The Bernie Mac Show (2001–2006)

A stand up comedian suddenly becomes a father when he takes custody of his sister's three children.

Creator:

Larry Wilmore

Stars:

Bernie Mac, Kellita Smith, Jeremy Suarez

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 30 wins & 58 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Bernie Mac	...	Bernie 'Mac' McCullough (104 episodes, 2001-2006)
Kellita Smith	...	Wanda McCullough (104 episodes, 2001-2006)
Jeremy Suarez	...	Jordan Thomkins (104 episodes, 2001-2006)
Dee Dee Davis	...	Bryana 'Baby Girl' Thomkins (104 episodes, 2001-2006)
Camille Winbush	...	Vanessa 'Nessa' Thomkins (104 episodes, 2001-2006)

Storyline

Bernie Mac is a world famous stand-up comedian living the good life in his Los Angeles home complete with beautiful wife, Wanda, and a hi-tech SUV. Life was sweet for the Mac-Man. Then one day, Bernie's sister, in Chicago, is sent to rehab for drug use and her three children: teenage Vanessa, asthmatic wheezing Jordan and sweet, innocent Bryana, are put into Bernie's custody. Raising kids is hard! Especially these kids. They always give poor Uncle Bernie trouble, making him want to "bust their heads 'til the white meat shows".

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Plot Keywords:

stand up comedian | comedian | asthmatic | rehab | uncle niece relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Broadcasting

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bernie Mac Show

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Regency Television, Wilmore Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character 'Bernie Mac' was ranked #47 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (20 June 2004 issue).

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Bernie Mac: Ungrateful urchins!

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Connections

Referenced in The Cleveland Show: Cleveland Live! (2010)

User Reviews

A Top Quality, Classic Sitcom and soon to be a Legend

This is my favorite sitcom of all time, and one of the best written, best directed and best acted series of any kind on TV.

I will write a longer article at some later date explaining why I state this. Let me briefly just say that if you do not appreciate it, you have probably not seen it for long enough to appreciate it. It is hard for me to imagine who would not like it or what they would complain about. The few people that I "talk TV" with all love it, and TV (especially network) is not normally anything I would plan my life or even my day around. I don't know if that explains in any way why I think this show is among the best and an instant "classic" in every sense of the word. This show easily stands alongside any beloved series that has ever been broadcast in the US. (I only say that because I do think in general that some European countries aim a bit higher demographics and might have some shows that are better that I am unaware of). I find that is blends occasional over-the-top humor with a complex and rich story that seems to genuine to be fiction. Only the over-the-top humor functions to keep it from getting too emotional at times. They find humor (and really good humor) in a set of circumstances one would not expect it. They have also been able to develop the characters and the situations in perfect harmony with the age of the show and all of the children actors (in other words, no stupid season plot lines that are forced by cast changes or whatever). Today I saw Vanessa struggling with the difficulty she (her character) would feel with great expectations of her natural talent and intelligence, with the lagging insecurities that come with growing up with an uncle thousands of miles away from her mother and other circumstances she once lived with. They had Bernie trying to lead her with nuggets of wisdom and of course she could not help taking out her anxiety on Bernie, attacking him passively and at times more outwardly for trying to "control" her. This theme was harmonized by seeing Bernie doing similar things for Jordan, while Jordan faked gratitude to manipulate Bernie. For his efforts, Jordan scored a new "boombox" and then an iPod. In the end, when Vanessa finely saw (through the explanation provided by Wanda, that allowed her to see it was not pressure that moved Bernie, but utter confidence that she would succeed and merely playing his role the best (and perhaps the only) way he knew how. When Vanessa was allowed to see this, it relieved the pressure, and the writer's block and she chose to write about Bernie as the most influential person in her life (for her application to Stanford University). It was done really well all around, and it was one of those episodes that amazed my once I recovered from my temporary (it is still only TV) emotional immersion in the story. Maybe the fact that I have a son the exact same as an only child and a not so secret desire to have a daughter in addition to him, might make me more vulnerable to this kind of theme. I will remind you then that I would also notice more quickly if there were flaws in the writing. I am so picky, I am annoy myself at times and though I occasionally fail to get hooked on some episodes of the re-runs, today I was reminded just how brilliant enjoyable this show is.

Having said all this, there is still so much more I would want to say. I would love to sit with Bernie and ask him how much involvement he has with the writing. His character is clearly influenced by his comedy act. which may or may not be closely related to his social persona (while not "on" as the comedian).