Poppa’s House Boss Says Geoffrey Owens Adds ‘a Good Pressure Point’ to Series’ Family Dynamics
In-laws just don’t understand.
CBS’ upcoming Poppa’s House (which premieres Monday, Oct. 21 at 8:30/7:30c) explores the relationship between a curmudgeonly disc jockey (Damon Wayans) and his adult son Junior (Damon Wayans Jr.) who he still finds himself occasionally parenting. But father and son aside, there are plenty of others in the picture that the grumpy Poppa will find himself at odds with this season, including Junior’s father-in-law, played by The Cosby Show’s Geoffrey Owens.
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As previously reported, when we first meet Junior, he’s working a sales job that he hates, all while trying to keep his artistic spark alive. But making things more complicated is the fact that his father-in-law, J.J., gave him the gig, a fact that creates many rifts between Junior and his wife Nina (Tetona Jackson). And while Junior and J.J. endure a few bumpy moments throughout the freshman season, so too will Poppa and J.J.
“We’re going to see a good bit of Geoffrey,” showrunner and executive producer Dean Lorey tells TVLine. “We love Geoffrey, and we love the complication that that puts on Nina and Junior because [J.J.] bought their house. That already makes him a pretty dominant presence. And he’s successful. He’s sort of everything that Junior isn’t at this point in the show. He is older, experienced, wealthy, all of this, and we think that’s a good pressure point.”
Owens’ casting served as a reunion for Wayans, as the two actors went to junior high school together in real life. “He and I were sitting on the set and reminiscing about all the teachers and events that happened,” says Wayans, recalling how one of their teachers had a small role in the original Shaft film. “We were just laughing about how many people and things that we had in common. It’s scary.”
Since the series is loosely based on the Wayanses’ lives and utilizes a lot of their real-life stories on screen, Poppa and J.J. were written to be former high school classmates. But as it turns out, the two men weren’t and still aren’t besties. Rather, as we discover in the premiere, the two dads have a decades-long rivalry that will ebb-and-flow as the series progresses.
“There is something about people that know you and know your history,” says Lorey. “Even though he and Poppa don’t always see eye to eye, you still gravitate to people that have a history with you. That’s another thing we want to explore.” —With reporting by Keisha Hatchett
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