it's entertaining, and this show delivers on that. They also try to convey meaningful messages about parenting, family matters, and more, and the comedy mostly works.

The best part is that all the actors seem to enjoy every scene. Some might be overacting on purpose, just aiming to entertain, and the behind-the-scenes footage is a fun watch too. My rating remains 3/5 - a time-pass comedy show.

Update: Just finished watching the 18th episode. I've been tuning in to watch every episode as it came out, and it was always a fun time-pass show. Sometimes it was a bit much, but mostly it was entertaining. Most of the jokes landed well. And the casting was strong too - the actors playing Poppa, Damon, Ivy, and Nina, along with the side characters, were all well cast.

They obviously didn't know it was their last episode, but it was still a good one with funny moments. It ended on a cliffhanger, like most season finales do, but even as a series finale, it wasn't a bad episode at all.

I'm calling it a series finale because CBS cancelled it after just one season, which is really sad. It's terrible how they keep cancelling comedy shows without giving them a proper chance. I think this show deserved more seasons.

My rating is still 3/5.

Poppa's House is my current favorite tv show. My husband and I look forward to seeing the new episodes each week. Both Damon's crack us up laughing. They have a great father and son chemistry. I can feel their love and respect for each other radiate off the screen. I love that it's a simple, fun, and clean family movie. So glad it's not full of curse words, sex scenes, and drama. I have watched each past episode multiple times and laugh each time as if it was my first time watching. I think the whole cast is great. It's nice seeing Elvin from the Cosby show as Damon Jr father in law. Look forward to MORE episodes.