Source: AP Images
I just have to be real with y’all. Loretta Devine is like an auntie in my head. In addition to her profound talent, she always seemed like a sweet spirit. So I was extremely excited and a little nervous to get the chance to speak to her on the phone and see if my gut feeling about her was right. (Hint: It was.)
Devine, who keeps a job, is coming back to network television with a new sitcom called “The Carmichael Show.” According to NBC,
the show based on the comedy of Jerrod Carmichael, is “an irreverent sitcom inspired by Jerrod’s relationships with his say-anything, contrarian father, his therapist-in-training girlfriend, his ever-hustling brother and his mother who is always, always, always right with Jesus.”
Devine is the mother, Cynthia Carmichael.
She spoke with me about her new role in the show, the increasing number of Blacks on TV, the Waiting To Exhale sequel and her longevity in the industry.
Source: NBC
Tell us about Cynthia
I play Jerrod’s mom. And I got a chance to meet the real Cynthia. She’s a very religious woman and she’s raising too bad kids. Laughs So her religion fails her a bit but most of the time it’s in tact. I’m married to David Alan Grier who plays Joe. And we have ourselves a wonderful time. It’s such an interesting show and I think people are going to either love it or hate it. That’s all I can tell you.
Can you relate to Cynthia? Are you super religious like that?
I don’t think anyone will be as religious as Miss Cynthia. Jerrod loves “All in the Family” and that era of comedy. So the comedy is sort of rooted in that kind of experience. So we’re hitting a lot of hot topics. (In the first episode, Jerod tells his parents that he’s moving in with his girlfriend.) And it’s about a family and also the competition between the young and the old, one view opposed to another view. Whether that view is a better view or a better way to look at the world, whether what the young people are experiencing is totally different what the older people experienced when they were young. So those kinds of thing are what the show talks about.
Can you tell us what attracted you to this role and what made you want to take on this project?
Well, I auditioned and I got it! Laughs.
I went in three or four times. And towards the end–I had gotten the role– and I went in and auditioned with David Alan Grier to see whether or not our comedy and our chemistry was compatible for the show. And I think what they didn’t realize is that David Alan Grier and I had worked together thirty years ago, on Broadway in Dreamgirls and we worked in “Different World” together when we first came out here as young babies. So we’ve known each other, to some extent, for over thirty years. And that’s exactly what the characters are about, a couple that’s been married for over thirty years. So we were right in sync on that so I’m very happy about that.
You’ve played a lot of mothers and aunties. Are you ever afraid that you’ll be typecast in those type of roles?
You have got to kidding, I have worked for so many years, and I’ve done so much, such a variety of parts. And if you’ve mixed up my television career with my film career…like For Colored Girls, that was a very romantic role. This coming season on “Being Mary Jane,” I play my first lesbian role. Down South she would have been called a Bull Dyke, which is not politically correct, I know. But that’s a woman who thinks she’s a man and just don’t know no better. I got a chance to do a six episode run on that. That was extra challenging. I’ve been so blessed in that I get a chance to do both comedy and drama. On “Grey’s Anatomy” which is straight drama…”Boston Public,” straight episodic and then you go back to some of the other things I’ve done, Death at A Funeral, straight comedy. And this [The Carmichael Show] is straight comedy. So, I’ve had such a blessed career. As they say I feel Way, Way Up.
ABC
There are a lot of Black television shows coming to network television. So do you think this is a true change or is this just what’s on trend?
Oh! You know, show business is so unpredictable. I’ve been doing this for over thirty years myself and I’ve had a real successful career compared to a lot of people who are equally, or even more, talented than me. What’s happening now, they’re calling it “the Empire Effect” because “Empire” was so successful. There were like 74 roles for Black actresses, leading and supporting roles. This has never been done before, in the history of show business. But it’s like throwing paint against the wall and seeing what sticks. For this season, I think people are working who haven’t worked in a long time. Black people got paid who haven’t been paid in a long time. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of seasons. But right now, some of the hit shows on tv have Black, female leads. And that is truly different. And I’m talking about four or five shows. Halle Berry has a show on. Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Taraji Henson. And then if you go over to Tracee Ellis and then you’ve got “Being Mary Jane.” When ever has that ever been in the history of the world? So, I’m just glad to be alive today. It’s a phenomenon! All of a sudden, every White guy you see got a Black girlfriend. That’s what we’re doing now. The sistas, all of a sudden, are in. Now, it’s going to be interesting to see how they write the sistas because a lot of the writers are clueless as to how Black women even talk, think or whatever. But they’re trying to figure it out. So, thank God we have a future on the horizon. We have a whole flock of directors now. Regina King, Debbie Allen, Mario Van Peebles, DuVernay, Lee Daniels. We own tv stations now, Oprah Winfrey with her OWN. It’s amazing things that can come out of all of this.
Source: Ebony
Speaking of Lee Daniels, he has a new show coming out called “Star” and it’s based on the Dreamgirls model. Would you be interested in working with him on that?
Oh I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have to see what’s going on with some of the things that are going on with me now but of course everyone wants to work with Lee Daniels now, he’s the hottest ticket in town.
Are people still talking about the Waiting to Exhale sequel?
I’m not sure. The buzz on that has died way down. Terry moved to L.A. and said she was going to work on that. And it’s been really hard for her to find someone that could match the writing styles with. We haven’t heard any more rumors on that. One of my hopes is that they remake This Christmas. All of my little children are famous. So it would be great if they had another Christmas. I don’t whether they’re going to do another “Waiting to Exhale.”
My friend told me that I had to ask you about Gregory Hines. Can you tell us what it was like working with him?
Oh my God! When I did Waiting to Exhale, he was the absolute best leading man of all of the men that were there. I had two or three dozen roses in my room the first day of shoot and all of the women were jealous! They were so jealous because none of their guys did that. I have to say that I have worked with Gregory on Broadway too. My first show, Comin’ Uptown was with Gregory Hines. So it was like a reunion doing that movie with him. And our chemistry was poppin’. So that was great.
Yes, you guys had great chemistry. My friend said, they way they were tonguing each other down.
Laughs. Oh yes, honey. That was something. He was really was an angel. He was so wonderful. The world lost a wonderful person when they lost him.
When For Colored Girls came out, you said that you feel a bit of anxiety when you go out for auditions. Do you still feel that way based on all that you’ve been able to do in the industry?
In a way yeah. Now, that I’m even older you go ‘Oh God, what possibly could I do next.’ But it’s all about what people create, the jobs, the energy and I have such a great relationship with God. He always hooks me up. So I need not worry about anything. It’s so stupid to do that. I know He’s like ‘How much do I have to prove to you?’ And so that’s how I feel. God’s got me. I don’t know about you. I’m just excited about everything that’s going on in my life right now and I hope it continues.
You can catch the premiere episode of “The Carmichael Show” tomorrow at 9:30/8:30c on NBC.
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