Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Jay Pharoah headlines new Showtime comedy ‘White Famous’
When Jay Pharoah said goodbye to his “Saturday Night Live” spot last year, fans were quick to voice their shock and disappointment.The rapper, standup comedian and impressionist extraordinaire had become a well-loved cog in the “SNL” machine during his six-year tenure, and his abrupt departure came as an unpleasant surprise to many.
Nobody stays on “SNL” forever, though, and for Pharoah, as for so many others before him, the long-running sketch show was simply a stepping stone to bigger things — assuming, that is, his latest venture takes off. “White Famous” is a new comedy coming to Showtime, and stars Pharoah in a role that draws loosely on the pre-fame life of megastar Jamie Foxx (“Django Unchained,” 2012), who’s an executive producer for the series.The show premieres Sunday, Oct. 15.
According to Showtime, “White Famous” is “a new comedy about trying to make it without losing your soul.” Pharoah plays Floyd Mooney, an upand-coming black comedian trying to maintain his integrity — and his sanity — as he crosses the divide into achieving big-time fame.The series follows Floyd as he navigates that road to the next level of Hollywood success, without losing himself along the way.
“You always root for Floyd. It feels like he can be himself and still make a way, somehow,” Pharoah said of his character in a promo video for the show.
The series also stars Utkarsh Ambudkar (“Pitch Perfect,” 2012) as Malcolm, Floyd’s agent who wants him to do whatever it takes to achieve stardom, and Jacob Ming-Trent (“Feed the Beast”) as Ron Balls, Floyd’s voice-ofreason roommate. Cleopatra Coleman (“The Last Man on Earth”) plays Sadie, Floyd’s ex-girlfriend and baby mama to his young son,Trevor (Lonnie Chavis, “This Is Us”).
Stephen Tobolowsky (“Silicon Valley”) guest stars in the pilot, reprising his “Californication” role as movie producer Stu Beggs.Tom Kapinos, “Californication’s” creator, also created — you guessed it — “White Famous,” and Stu isn’t the only character who crosses over this season: Keep an eye out for Meagan Good (“Think Like a Man,” 2012) and Natalie Zea (“Justified”), both of whom appear as their “Californication” characters. Michael Rapaport (“The War at Home”), Jack Davenport (“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” 2003) and Kendrick Sampson (“How to Get Away with Murder”) are all slated to appear in the 10-episode freshman season as well.
Much of the show’s material comes from real experiences that Foxx — now an Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Grammy-winning A-lister — had as his star was still rising. “I came up from standup comedy, so to be able to share that aspect of my life on screen with a project like ‘White Famous’ is incredibly exciting,” the actor said in a statement.
Besides his work behind the scenes, Foxx plays himself in a recurring role in the series. In the pilot, he has what turns out to be an awkward meeting with Floyd at the urging of Beggs, and Floyd is nonplussed to find that the actor is wearing what appears to be a cheerleader skirt.
While it’s Foxx’s past that lays the groundwork for the series, the material is not such a far cry from Pharoah’s own experiences as well. Like his character, Pharoah doesn’t feel that making it big in the entertainment industry means that an actor has to sacrifice the person he is, or bow to the whim of every Hollywood bigwig. It’s an issue he had during his “SNL” tenure, however much he respects and appreciates the show and its creator, Lorne Michaels.
“They put people in boxes and whatever they want you to do, they expect you to do,” he explained in a radio interview with Hot97 after his departure from “SNL.” “And I’m fiery. I’m not a yes [man].”
Whatever bits he may have refused to participate in, Pharoah was a memorable presence in the “SNL” cast from the time that he first joined the show in 2010. His impressions are truly uncanny, and he quickly became known for his near-flawless portrayals of black celebrities and politicians, including Jay-Z, Ben Carson, Denzel Washington and Barack Obama.While viewers loved the bits, Pharoah felt he was being underutilized.
Safe to say that will hardly be the case in “White Famous,” which is the network’s second recent series about standup comedians. The dramedy “I’m Dying Up Here,” produced by Jim Carrey (“The Truman Show,” 1998), aired its first season over the summer, and follows a group of young comedians trying to find success in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. The series features Melissa Leo (“The Fighter,” 2010), Clark Duke (“Hot Tub Time Machine,” 2010), Ari Graynor (“Bad Teacher”) and others, and has been renewed for a second season.
While landing a spot on the cast of “Saturday Night Live” was no doubt one of the highest points of Pharoah’s career so far, leaving it may just prove to be even better for him.With a hot new comedy to headline on his own terms, the funnyman is going nowhere but up. Catch the premiere of “White Famous” when it airs Sunday, Oct. 15, on Showtime.