THE ’90s wouldn’t have been what they were in the sitcom world if we didn’t have the hilarious Wayans brothers. The four main siblings – Keenen-Ivory, Damon, Shawn and Marlon – formed a production company that has been churning out a number of funny productions from the movie Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood to the cult comedy classic, White Chicks. The brothers have managed to affirm their position as writers, actors, producers and directors over the years.
Keenen-Ivory has, for the longest time, been the one to shy away from the camera and instead write and direct most of the productions.
Damon is the lone ranger who has starred in solo projects like Major Payne and My Wife and Kids. He is probably the funniest of the lot if your brand of comedy is clever lines and not buffoonery. When they show reels of what they didn’t use in My Wife and Kids, it is very apparent that Damon has incredible off-the-cuff material and the cast and crew are always in stitches.
There are the two younger siblings, Marlon and Shawn, who do most of their productions together. We are talking from The Wayans Bros in the ’90s to Little Man just a few years ago. This pair rarely work separately and their collaborations always appear to work. Marlon loves to act out his comedy, which is silly in parts, while Shawn is the cool dude, who somehow gets gay roles. When he was in the country earlier this year for the MTV Africa Music Awards, Marlon managed to get a few chuckles from the audience thanks to his expressive comedy.
We are talking about these brothers in light of the production, Second Generation Wayans, now showing on BET, the sitcom which seeks to take over the Wayans’ legacy. The show features Damien Dante and Craig Wayans who are nephews of the Wayans brothers.
Second Generation Wayans is a sitcom that follows the two younger Wayans as they form their own production company after they have struggled to break into the entertainment business. To make it interesting, they even have George O Gore II, who acts as Junior in My Wife and Kids, as a partner.
While it is a noble and almost honest idea, the younger Wayans have a mountain to climb if they are going to outdo their uncles.
Not very many family businesses make it in showbiz the way Keenen and his brothers did. Their material is original, and mostly so successful it becomes part of pop culture. Coming out from under that legacy is a mammoth task. We wait to see if they will succeed.
• Second Generation Wayans airs on BET (DStv channel 135) at 4pm every Friday.