Everybody Still Hates Chris, a reimagined animated version of Chris Rock’s beloved autobiographical family comedy Everybody Hates Chris, has received a straight-to-series order by MTV Entertainment. It will be windowed globally across streamer Paramount+ and sibling linear network Comedy Central. Rock is back as narrator and executive producer of the new series, which, like the original, is inspired by the comedian’s teenage years. CBS Studios and 3 Arts Entertainment, which produced Everybody Hates Chris and originally developed the animated reboot, will produce with MTV Entertainment Studios, which has been ramping up its adult animation portfolio with the recently announced Andy Samberg-produced series Digman! joining the Daria spinoff movie Jodie, both the film and series reboots of Beavis and Butt-Head as well as stalwart South Park.
Sanjay Shah (South Park, Central Park) serves as showrunner and wrote the pilot script for Everybody Still Hates Chris, inspired by Rock’s experiences growing up as a skinny nerd in a large working class family in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, during the late 1980s. Shah executive produces the new series with Everybody Hates Chris co-creators/executive producers Rock and Ali LeRoi and executive producers Michael Rotenberg and Dave Becky of 3 Arts. Also exec producing the reboot is Grant Gish, MTV Entertainment Studios’ Head of Adult Animation.
“Chris Rock is one of the most gifted comedians of all time and we’re excited to partner with him, 3 Arts and CBS Studios to bring this to life and welcome it as the next big hit in our expanding arsenal of iconic adult animation that includes smash series such as South Park and the new Beavis and Butt-Head,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios.
CBS Studios originally put the animated Everybody Hates Chris reboot in development with Rock on board almost a year a half ago. In the past four months, Rock has been at the center of pop culture following the Oscar slap by Will Smith, which has earned the comedian a new legion of fans and has packed venues on his tour.
“A reimagining of this groundbreaking, critically acclaimed series has been a source of creative discussions at our Studio for a long time,” said George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS. “It’s exciting to join forces with 3 Arts and the comedic genius of Chris Rock as he expands on his vision of the original show in this innovative new format. This also marks another significant in-house collaboration for CBS with Chris McCarthy and our valued partners at MTV Entertainment Studios as we jointly support this marquee series for Paramount+ and Comedy Central.”
Other collaborations between CBS and the divisions run by McCarthy include MTV’s The Challenge doing a spinoff on CBS and the CMT Music Awards airing on the broadcast network as well as CBS Studios’ animated series Tooning Out the News recently relocating from Paramount+ to Comedy Central.
Everybody Hates Chris debuted in 2005 on UPN and ran for four seasons, one on UPN and three on its successor the CW. The series won a NAACP Image Award for its writing in 2007 and was also nominated for a Golden Globe and several Emmy Awards.It quickly achieved a cult status and has remained on TV via broadcast and cable syndication
