IN HIS PRIME
‘Black-ish,’ ‘Truth’ star Anderson is ABC’s go-to guy
HE return of “To Tell the Truth” has given its host, Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”), two successful shows on ABC.
But the true breakout star of “Truth” (Sundays at 9 p.m.) might just be Anderson’s mother, Doris Bowman — who serves as scorekeeper and her son’s comic sidekick.
Now when his celebrity friends ask to appear as guests, “It’s more, ‘I want to come have fun with your mom on the show,’ not ‘I want to have fun with you,’ ” says Anderson, 46.
The comedian is more than happy to oblige his mother, who wanted to be an actress but had to give up her showbiz dreams when she became a single mother at a young age. “Now that I’m in the position to give her opportunities like this and open doors for her, I love it,” he says. “I love the joy that it brings her.
“She’s stepped out of the shadows of being Anthony Anderson’s mother to having her own identity as a celebrity now.”
Season 2 of “To Tell the Truth” has made two major changes from its summer run. For one, the house band is gone (it wasn’t costeffective for just playing music in and out of commercials) and two, there’s now a rotating celebrity panel. While Season 1 featured Betty White, NeNe Leakes and Jalen Rose as the main panelists, this season celebs will appear for only an episode or two in an effort to switch up the dynamic. This Sunday’s two episodes (8-10 p.m. on ABC) feature Lara Spencer, David Arquette, Tom Bergeron and Sherri Shepherd, followed by Kal Penn, Adam Rodriguez, Nikki Glaser and Justin Long.
Anderson squeezed in filming the new season over seven days when he was on a two-week hiatus from “Black-ish” for Thanksgiving. In addition to those two shows, he’s also got an upcoming weekly Animal Planet talk show, “Animal Nation with Anthony Anderson” (premiering Feb. 10), where he’ll chat with celebrities alongside their furry companions and curate entertaining animal videos.
“It’s all a part of a master plan,” he says of his growing hosting career. “I would eventually love to host the Oscars, the ESPYs the Emmys. Until that time I just keep sharpening my sword.”
At this Sunday’s big awards show, the Golden Globes, Anderson will be a guest for the first time, with both “Black-ish” and his acting performance receiving nominations. He’s bringing his two kids with wife Alvina Stewart to the ceremony: 20-year-old Kyra and 16-year-old Nathan. “It felt great … finally we’re being recognized,” he says. “This is the first year in three years that our show’s been around that we’ve run the gamut of nominations. It’s a pretty big year for us.”
As for his mother, he’s helping her run to stardom with a guest role on “Black-ish,” where she will play herself and appear alongside her real-life best friend, whom Anderson nicknamed “Drunk Bobbi” after observing her tipsy on a flight.
“They’re going to be the nemesis to Jennifer Lewis’ character, my mom Ruby on the show, in the Spades tournament,” he says. “The character my mother plays, Doris, is always the winner of this Spades tournament. Ruby is trying to groom one of the kids to be her Spades partner because her partner died, so she’s trying to teach my children how to cheat so she can finally win this tournament.”