| The Bernie Mac Show | |
|---|---|
 Season 1DVD cover | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Larry Wilmore |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Stanley A. Smith |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 104(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producers |
|
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | November 14, 2001 (2001-11-14) – April 14, 2006 (2006-04-14) |
The Bernie Mac Show (often shortened toBernie Mac in syndication and promos) is an Americansitcom television series created byLarry Wilmore, that aired onFox for five seasons from November 14, 2001, to April 14, 2006. The series featuredBernie Mac and his wife Wanda raising his sister's three kids: Jordan, Vanessa, and Bryana.
The series was loosely based on Mac's stand-up comedy acts. In real life, Bernie "Mac" McCullough was married with one daughter; Mac's character on the show (a stand-up comedian) was married with no children of his own. The pilot episode, aired on November 14, 2001, set up the basic premise for the series: the character Bernie Mac takes in his sister's children after she enters rehab (a fictional premise taken from one of Mac's stand-up routines which was eventually featured in the2000 film,The Original Kings of Comedy). "In reality, the story is a blend of two real incidents: Mac briefly took in his niece Toya who was an at risk youth and her daughter Monique; a friend of his had to raise her sister's children long-term."[1][2]
Much of the humor in the show was derived from Mac's continual adjustment to and his unique take on parenthood. A frequent motif of the show was the juxtaposition of Mac's acerbic comments, such as his threats to "bust the (children's) heads 'til the white meat shows," and the parental affection he felt toward the trio, which often brought him to the verge of tears. Toward the end of the series, Bryana's long-lost father (Anthony Anderson) returns and drops by occasionally to help Bernie and Wanda with the kids.
Many of his most emotional scenes occurred in segments in which Mac, while still in character, broke the 'fourth wall' and talked to the television audience, which he referred to as "America". This technique was notably used before an episode during the 2005–2006 season, when Bernie, as himself and wearing aChicago White Sox cap and jacket, delivered a heartfelt congratulatory message to the baseball organization and its staff on their recentWorld Series Championship. Mac, who grew up on Chicago's south-side, was a die-hard fan of the White Sox and was seen at Game 1 of the World Series, in a front row seat.
The show also features yellow captions pointing things out that aren't explicitly mentioned.
Mac's character's celebrity worked as aplot device allowing other celebrities to appear on the show as themselves, includingHalle Berry,Serena Williams,Chris Rock,Ashton Kutcher,Billy Crystal,Carl Reiner,Don Rickles,Angela Bassett,Ellen DeGeneres,Ice Cube,Isaac Hayes,Flavor Flav,Lucy Lawless,Stone Cold Steve Austin,Triple H,Matt Damon,Charles Barkley,Jon Garland,Jules Sylvester,Sugar Ray Leonard,India Arie,Shaquille O'Neal,Sugar Shane Mosley,Hugh Hefner,Phil McGraw,Jay Leno, andMarcus Allen.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 22 | November 14, 2001 (2001-11-14) | May 15, 2002 (2002-05-15) | |
| 2 | 22 | September 18, 2002 (2002-09-18) | May 14, 2003 (2003-05-14) | |
| 3 | 22 | November 30, 2003 (2003-11-30) | June 29, 2004 (2004-06-29) | |
| 4 | 16 | September 8, 2004 (2004-09-08) | April 8, 2005 (2005-04-08) | |
| 5 | 22 | September 23, 2005 (2005-09-23) | April 14, 2006 (2006-04-14) | |
The series debuted in its time slot on November 14, 2001, with solid ratings in spite of a weak lead-in,Grounded for Life. The show had a very successful first season and in the process won a handful of honors including anEmmy Award for "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series" and the prestigiousPeabody Award. Bernie Mac also receivedEmmy andGolden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.
In fall 2002, the series aired against theDamon Wayans comedyMy Wife and Kids which may have hurt the show's momentum in the ratings during the first half of its second season run.Larry Wilmore, the show's creator and executive producer, was fired at this time. In interviews, Wilmore said he was fed up with the network's creative interference with the show, in addition to Fox constantly shuffling it around the schedule. Fox contended that it wasn't happy with the show's direction under Wilmore in the second season, claiming the show "wasn't delivering enough laughs". WithThe Bernie Mac Show's inability to toppleMy Wife and Kids in the Wednesday 8 p.m. timeslot, Fox eventually aired the show afterAmerican Idol, after which it received its highest ratings ever.
The third season was scheduled to start on October 29, 2003, but was postponed due toThe O.C. being moved. Instead, the series started the season at the late date of November 30, 2003. The ratings were mediocre, despite the large ratings of its lead-inThe Simpsons. In March 2004, the show was moved to Monday nights in a plan to boost ratings for the new showCracking Up, but the ratings were low for both shows.Cracking Up was canceled andThe Bernie Mac Show was pulled from May Sweeps with leftover episodes that aired in June (one of which included an episode aboutThanksgiving).
The Bernie Mac Show returned to its original time slot on September 8, 2004, to start the fourth season. The production was shut down a month later due to Bernie's sickness. The show returned on January 14, 2005, with new episodes on Friday nights. Although the ratings were low enough that commentators questioned the show's future (especially when it was postponed from May Sweeps again), the show was renewed for a fifth season.
The fifth season started September 23, 2005, on Friday nights and beginning mid-season, airings were followed by reruns of the show. The show celebrated its 100th episode on February 3, 2006,[3] even though the actual 100th episode was not aired until March 31.
After five seasons and 104 episodes,Fox announced the cancellation ofThe Bernie Mac Show.
Theseries finale titled "Bernie's Angels" focused on Bernie getting an electrical shock and ends up traumatized. After he recovers, he begins to teach Jordan and Bryanna how to do certain things on their own. Also, Vanessa doesn't want Bernie to be involved in her choosing a college. Meanwhile, Jordan takes advantage of Bernie's kindness. In the end, Vanessa and Bernie make up (mainly due to her writing an essay about who inspires her most: which is him). In the final scene of the series, Bernie goes back to his normal self and takes back theiPod he bought Jordan since he was taking advantage of him. Bernie's final line is a farewell message to the viewers and stating that he is going to continue to raise and teach the kids for as long as they need it and he also wishes the viewers luck. The scene pans out with Jordan on his knees sobbing and begging for the iPod while Bernie smugly laughs and teases him.
The series had been airing insyndication since September 2005 and aired onIndependent,Fox,UPN andThe WB affiliates (the letter networksThe WB 100+ Station Group (nowThe CW Plus) also carries the program as part of its national schedule) and was on theFX network from September 2008 until 2011.[4] In syndication, the series' title is shortened simply toBernie Mac.Bernie Mac's hometown ofChicago aired the series on the city's independent stationWCIU The U.The Bernie Mac Show began its run on the station in September 2005. In the beginning of fall 2009, the series briefly moved to The U's sister stationMe-TV, before returning to The U where it remained until late 2010. It also formerly aired reruns onBET,BET Her,Laff,MTV2 andTV One. It currently airs onBounce TV andAspire TV.
On the day of Mac's funeral, The U aired a retrospective TV special calledA Tribute to Bernie Mac, which featured clips from the series and an interview withCamille Winbush, who portrayed Vanessa.[citation needed]
Reruns of the show were also aired onMuch inCanada.[citation needed] The show aired inJamaica onCVM Television.[citation needed]
| DVD name | Release date | Ep # | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | May 4, 2004 | 22 | Bonus features include commentary on the pilot episode from Bernie Mac and a 60-minuteA & E Tvography. |
The Season One DVD boxset was released on DVD May 4, 2004.
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| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season premiere | Season finale | TV season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (November 14, 2001 – May 15, 2002) | November 14, 2001 | May 15, 2002 | 2001–2002 | #63 | 9.5 |
| 2 | Wednesday 8:00 P.M. (September 18, 2002 – December 11, 2002) Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (January 15, 2003 – May 14, 2003) | September 18, 2002 | May 14, 2003 | 2002–2003 | #60 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Sunday 8:30 P.M. (November 30, 2003 – March 14, 2004) Monday 8:00 P.M. (March 22, 2004 – April 26, 2004) Tuesday 8:00 P.M. (June 15, 2004 – June 29, 2004) | November 30, 2003 | June 29, 2004 | 2003–2004 | #95 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (September 8, 2004 – September 29, 2004) Friday 8:00 P.M. (January 14, 2005 – April 8, 2005) | September 8, 2004 | April 8, 2005 | 2004–2005 | #110 | 4.8 |
| 5 | Friday 8:00 P.M. (September 23, 2005 – April 14, 2006) | September 23, 2005 | April 14, 2006 | 2005–2006 | #130 | 3.6 |
The Bernie Mac Show won aPeabody Award in 2001,[5] theHumanitas Prize, aPrimetime Emmy Award, threeNAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, and was honored by theTelevision Critics Association.
For his role in the show, Bernie Mac was honored by the Television Critics Association for Individual Achievement in a Comedy as well as theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series four years in a row: 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.