Terry Crews Eyes Long Life for Animated ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris’

Hollywood, CA – Terry Crews hopes his new animated show, ‘Everybody Still Hates Chris,’ can achieve the iconic status of long-running series like ‘The Simpsons‘ and ‘Family Guy.’ The 56-year-old actor is back as Julius, Chris’s father, in this animated sequel to the semi-autobiographical sitcom that originally aired from 2005 to 2009.

In an interview on ‘On With Mario Lopez,’ Crews expressed his excitement about the revival. He said, ‘To do it again animated, we can go forever. That’s the plan. Let’s get some of that ‘Family Guy’, ‘Simpsons’ kinda stuff. I want that 20-year longevity on that show.’

Crews called the animated remake a “dream,” especially because he gets to work alongside Tichina Arnold, who reprises her role as Rochelle Rock, Chris’s mother. He reminisced, saying, ‘I know the character inside out. Me and Tichina Arnold – she actually taught me how to act back when I was doing that show.’

The original series featured comedian Chris Rock narrating stories from his childhood in Brooklyn. Now, showrunner Sanjay Shah brings a fresh perspective to the story, drawing inspiration from classics like ‘Hey Arnold‘ and ‘King of the Hill.’ Shah stated that he was determined to create an animated format, saying he “would not have pursued” a live-action reboot.

Shah is aiming to maintain a sense of nostalgia while also introducing new plotlines, particularly focusing on key moments from Chris’s life. He explained, ‘I wanted to trap Chris in this period of time where he’s still a Black Charlie Brown, before his road to fame begins.’

In this new iteration, the animated version continues from where the original show left off, with Chris facing the consequences of failing his GED. One comedic scene features his mother slapping him so hard that it sparks the transformation of the whole world into animation.

Shah concluded, ‘That required a lot of thought and talking to Chris, but we realized that there was still some cushion to tell stories when taking into account events from his real life.’