| Good Times: Black Again | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Based on | |
| Developed by |
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| Showrunner | Ranada Shepard |
| Voices of | |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| Related | |
| Good Times | |
Good Times: Black Again (simply referred to asGood Times in the marketing) is anadultanimated sitcom andreboot of the sitcomGood Times. It centers on the current generation of the Evans family, and starsJay Pharoah,Marsai Martin,Yvette Nicole Brown,Slink Johnson, andJ. B. Smoove. The series was released onNetflix on April 12, 2024.[1] In November 2025, the series was canceled after one season.[2][3]
Since its trailer release, the show has been condemned by multiple civil rights organizations, including theNAACP, theCEMOTAP, and the December 12th Movement.[4][5] The groups took issue with the obscene, sexualized, violent, and negative portrayal of African Americans.[4]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Meet the Evans of New" | Aaron Brewer | Ranada Shepard | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 2 | "Black of Focus" | AnnMarie Roberts | Devon Shepard | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 3 | "Grey's Anatomy" | AnnMarie Roberts | Randa Shepard, Brian Ashburn, & Rashida Olayiwola | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 4 | "They Came Before Elon" | Brian Kaufman | Devon Shepard | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 5 | "Primary Coloreds" | Tristram Waples | Joshua Krist & Eric Lev | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 6 | "The Red Treaty" | Brian Kaufman & Tristram Waples | Kevin Townsley | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 7 | "#BlackLoveDay" | AnnMarie Roberts | Alyson Fouse | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 8 | "Big Sister Is Watching" | Brian Kaufman | Brian Ashburn | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 9 | "Moving On Out" | Aaron Brewer | Joshua Krist & Eric Lev | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
| 10 | "The Projects Divided" | Tristram Waples | Randa Shepard & Alyson Fouse | April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) |
In September 2020, it was announced thatGood Times would receive ananimated sitcom revival with Carl Jones originally attached as showrunner and producer and withNorman Lear originally executive producing alongsideSeth MacFarlane andStephen Curry forNetflix.[7]6 Point Harness and theMelbourne-based studio Studio Moshi handled the animation.
In December 2023, it was announced Ranada Shepard had replaced Carl Jones as showrunner for the series.[8] Shepard stated that the show is "...about family coming together, laughing together, dancing together, picking on each other, driving each other crazy, all while surviving."[9]
The series was released on April 12, 2024.[1]
Good Times: Black Again received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and audiences, with criticism aimed towards the animation style, the crass presentation, offensive humor, and general lack of connection to the original series aside from occasional mentions of the James Evans character.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Despite referring to the jokes as "stereotypical",Bubbleblabber called it the #1 American adult animated comedy of 2024 after it began to "[lean] into moredramedy".[17]
Upon its trailer's release,CEMOTAP publicly condemned it as a "racist cartoon" in the same vein as 1915 filmThe Birth of a Nation, which preceded the racially violentRed Summer of 1919.[18] TheNAACP and the December 12th Movement have also condemned the show's representation of Black families and children.[4][5] The groups' outrage involves the show's obscene, sexualized, violent, and stereotypical portrayal of African Americans.[4]
On May 13, 2024, CEMOTAP co-chairs Dr. James McIntosh and Betty Dopson sent an open letter of "outrage" toTed Sarandos condemning the show for its portrayal of Black people as unintelligent, violent, simian, and hypersexual; and its usage of obscenity, pedophilia, slurs, drug-dealing, and weaponry. They claimed it had "only the most superficial and negative relationship tothe originalGood Times TV series", as well as criticizing its disrespectful references toRosa Parks; theChristian God;Jesus Christ; and the Egyptian GodAnubis. They drew parallels withSeth MacFarlane's previous controversial depictions ofHarriet Tubman. CEMOTAP urged members of the public to call Netflix and cancel their subscriptions,boycotting Netflix until the show is taken off the streaming service, and for an equal amount of time afterwards.[18]
On June 5, 2024, CEMOTAP led a demonstration at the Netflix Corporate office on Broadway in Manhattan.[4]
In December of that year, CEMOTAP passed out leaflets outside of the Netflix office in New York. They asked the public to call NBA commissionerAdam Silver "regarding his double standard" for punishingKyrie Irving for tweeting a link to the anti-Semitic filmHebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America "while saying nothing toStephen Curry, who is the executive producer" ofBlack Again.[19]
