''Boomerang'' is an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series, serving as a sequel to the 1992 film of the same name. The series premiered on February 12, 2019, on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

. On April 2, 2019, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on March 11, 2020. In August 2021, co-producer Lena Waithe announced that the series would not return for a third season.

Premise

''Boomerang'' revolves around "a successful executive who finds that his lifestyle choices have turned back on him when his new boss turns out to be a bigger deviant than he is. It is described as an updated version that explores contemporary workplace dynamics, including the changing role of gender, office politics, relationships and the conflicts between Generation X and millennials."

Cast and characters

Main

Tequan Richmond Tequan Richmond (; born October 30, 1992), also known as T-Rich, is an American actor best known for playing Drew Rock on the UPN/The CW, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris''. Richmond played Ray Charles Jr. (son of singer and musician Ray Charle ...

as Bryson, ambitious estranged son of Jacqueline Broyer (played by

Robin Givens Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest ro ...

). *Tetona Jackson as Simone Graham, daughter of Marcus and Angela Graham (played by

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

and

Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...

). *Leland B. Martin as Ari, a bisexual aspiring director who struggles with his toxic behavior. Loosely inspired by Tyler (played by

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...

) in the original. *Lala Milan as Tia Reid, a former stripper and performance artist. She later becomes a social media maven with the help of Simone. Loosely based Strangé (played by

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

) *Brittany Inge as Crystal Garrett (recurring, season 1; main, season 2), a former ad employee and best friend of Simone. She is recently divorced from David. She struggles to find her voice in the friend group. *RJ Walker as David (recurring, season 1; main, season 2), an up-and-coming preacher who struggles to find his faith. He is recently divorced from Crystal

Recurring

Paula Newsome Paula Newsome is an American actress. In 2021, she appeared in the crime television series '' CSI: Vegas'', as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe film '' Spider-Man: No Way Home''. Early life Newsome grew up in Chicago and is a graduate of Mo ...

as Victoria Jackson (season 1) *Kim Alex Hall as Rocky (season 1), Tia's girlfriend

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2020)

Production

Development

On April 11, 2018, it was announced that

had given a series order to the production for a first season consisting of ten episodes. A writer and producing team had yet to be determined but the series was expected be produced by

Paramount Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...

. On September 24, 2018, it was announced that

Lena Waithe Lena Waithe (born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series ''The Chi'' (2018–present) and the BET comedy series ''Boomerang'' (2019–20) and '' Twenties'' (2020–prese ...

and Ben Cory Jones would write the series' pilot episode together and executive produce alongside

and Rishi Rajani. Jones was also expected to serve as the showrunner for the series and Dime Davis was set to direct the pilot episode. Waithe's production company Hillman Grad Productions was also slated to be involved with the series. On December 19, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 12, 2019.

Casting

In October 2018, it was announced that

, Tetona Jackson, Leland Martin, and Lala Milan had been cast in series regular roles and that RJ Walker,

, Brittany Inge,

Joey BadA$$ Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pro ...

, and Kimberly Hall would appear in a recurring capacity.

Filming

Principal photography for the series took place from October to December 2018 in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In October 2018, filming took place in the

Buckhead Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downt ...

area of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and in

East Point East Point is the name of several places: In Australia * East Point, Northern Territory ** East Point Military museum located in East Point, Northern Territory In Canada *East Point, Prince Edward Island In Hong Kong: *East Point, Hong Kong In ...

. In November 2018, the series was shooting in the Mechanicsville neighborhood of Atlanta and on

Ponce de Leon Avenue Ponce de Leon Avenue ( ), often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Decatur, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs, in turn from explorer Juan Ponce de León, but is not pronounced ...

near the

Ponce City Market Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to th ...

in Atlanta.

Release

Marketing

On January 6, 2019, the first trailer for the series was released.

Premiere

On January 26, 2019, the series held a screening during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The event was followed by a panel discussion hosted by Macro Lodge and featuring executive producer

, showrunner Ben Cory Jones, and director Dime Davis.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

season 1 has a score of 100% based on reviews from 12 critics.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boomerang (American TV series) 2010s American black sitcoms 2020s American black sitcoms 2019 American television series debuts American sequel television series BET original programming English-language television shows Live action television shows based on films Television series by Paramount Television