The Cleveland Show (2009– )

The adventures of the "Family Guy"'s neighbor and deli owner, Cleveland Brown.

Creators:

Richard Appel, Mike Henry, Seth MacFarlane

Stars:

Mike Henry, Sanaa Lathan, Kevin Michael Richardson

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Mike Henry	...	Cleveland Brown (82 episodes, 2009-2013)
Sanaa Lathan	...	Donna Tubbs (82 episodes, 2009-2013)
Kevin Michael Richardson	...	Cleveland Brown Jr. (82 episodes, 2009-2013)
Jason Sudeikis	...	Holt Richter (74 episodes, 2009-2013)
Reagan Gomez-Preston	...	Roberta Tubbs (66 episodes, 2009-2013)
Seth MacFarlane	...	Tim the Bear (63 episodes, 2009-2012)
Aseem Batra	...	Kendra Krinklesac (41 episodes, 2009-2013)

Storyline

This FOX animated comedy is a spin-off of the much-loved series Family Guy. The series features the adventures of Peter Griffin's neighbor Cleveland Brown. Many years ago, Cleveland made a promise to his old high school sweetheart, Donna. Cleveland, along with Cleveland Junior, move to Stoolbend, VA to start a new life with Donna and her two children.

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Plot Keywords:

neighbor | spin off | racial stereotype | african american | humor | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Cleveland-show

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Persons Unknown Productions, Happy Jack Productions, Fuzzy Door Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The theme song originally had the line "my happy black guy face", but it was changed to "my happy mustache face" for racial sensitivity.

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Connections

Spin-off Family Guy Presents: It's a Trap (2010)

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Soundtracks

"You and I (Are Meant to Be)"
Music by Walter Murphy
Performed by Sanaa Lathan and Mike Henry

User Reviews

Not terribly funny, and too many stereotypes

Seth MacFarlane is enormously talented -- so talented that I think it's likely that I'm just missing the point of this show.

But it doesn't seem that funny to me.

Also, the way the show riffs on the black experience (or the way the black experience used to be portrayed in sitcoms) is hard for me. We're all supposed to be post-racial and cool about everything, because, you know, it's all behind us now.

But the youngest kid in particular is difficult for a middle aged guy like me -- the way he talks, what he says, and so on. It feels wrong.

And if I started to lay out what I think is wrong about it, the tough, foul mouthed kid -- an embryonic hoodlum, really -- someone could reasonably come back at me and say, "Well, what about Stewie? That doesn't bug you." I don't have a good answer for that. So maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe it's just that Stewie is funnier.

But I think that my discomfort is probably the point -- we're so cool now that we're all above it, beyond the history, and we can sit back and laugh about it all. Like, it was all just one big merry mixup or something. Can you believe what those guys used to think? Wow, glad that's over. Or at least it will be, once the President shows us his birth certificate. Can't be too careful.

It's funny because it transgresses that still sensitive taboo. And if there weren't uptight people like me, it wouldn't be edgy, and if it wasn't edgy, it wouldn't be funny.

So maybe this isn't just a bad review. Maybe I'm doing my part, establishing the edge, and making it funnier for the kids.

I really like the bear, though. The voice reminds me of some character from cartoons in the 70's, but I can't place it. The bear almost justifies the whole thing.