''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the original

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

1976–1979 sitcom ''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that first aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, premiering as a summer series. It also returned as a weekly series, that later aired for the rest of the three seasons, from November 1 ...

'' focusing on its main characters as independent people. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until March 26, 1988.

Premise

In the series, Roger "Raj" Thomas ( Ernest Thomas) has graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, and become a fledgling writer. He and his new wife Nadine (

Anne-Marie Johnson Anne-Marie Johnson (born July 18, 1960) is an American actress and impressionist. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Nadine Hudson–Thomas in ''What's Happening Now!!'' (1985–1988), Althea Tibbs in '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1988� ...

), a social worker, move in to his old home in

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), a list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Albie Watts, a fictional character in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' *Angie ...

(given to him by his mother, Mabel Thomas (

Mabel King Mabel Elizabeth King (née Washington; December 25, 1932 – November 9, 1999) was an American actress and singer. She was known for her role as Mabel "Mama" Thomas on the ABC sitcom ''What's Happening!!'' from its premiere in 1976 until the end ...

), now remarried and living in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

). His sister, Dee ( Danielle Spencer), is away at college. Childhood friend, Dwayne Nelson ( Haywood Nelson), has become a computer programmer, while Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs (

Fred Berry Fred Rerun Berry (born Fred Allen Berry; March 19, 1951 – October 21, 2003) was an American actor and street dancer. He was best known for his role as Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the 1970s television show ''What's Happening!!'' and its sequel s ...

) is now a used-car salesman. The old

soda shop A soda shop, also often known as a malt shop (after malted milk) and as a malted shop , is a business akin to an ice cream parlor and a drugstore soda fountain. Interiors were often furnished with a large mirror behind a marble counter with goose- ...

hangout, Rob's Place, has gone out of business and has been left abandoned. Reminded of his youth, and seeing an opportunity, Raj and Shirley Wilson ( Shirley Hemphill), who used to wait tables there, decide to buy the business together, renaming it "Rob's."

Episodes

Cast

* Ernest Thomas as Roger "Raj" Thomas *

as Nadine Hudson-Thomas * Haywood Nelson as Dwayne Nelson *

as Fred "Rerun" Stubbs (season 1) * Shirley Hemphill as Shirley Wilson * Reina King as Carolyn Williams (season 1) *

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on '' Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. Lawrence began his career doing comedy shows, including in '' The Improv''. After his first acting role in t ...

as Maurice Warfield (season 3) * Ken Sagoes as Darryl (season 3) * Danielle Spencer as Dee Thomas (recurring)

Recurring guests

Meshach Taylor Meshach Taylor (; April 11, 1947 – June 28, 2014) was an American actor, widely known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS sitcom '' Designing Women'' (1986–93), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstandin ...

as Buddy Carlton (2 episodes, seasons 1–2)

Cast change

After the first successful season, as he had done during the original ''What's Happening'' series, Fred Berry attempted to negotiate a salary increase based on what he perceived as the popularity of the "Rerun" character. In response, producers fired Berry from the series.

Home media

On June 12, 2007,

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

released the first season of ''What's Happening Now!!'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in Region 1.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:What's Happening Now 1985 American television series debuts 1988 American television series endings 1980s American black sitcoms American English-language television shows First-run syndicated sitcoms American sequel television series Television series about marriage Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Los Angeles