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2001 TV series or program
My Wife and Kids
Logo and main cast of My Wife and Kids.Logo and main cast of My Wife and Kids
Created byDon Reo
Damon Wayans
StarringDamon Wayans
Tisha Campbell
George O. Gore II
Jennifer Freeman
(2001-2005)
Jazz Raycole (2001)
Parker McKenna Posey
Noah Gray-Cabey(2003-2005)
Andrew McFarlane (2003-2005)
Meagan Good
(2003)
Brooklyn Sudano
(2003-2005, replaced Good for undisclosed reasons)
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes124
Production
Executive producersDon Reo
Damon Wayans
David Himelfarb
(Seasons 1-4)
Andy Cadiff
(Season 3)
Dean Lorey (Seasons 4-5)
Running timeapprox. 23 minutes (per episode)
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseMarch 28, 2001 –
May 17, 2005

My Wife and Kids is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from March 28 2001, until May 17 2005, starring Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell.

Premise

The series is premised on a self-made entrepreneur ("Michael Kyle" portrayed by actor Damon Wayans) bringing up his family in the suburbs of Stamford, Connecticut. Actress Tisha Campbell portrays the mother & wife "Janet 'Jay' Kyle with the family having three children: "Michael 'Junior' Kyle" (portrayed by actor George O. Gore II; "Claire Kyle" (portrayed by actress Jennifer Freeman); and young "Kady Kyle" (portrayed by Parker McKenna Posey). "Michael Kyle" owns his own small trucking & moving company with "Jay" beginning the series as a housewife. She later takes a position as a stock broker and attempts to finish college.

Production

The show was created by Don Reo and Damon Wayans. Reruns air in the U.S. on various local stations and in the UK on Trouble. The series will begin airing on ABC Family in 2008. The series also airs in Europe, Latin America, South Africa, Kenya, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia.

In May 2005, My Wife and Kids was officially cancelled by Damon Wayans after 5 seasons.

In the season five finale, "The V Story", it was revealed that Jay was apparently pregnant. The cliffhanger was answered by ABC that if they had picked up the series for another year, Jay would not have had the baby, and the results would have been wrong.

Cast

Jazz Raycole (the original "Claire Kyle") departed after season one. It was publicly reported that she was pulled from the series by her mother over concerns about the second season opening storyline in which Raycole (as "Claire") finds her friend "Charmaine" (portrayed by Raven-Symone) has become pregnant. Replacement actress Jennifer Freeman was then cast in the same role with the same storyline. Given that Freeman bears no resemblance to the original actress, the second season premiere ("Mom's Away") obliquely refers to the change: Upon "Claires" entrance down the stairs of the set, "Michael" notices a difference about his daughter and declares, "I don't know what it is, but you look like a whole new person!"

During the third season, gifted piano virtuoso Noah Gray-Cabey joins the cast as young "Kady Kyle's" boyfriend "Franklin". Portraying a child savant, succeeding episodes are often accented by the talented young actor's actual musical skills and his portrayal as having advanced educational credentials and achievements.

Also, although season three opens with actress Meagan Good as "Junior's" new girlfriend "Vanessa Scott", she is replaced after 5 episodes by actress Brooklyn Sudano, (daughter of legendary 1970's singer Donna Summer). Unlike the change in the original "Claire" role, no on-screen reference was made regarding this change. The pair consummates their relationship during this season, resulting in "Vanessa" becoming pregnant at season's end and setting up the series for related storylines through the remainder of the show. They become parents in the fifth season.

Introduced in the middle of the second season, "Claire" begins a relationship with young actor Andrew McFarlane, who portrays her religious-minded boyfriend, "Tony". The relationship continues through series end.

Guests

Many guest stars made appearances during the five season series run. Notables included:

Episodes

Main article: List of My Wife and Kids episodes

Running gags and character quirks

Template:Unencyclopedic In addition to humorous scripts, My Wife and Kids created humor in physical comedy, insults, and running gags:

Michael Kyle, Junior

  • Junior is a recurring gag as many of his physical, personal and mental traits are mined for comedy on the show.
  • In season one, Junior's ascent into puberty is a recurring theme. In the pilot, Junior has Michael, Sr., notice that his moustache is filling in. Michael then jokingly looks directly and closely at Junior's chin. Junior then tries to show his dad that he has hair growing everywhere and tries to show Michael his "man bush". In season one's "Breaking Up and Breaking It", Junior locks himself in the bathroom repeatedly, bringing along some unusual reading material like Field & Stream (but actually porn magazines, though the hidden magazines are never shown in the episode). While in the bathroom, Junior accidentally "breaks his joystick" and ends up in the hospital. He's a little embarrassed to find out that he suffered a muscle spasm.
  • One of his greatest ambitions is to have sex. In an episode, Junior falls in love with his tutor and when she asks him to escort her to he door, he says he can't stand up (implying that he has an erection).
  • From season two onwards, the size of Junior's head becomes the object of jokes by the family. Ironically, Tisha Campbell's character Gina Waters (later Payne) was the butt of many "big-head" jokes on her previous sitcom Martin (perhaps suggesting Jr. inherited it from his mother.)
  • From the third season on, Junior is usually portrayed as an imbecile. In one instance, Michael, Sr., suggests to Junior that he should name Junior's impending baby son after him. Junior responds, "Why would I name it 'Dad'?"
  • Junior is often slapped on the back of the head for his idiocy.
  • It is also noted that Junior can't spell his name right. He loses points on his SATs by misspelling his name as 'Junyor' instead of 'Junior'. When he went take the test again, he told the family that he was going to cheat, but didn't in the end once he caught sight of his child's picture in his wallet.
  • Going up from Season 4, Junior keeps a notebook called "I ain't dum" where he keeps all the stupid things that he did or is going to do.

Michael Kyle, Sr.

  • "Ah, nah" (said in a nasal voice) is a catchphrase used by the Kyles during the third and fourth seasons. Different variations of this phrase have been used by the Kyles. For instance, in one episode, Michael would say "Ah...", leave Claire's room, run around the hallway and a few seconds later invariably completing the phrase by saying "... No!".
  • When faced with something he doesn't want to hear Damon's character often says "Ah, phoooey".
  • When Jay or someone else from the family says that Michael can't do something, he often takes that as a challenge. In one episode Jay insists she calls an exterminator when there is a mouse in the house. Jay says that Michael "can't" get rid of the mouse by himself, so he tries really hard to get rid of the mouse. In other words, Michael doesn't accept the word "can't".

Jay

  • Jay often has a devilish laugh when she has a plan or when she thinks something is funny. When the other Kyles witness her laughing at something that's really not funny, they give her a "not funny" gesture to make her stop.
  • Jay frequently says "You're gonna miss 'all o' this'" with a suggestive dance when Michael doesn't want to do what she says. Claire later shows talent for this particular dance. The quote is later used by other cast members for the same reason in subsequent episodes. When compared by her husband to Halle Berry she once stated: "Halle Berry ain't got nothing on me and in ten minutes neither will I." She often refers to other women with whom she is in competition for something as "heifers".
  • When Jay and Claire had their periods at the same time during a family outing and were bickering endlessly the situation is referred to by Michael, Sr., as "DefCon Two", even correcting a sympathetic policeman who has pulled him over but ends up asking "DefCon One?".

Claire

  • Claire is the victim of a running gag consisting of her running into things, falling down stairs and generally being ditsy. For example, when Michael did the "Ah, nah" routine, Claire runs into the doorway on the way out of her room. Claire's frequently falling down the stairs from season two is frequently commented on by other characters and replayed in show teasers.
  • Claire behaves in a superficial and vain way, but she is never vicious or mean, but actually as an innocent and naive young woman. She always looks in the mirror.

Franklin

  • When Franklin tries to change the subject or sees that he is talking with an idiot, he says "Anyhoo" which is then picked up by the Kyle family members.
  • He has a natural talent at playing the piano which usually amazes first-time listeners.

The Wayans influence

Many members of the Wayans family have worked in front of the camera or behind the scenes on My Wife and Kids. In some cases, careers were accelerated. For instance, Damien Dante Wayans was a supervising producer in season three, a producer or co-producer in season four, and an executive story editor in season four and in season five.

Behind the camera

Midway through season two, Kim Wayans, who had acting experience starring in In Living Color and In the House became a regular writer for the series after writing a few season-two episodes. She became executive story editor in season three, producer in season four (skipping co-producer) and supervising producer in season five. Kim never made an on-camera appearance on the show.

Damien Dante Wayans wrote and directed several episodes of the series from seasons three through five. Damon's look-alike son, Damon Wayans, Jr., wrote a season four episode and became a regular writer in the fifth season. Elvira Wayans also wrote a couple of episodes in the fifth season. Damon's cousin Craig Wayans began as a writer and executive story editor on the show in the second season, and then became supervising producer without skipping a position.

In front of the camera

Keenen Ivory Wayans appears once as Michael's brother Ken in season one's "A Little Romance".

Damon's own kids, Cara Mia, Michael and Damon Jr. appeared in episodes during the first four seasons. Michael and Damon Jr. played Junior's friends Mike and John, respectively while Cara Mia played Claire's friend Bre in "Of Breasts and Basketball". Cara Mia's character was renamed Shante in her season two appearances.

Syndication

Since, the cancellation in 2005, some local stations began syndicating My Wife And Kids. To find My Wife And Kids on your local station go to: www.mywifeandkids.com.

External links

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