Poppa’s House Premiere Recap: Damon Wayans’ Grumpy DJ Beefs With His New Female Co-Host — Grade It!
In the series premiere of CBS’ Poppa’s House, Damon Wayans’ titular dad and deejay already has two major rivalries to contend with. Nothing a rap battle or two can’t fix.
In the episode’s first moments, we meet Poppa and his grown son Junior (Damon Wayans Jr.), the latter of whom desperately wants to quit his job selling his father-in-law’s foam rollers to pursue a career in directing. Not only did J.J. (played by Geoffrey Owens) give Junior the gig, but he also loaned him the cash to buy his family’s house. Junior not only owes him, but he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place as he secretly interviews elsewhere.
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Poppa, meanwhile, is a legendary radio DJ in New York City with a show called — you guessed it! — “Poppa’s House.” As we visit his place of work, we see just how curmudgeonly Poppa can be to his listeners and co-workers. Enter Dr. Ivy Reed (Essence Atkins), who the station wants to add to his show in order to appeal to a more female audience. Poppa’s not pleased, which leads to an awkward and painfully unfunny exchange of freestyle rhymes. The higher-ups also want to stream video for Poppa’s show, another idea he absolutely loathes. So he walks out.
Back at the house, Junior tells his dad that he missed a big work meeting and was fired while he was sneaking around for his interview. His wife, Nina (Tetona Jackson), is justifiably PO’d. She wants to send their kids to private school, and her patience for Junior’s wavering career aspirations has more than dwindled. Later, J.J. comes to the house where Nina, Junior and Poppa all try to get Junior his job back. That’s when we learn about Poppa and J.J.’s decades-long rivalry which is, of course, played for laughs. J.J. says Junior can have his job back, but only if he agrees to be on the management track and really dedicate himself. Junior agrees, at least for now.
As for Poppa, he’s stuck in the past, waxing poetic about how his industry used to be. He admits that cameras make him insecure, but after a pep talk from his son, Poppa goes back to work with a new attitude. But when he gets back on the mic, he’s quick to slam Ivy which leads to a heated back-and-forth on-air. After Ivy calls him her “idol” and admits to listening to him every day in college, Poppa softens. Ivy says after his divorce, he turned into a curmudgeon and she doesn’t want to see him go out like that. Her kind words lower his defenses just enough for the two co-hosts to move on with the show and start taking some calls. (Though, they both deserve it when the first caller says they sound like an old bickering married couple.)
So what did you think of Poppa’s House? Grade the pilot below, then sound off in the comments!
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