- What's Happening Now!!
Infobox Television
show_name = What's Happening Now!!
caption = "What's Happening Now!!" Logo
genre = Sitcom
creator =Eric Monte
starring =Ernest Lee Thomas Haywood Nelson Fred Berry (1985-1986)Shirley Hemphill Anne-Marie Johnson Reina King (1985-1986)Danielle Spencer Martin Lawrence (1987-1988)Ken Sagoes (1987-1988)
composer =Henry Mancini
Bruce Miller
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 3
num_episodes = 66
list_episodes =
executive_producer = Michael S. Baser
Mike Mulligan
Kim Weiskopf
producer = Larry Balmagia
Bob Peete
Michael S. Baser
Kim Weiskopf
sup_producer = Mike Milligan
Jay Moriarty
runtime = 21:50
channel = Syndication
first_aired =September 7 , 1985
last_aired =March 26 , 1988
preceded_by = "What's Happening!! ""What's Happening Now!!" is an American
sitcom which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. It was thesequel to thesitcom "What's Happening!! ", which ran from 1976 to 1979.eries basis
In the series, Roger "Raj" Thomas (played by
Ernest Thomas ) had become a fledgling writer. He had bought half of the restaurant Rob's Diner (renamed Rob's) and he was running the business with Shirley (Shirley Hemphill ), making money for himself and his new wife Nadine (Anne-Marie Johnson ), who was a social worker. Dwayne (Haywood Nelson ) had become a computer programmer, and Rerun (Fred Berry ) had become a used-car salesman. Raj lived in the same house he grew up in, while Dwayne and Rerun shared an apartment. The antics and sarcastic one-liners were reminiscent of the first series. Raj's little sister Dee (Danielle Spencer) showed up on a sporadic basis in guest spots, with the explanation that she had gone away to college. Raj and Nadine also became foster parents to a young girl named Carolyn, played by Reina King (sister of actressRegina King ), who had displayed the sass that was seen in Dee when she was younger.econd season
By the second season, both Fred Berry and Reina King left the series. King's character learned that she had an aunt and moved in with her while Rerun's disappearance wasn't explained. TV Party and other sources reveal that Fred Berry wanted more money since he felt that he was the one bringing in the viewers. The producers declined hence his termination. Berry's widow, Essie Berry told "Urbanite" magazine at Georgia State University that their unwillingness to pay Fred Berry his due in both shows led to their early cancellations.
Third Season
During the third season, the series introduced a pair of characters that harkened back to the original incarnation of "What's Happening!!" back on ABC. Maurice Warfield (
Martin Lawrence ) was a teenager who spent his afternoons as a busboy at Rob's Diner under the supervision of Shirley and Raj while his best friend Darryl (Ken Sagoes ) hung out with him. Together, they had many misadventures not unlike the original trio of Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun.Production
The show was distributed during its original run by
Colex Enterprises , a joint venture ofColumbia Pictures Television andLBS Communications . CPT's successor,Sony Pictures Television , now has sole distribution rights.DVD Release
On
June 12 ,2007 ,Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the complete first season of "What's Happening Now!!" onDVD inRegion 1 for the very first time.External links
*imdb title|id=0088640|name=What's Happening Now!!
*Tv.com show|id=4044|title=What's Happening Now!!
* [http://whatshappening.tvheaven.com "What's Happening!!" and "What's Happening Now!!" at tvheaven.com]
* [http://www.tvparty.com/recwhats3.html "What's Happening Now!!" at TVparty.com]
* [http://www.jumptheshark.com/w/whatshappeningnow.htm "What's Happening Now!!" at Jump the Shark]
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