Written by | Ray Cornelius
Comedic actress, singer, producer and Lupus advocate—Tichina Arnold—is returning to primetime this week in the new CBS comedy The Neighborhood. The 30-minute sitcom debuts tomorrow night (Monday, October 1) at 8 p.m. EST.
Dave Johnson (Max Greenfield) is a good-natured, professional conflict negotiator. When his wife, Gemma (Beth Behrs), gets a job as a school principal in L.A., they move from Michigan with their young son, Grover (Hank Greenspan), unfazed that their new dream home is located in a community quite different from their small town.
Their opinionated next-door neighbor, Calvin Butler (Cedric the Entertainer), is wary of the newcomers, certain that the Johnsons will disrupt the culture on the block. However, Calvin’s gracious wife, Tina (Arnold), rolls out the welcome wagon; their chipper younger son, Marty (Marcel Spears), thinks the Johnsons could be good for the community; and their unemployed older son, Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney), finds Dave may finally be someone who understands him. Dave realizes that fitting into their new community is more complex than he expected, but if he can find a way to connect with Calvin, they have an excellent chance of making their new neighborhood their home.
Arnold was in town recently and stopped by the CAU-TV 23 studios to be a guest on my new television show, UPFRONT with Ray Cornelius. It’s the “TV” version of my popular radio show, UPFRONT Inside Atlanta’s Entertainment Industry.
During our conversation she opens up about her character, appearing on the new season of TV One’s Uncensored and her favorite Martin episode. She also talked about wanting to do more music (she can saaaaanggggg) and gave some sound advice to our student studio audience.
Check out a first look trailer for The Neighborhood below and tune into UPFRONT with Ray Cornelius this Thursday, October 4 on CAU-TV 23.
Photo Credits: CBS and RayCornelius.com
