The Bernie Mac Show
Encyclopedia
The Bernie Mac Show is an American
sitcom
featuring comic actor Bernie Mac
and his wife Wanda raising his sister's three kids: Jordan, Bryana and Vanessa. The show aired for five seasons (2001–2006), concluding with a half-hour series finale on Fox
.
, The Original Kings of Comedy
).
Much of the humor in the show was derived from Mac's continual adjustment to and his unique take on parenthood. A frequent motif of the show was the juxtaposition of Mac's acerbic comments, such as his threats to "bust the (children's) heads 'til the white meat shows," and the deep parental affection he felt towards the trio, which often brought him to the verge of tears during happy moments. Towards the end of the series, Bryanna's long-lost father (Anthony Anderson
) returns and drops by from time to time to help Bernie and Wanda with the kids.
Many of his most emotional scenes occurred in segments in which Mac, while still in character, broke the 'fourth wall
' and talked to the television audience. As was also the case during his stand-up routine, Mac habitually addressed the audience as "America" for humorous effect. The lighting of the shots typically appears to be yellowish in color.
Mac's character's celebrity worked as a plot device
allowing other celebrities to appear on the show as themselves. Halle Berry
, Serena Williams
, Chris Rock
, Ashton Kutcher
, Dom DeLuise
, Billy Crystal
, Carl Reiner
, Don Rickles
, Angela Bassett
, Ellen DeGeneres
, Ice Cube
, Isaac Hayes
, Lucy Lawless
, Stone Cold Steve Austin
, Triple H
, Matt Damon
, Wesley Snipes
, Charles Barkley
, Jon Garland
, Jules Sylvester
, Sugar Ray Leonard
, Niecy Nash
, India.Arie
, Snoop Dogg
, Shaquille O'Neal
, Sugar Shane Mosley, Hugh Hefner
, and Phil McGraw
have all appeared as themselves over the course of the show.
. The show had a very successful first season and in the process won a handful of honors including an Emmy Award
for 'Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series' and the prestigious Peabody Award
. Bernie Mac also received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series respectively.
In fall 2002, the show aired against the Damon Wayans
comedy My Wife and Kids
which may have hurt the show's momentum in the ratings during the first half of the show's second season run. Larry Wilmore
, the show's creator and executive producer, was fired at this time. In interviews, Wilmore said he was fed up with the network's creative interference with the show in addition to constantly shuffling it around the schedule. Fox contended that it wasn't happy with the shows direction under Wilmore in its second season claiming the show "wasn't delivering enough laughs". With The Bernie Mac Show 's inability to topple My Wife and Kids in the Wednesday 8 p.m. timeslot, Fox eventually aired the show after American Idol
, after which it received its highest ratings ever.
The third season was scheduled to start on October 29, 2003 but was postponed due to The O.C.
being moved. Instead the show started the season at the late date of November 30, 2003. The ratings were mediocre despite the large ratings of its lead-in, The Simpsons
. In March 2004, the show was moved to Monday nights in a plan to boost ratings for the new show Cracking Up
, but the ratings were low for both shows. Cracking Up was canceled and The Bernie Mac Show was pulled from May Sweeps with leftover episodes that aired in June (one of which included an episode about Thanksgiving
).
The show returned to its original time slot on September 8, 2004 to start the fourth season. The production was shut down a month later due to Bernie's sickness. The show returned on January 14, 2005 with new episodes on Friday nights. Although the ratings were low enough that commentators questioned the show's future (especially when it was postponed from May Sweeps again), the show was renewed for a fifth season.
The fifth season started September 23, 2005 on Friday nights and airings were followed by reruns of the show.
The Bernie Mac Show celebrated its 100th episode on February 3, 2006 despite the fact that the actual 100th episode was not aired until March 31.
The series finale
titled "Bernie's Angels" focused on Bernie getting an electrical shock and ends up traumatized. After he recovers, he begins to teach Jordan and Bryanna how to do certain things on their own. Also, Vanessa doesn't want Bernie to be involved in her choosing a college. Meanwhile, Jordan takes advantage of Bernie's kindness. In the end, Vanessa and Bernie make up (mainly due to her writing an essay about who inspires her most: which is him). In the final scene of the series, Bernie goes back to his normal self and takes back the iPod
he bought Jordan since he was taking advantage of him. Bernie's final line is a farewell message to the viewers and stating that he is going to continue to raise and teach the kids for as long as they need it and he also wishes the viewers luck. The scene pans out with Jordan on his knees sobbing and begging for the iPod while Bernie laughes and teases him.
since September 2005 and was on the FX network as of 2011, but is not on the channel's fall schedule.
On various television stations the show's title is shortened to simply Bernie Mac.
Despite being in worldwide syndication, Bernie Mac's hometown Chicago
exclusively airs the show on the city's independent station The U
. The show has been on that station since 2005 but after Mac's death in 2008, the show remains a part of the channel in honor of Mac. However, at the beginning of fall 2009, the show was moved to The U's sister station Me-TV. In 2010, the show was removed from the lineup of both stations.
On the day of Bernie Mac's funeral, WCIU-TV aired a retrospective TV special called A Tribute to Bernie Mac, which featured clips from the show and an interview with Camille Winbush
, who portrayed Vanessa. Cable channel BET
has recently began airing the show.
The Season One DVD boxset was released on DVD May 4, 2004. There have been no announcements regarding further seasons possibly due to music licensing
issues.
Netflix began streaming seasons 1-5 on 1st October
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
announced The re-released of The Bernie Mac Show seasons 1-5 and The Complete series on DVD.
, the Humanitas Prize
, a Writing in a Comedy Series, three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, and was honored by the Television Critics Association
.
For his role in the show, Bernie Mac was honored by the Television Critics Association for Individual Achievement in a Comedy as well as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
four years in a row: 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
featuring comic actor Bernie Mac
Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough , better known by his stage name, Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L...
and his wife Wanda raising his sister's three kids: Jordan, Bryana and Vanessa. The show aired for five seasons (2001–2006), concluding with a half-hour series finale on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
.
Premise
The show was loosely based on Mac's stand-up comedy acts. In real life, Bernie "Mac" McCollough was married with one daughter; Mac's character on the show (a stand-up comedian) was married with no kids of his own. The pilot episode, aired on November 14, 2001, set up the basic premise for the show: the character Bernie Mac takes in his sister's children after she enters rehab (a premise taken from one of Mac's routines in the 2000 film2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
, The Original Kings of Comedy
The Original Kings of Comedy
The Original Kings of Comedy is a 2000 stand-up comedy film, directed by Spike Lee, and featuring the comedy routines of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. Filmed in front of an audience at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the comedians give the...
).
Much of the humor in the show was derived from Mac's continual adjustment to and his unique take on parenthood. A frequent motif of the show was the juxtaposition of Mac's acerbic comments, such as his threats to "bust the (children's) heads 'til the white meat shows," and the deep parental affection he felt towards the trio, which often brought him to the verge of tears during happy moments. Towards the end of the series, Bryanna's long-lost father (Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has starred in his own sitcom All About the Andersons, as well as the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show during the fifth and final season of the show. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas such as K-Ville, The...
) returns and drops by from time to time to help Bernie and Wanda with the kids.
Many of his most emotional scenes occurred in segments in which Mac, while still in character, broke the 'fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
' and talked to the television audience. As was also the case during his stand-up routine, Mac habitually addressed the audience as "America" for humorous effect. The lighting of the shots typically appears to be yellowish in color.
Mac's character's celebrity worked as a plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
allowing other celebrities to appear on the show as themselves. Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
, Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
, Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
, Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
, Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
, Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
, Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
, Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and...
, Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
, Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
, Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
, Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless, MNZM is a New Zealander actress and singer best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess....
, Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
, Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
, Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley is a former American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dominating power forwards...
, Jon Garland
Jon Garland
Jon Steven Garland is a right-handed starting pitcher, who is currently a free agent.-High school career:At John F...
, Jules Sylvester
Jules Sylvester
Jules Sylvester is a snake wrangler who works in film and television. He was born in England and raised in Kenya where he was first introduced to snake catching at age 16. He has appeared in numerous television shows including a series of appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and his own...
, Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
, Niecy Nash
Niecy Nash
Carol Denise "Niecy" Nash is an American comedian and actress who has hosted Clean House on the Style Network and played Deputy Raineesha Williams on the Comedy Central television series Reno 911!.-Early life:Nash was born in Palmdale, California. In addition to her acting endeavors, she is the...
, India.Arie
India.Arie
India.Arie is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer . She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.-Background:Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado...
, Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
, Sugar Shane Mosley, Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, and Phil McGraw
Phil McGraw
Phillip Calvin McGraw best known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, former psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002...
have all appeared as themselves over the course of the show.
Broadcast history by season
The show debuted in its time slot on November 14, 2001 with solid ratings in spite of a weak lead-in, Grounded for LifeGrounded for Life
Grounded for Life is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001 as a mid-season replacement on the FOX Network. It was created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin. It ran for two seasons on the network until being cancelled only two episodes into its third season...
. The show had a very successful first season and in the process won a handful of honors including an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for 'Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series' and the prestigious Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
. Bernie Mac also received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series respectively.
In fall 2002, the show aired against the Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans brothers.-Early life:Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager...
comedy My Wife and Kids
My Wife and Kids
My Wife and Kids is an American television family sitcom that ran on ABC from March 28, 2001 until May 17, 2005. Produced by Touchstone Television , it starred Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell-Martin, and centers on the character of Michael Kyle, a loving husband and modern-day patriarch who rules...
which may have hurt the show's momentum in the ratings during the first half of the show's second season run. Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore is an American writer, actor and television producer.-Early life:Wilmore grew up in suburban Los Angeles, the child of a Catholic family. His father is a doctor...
, the show's creator and executive producer, was fired at this time. In interviews, Wilmore said he was fed up with the network's creative interference with the show in addition to constantly shuffling it around the schedule. Fox contended that it wasn't happy with the shows direction under Wilmore in its second season claiming the show "wasn't delivering enough laughs". With The Bernie Mac Show 's inability to topple My Wife and Kids in the Wednesday 8 p.m. timeslot, Fox eventually aired the show after American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, after which it received its highest ratings ever.
The third season was scheduled to start on October 29, 2003 but was postponed due to The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
being moved. Instead the show started the season at the late date of November 30, 2003. The ratings were mediocre despite the large ratings of its lead-in, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. In March 2004, the show was moved to Monday nights in a plan to boost ratings for the new show Cracking Up
Cracking Up
For the movie, see Cracking Up .Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the Fox Network on Monday nights from March to May 2004. The title of the program and the name of the psychiatrist, Dr...
, but the ratings were low for both shows. Cracking Up was canceled and The Bernie Mac Show was pulled from May Sweeps with leftover episodes that aired in June (one of which included an episode about Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
).
The show returned to its original time slot on September 8, 2004 to start the fourth season. The production was shut down a month later due to Bernie's sickness. The show returned on January 14, 2005 with new episodes on Friday nights. Although the ratings were low enough that commentators questioned the show's future (especially when it was postponed from May Sweeps again), the show was renewed for a fifth season.
The fifth season started September 23, 2005 on Friday nights and airings were followed by reruns of the show.
The Bernie Mac Show celebrated its 100th episode on February 3, 2006 despite the fact that the actual 100th episode was not aired until March 31.
American ratings
| Season | Timeslot (EDT) | Season premiere | Season finale | TV season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (November 14, 2001 – May 15, 2002) | November 14, 2001 | May 15, 2002 | 2001–2002 | #63 | 9.5 |
| 2 | Wednesday 8:00 P.M. (September 18, 2002 – December 11, 2002) Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (January 15, 2003 – May 14, 2003) |
September 18, 2002 | May 14, 2003 | 2002–2003 2002-03 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 2002. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New series are highlighted in bold.... |
#74 | 9.7 |
| 3 | Sunday 8:30 P.M. (November 30, 2003 – February 22, 2004) Monday 8:00 P.M. (March 7, 2004 – June 29, 2004) |
November 30, 2003 | June 29, 2004 | 2003–2004 2003-04 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 2003. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New series are highlighted in bold.... |
#95 | 7.5 |
| 4 | Wednesday 9:00 P.M. (September 8, 2004 - September 29, 2004) Friday 8:00 P.M. (January 14, 2005 - April 8, 2005) |
September 8, 2004 | April 8, 2005 | 2004–2005 2004-05 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 2004. All times are Eastern and Pacific.... |
#110 | 4.8 |
| 5 | Friday 8:00 P.M. (September 23, 2005 - April 14, 2006) | September 23, 2005 | April 14, 2006 | 2005–2006 2005-06 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 2005. All times are Eastern and Pacific.This would be the final season of broadcasting for both UPN and The WB... |
#130 | 3.6 |
Regular cast
- Bernie McCulloughBernie McCulloughBernie "Mac" McCullough is a character loosely based on comic actor Bernie Mac from the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show which ran from 2001 to 2006.-Character Biography:...
(himselfBernie MacBernard Jeffrey McCullough , better known by his stage name, Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L...
) — The show's main protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
who is loosely based upon the late comedian of the same name. Bernie and his wife took in the three kids when their drug-addled mother, his sister Stacy, was no longer able to be a proper parent. Bernie uses tough-love parenting tactics and he can be both strict and comical. He narrates the series, and between scenes he talks to the audience by addressing them as "America." Although he loves all three kids, his favorite is Bryanna (whom he affectionately calls "Baby Girl" because she is the youngest). He always finds himself going head to head with teenage Vanessa, the eldest sibling, whose poor attitude always gives him a hard time. - Wanda "Baby" McCulloughWanda "Baby" McCulloughWanda McCullough, commonly known as "Baby", is portrayed by Kellita Smith. The character is loosely based on the wife of the late comic actor Bernie Mac.-Character biography:...
(Kellita SmithKellita SmithKellita Smith is an American actress and model. She is best knownfor her role as Wanda McCullough on the sitcom, The Bernie Mac Show.-Career:Smith has held recurring roles on CBS' Nash Bridges, UPN's Malcolm & Eddie,...
) — Bernie's loving wife, a very intelligent woman who is VP for AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
. She loves raising the kids with Bernie but periodically her patience is tested. Whenever Bernie has a problem, she does her best to help though her assistance can be stubbornly overbearing and unnecessary at times. - Bryanna "Baby Girl" Thomkins (Dee Dee DavisDee Dee DavisDee Dee Davis is an American teen actress. She is of African American, Puerto Rican, Native American,and German ancestry. She is best known for her role as Bryanna "Baby Girl" Thomkins on The Bernie Mac Show. She also guest starred in Strong Medicine, House and The Game...
) — Bernie and Wanda's younger niece, the youngest child and the half-sister of Jordan and Vanessa. Bryanna is a friendly little girl who is sweet, innocent, and quite naive though she turns somewhat more bratty as the series progesses. Bryanna is Bernie's favorite (although he loves all three). Bryanna is playful and always trusts her Uncle Bernie. One of her favorite TV characters was Drooby (a parody of BarneyBarney & FriendsBarney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...
) until she found out that he was only a man in a costume (David FaustinoDavid FaustinoDavid Anthony Faustino is an American actor and rap artist primarily known for his role as Bud Bundy on the sitcom Married with Children.-Early life:...
in a guest role). Bryanna is known for always attacking and successfully beating up her older brother Jordan. - Jordan Thomkins (Jeremy SuarezJeremy SuarezJeremy Steven Suarez is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian. He is perhaps best known for his starring role of Jordan Thomkins, Bernie Mac's nephew, on The Bernie Mac Show....
) — Bernie and Wanda's nephew, the middle child. Jordan is very nerdy and peculiar. He is interested in collecting bugs and conducting odd science experiments. He is always getting beat up by his little sister, Bryanna; though on very minor occasions he has been able to scare her in retaliation and make her cry. Early on in the series, Jordan would always cry and urinate on himself. As the series progressed, he gets tougher and more masculine. He took an interest in magic and even began trying to date girls. Although he knows that there is nothing wrong with Jordan, Bernie tries to his best to make him more masculine. - Vanessa "Nessa" Thomkins (Camille WinbushCamille WinbushCamille Simoine Winbush is an American television actress and recording artist. Her work in television has earned her three Image Awards and a Young Artist Award.-Life and career:...
) — Bernie and Wanda's elder niece, the eldest of the three children, and the show's main antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Vanessa always purposely gives Bernie a hard time with her nasty attitude, but most of this attitude comes from the pressure of being the eldest and having to take the parent role with her younger siblings. As the series progresses, she gets along better with Bernie and matures into a young woman preparing for college. In the final season, she spends most of her time trying to find the perfect college and rejecting Bernie's help with that.
Recurring cast
- Reginald BallardReginald BallardReginald Ballard is an American character actor and comedian from Galveston, Texas, who is probably best known as "Bruh-man from the fifth flo'" in the Fox sitcom Martin...
— W.B. - Carlos MenciaCarlos MenciaCarlos Mencia , born Ned Arnel Mencia, is a Honduran-born American comedian, writer, and actor. His style of comedy is often political and involves issues of race, culture, criminal justice, and social class...
— Chuy (pilot only) - Lombardo BoyarLombardo BoyarLombardo Boyar is an American character actor and has been active in television, animation, cinema, and video games since 1996. Some of Boyar's notable performances include a brief part as convenience-store robber Ramon Garcia on Fox's 24 and a starring role as burglar Eddie Tesoro in the movie P.S...
— Chuy - Michael RalphMichael RalphMichael Ralph is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for his recurring roles as Spencer Boyer on the sitcom A Different World, Tyrell Livingston on Cleghorne! and as Kelly on The Bernie Mac Show....
— Kelly - Rick HoffmanRick HoffmanRick Hoffman is an American actor and is best known for his roles as Patrick Van Dorn in Jake in Progress and more recently as Louis Litt in USA Network's legal drama Suits.-Early life:...
— Jerry Best - Wade WilliamsWade WilliamsWade Andrew Williams is an American actor who is best known for his starring role as Brad Bellick on Fox's television series Prison Break.-Personal life:...
— Father Sean Cronin - The Dean of Discipline - Anthony AndersonAnthony AndersonAnthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has starred in his own sitcom All About the Andersons, as well as the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show during the fifth and final season of the show. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas such as K-Ville, The...
— Bryan, Bryanna's father (Season 5) - Naya RiveraNaya RiveraNaya Marie Rivera is an American actress and singer known for her role in the musical comedy television series Glee, as cheerleader Santana Lopez.-Early life:...
— Donna (Seasons 2-5)
Main crew
- Creator: Larry WilmoreLarry WilmoreLarry Wilmore is an American writer, actor and television producer.-Early life:Wilmore grew up in suburban Los Angeles, the child of a Catholic family. His father is a doctor...
- Executive ProducerExecutive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s: Pete Aronson, Warren Hutcherson. - Co-Executive Producers: Bernie Mac, Richard AppelRichard AppelRichard "Rich" Appel is an American writer, producer and former attorney. Growing up in Wilmette, Illinois, Appel developed a love of comedy and dreamt of a career as a comedy writer; he attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. Following in his mother's footsteps Appel...
, Teri Schaffer, Michael Benson, Marc Abrams. - Producers: Michael Petok, Steven Greener
Cancellation
After five seasons and 104 episodes, Fox announced the cancellation of The Bernie Mac Show.The series finale
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
titled "Bernie's Angels" focused on Bernie getting an electrical shock and ends up traumatized. After he recovers, he begins to teach Jordan and Bryanna how to do certain things on their own. Also, Vanessa doesn't want Bernie to be involved in her choosing a college. Meanwhile, Jordan takes advantage of Bernie's kindness. In the end, Vanessa and Bernie make up (mainly due to her writing an essay about who inspires her most: which is him). In the final scene of the series, Bernie goes back to his normal self and takes back the iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
he bought Jordan since he was taking advantage of him. Bernie's final line is a farewell message to the viewers and stating that he is going to continue to raise and teach the kids for as long as they need it and he also wishes the viewers luck. The scene pans out with Jordan on his knees sobbing and begging for the iPod while Bernie laughes and teases him.
Syndication
The show had been airing in syndicationTelevision syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
since September 2005 and was on the FX network as of 2011, but is not on the channel's fall schedule.
On various television stations the show's title is shortened to simply Bernie Mac.
Despite being in worldwide syndication, Bernie Mac's hometown Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
exclusively airs the show on the city's independent station The U
WCIU-TV
WCIU-TV is an independent television station located in Chicago, Illinois. It operates on UHF digital channel 27 and is Chicago's oldest UHF station, signing on the air in 1964. WCIU-TV is the flagship station of Weigel Broadcasting, a locally-based broadcaster which has owned the station since...
. The show has been on that station since 2005 but after Mac's death in 2008, the show remains a part of the channel in honor of Mac. However, at the beginning of fall 2009, the show was moved to The U's sister station Me-TV. In 2010, the show was removed from the lineup of both stations.
On the day of Bernie Mac's funeral, WCIU-TV aired a retrospective TV special called A Tribute to Bernie Mac, which featured clips from the show and an interview with Camille Winbush
Camille Winbush
Camille Simoine Winbush is an American television actress and recording artist. Her work in television has earned her three Image Awards and a Young Artist Award.-Life and career:...
, who portrayed Vanessa. Cable channel BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
has recently began airing the show.
DVD releasee
| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | May 4, 2004 | 22 | Bonus features include commentary on the pilot episode from Bernie Mac and a 60 minute A & E Tvography. |
The Season One DVD boxset was released on DVD May 4, 2004. There have been no announcements regarding further seasons possibly due to music licensing
Music licensing
Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. Music licensing is intended to ensure that the creators of musical works get paid for their work. A purchaser of recorded music owns the media on which the music is stored, not the music itself...
issues.
Netflix began streaming seasons 1-5 on 1st October
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
announced The re-released of The Bernie Mac Show seasons 1-5 and The Complete series on DVD.
Awards
The Bernie Mac Show won the Peabody AwardPeabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
, the Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
, a Writing in a Comedy Series, three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, and was honored by the Television Critics Association
Television Critics Association
The Television Critics Association is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian journalists and columnists who cover television programming...
.
For his role in the show, Bernie Mac was honored by the Television Critics Association for Individual Achievement in a Comedy as well as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series:-Stats:*Most Wins**Bernie Mac & Steve Harvey- 4 wins*Most Nominations**1. Bernie Mac- 6 nominations...
four years in a row: 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.