The Neighborhood Spinoff, Starring Tracy Morgan, Ordered at Paramount+ — But He’s Not Playing Who You Think
Tracy Morgan is moving into The Neighborhood, which is expanding with a spinoff for Paramount+.
The Saturday Night Live vet has been tapped to headline Crutch, an extension of the Cedric The Entertainer comedy that will bypass CBS and bow on Paramount’s streaming service. In a surprise twist, Morgan will not reprise his Season 4 role as Calvin Butler’s wealthy brother Curtis. Instead, he’ll play a new character: Calvin’s cousin, Francois “Frank” Crutchfield – or, as his friends call him, Crutch — “a Harlem widower whose empty nest plans are put on hold after his millennial son and free-spirited daughter move back home,” according to the official logline.
“I’m excited to be expanding our The Neighborhood universe, by producing a show with the legendary comedian Tracy Morgan,” Cedric The Entertainer said in a statement Monday. “This new character is the close cousin to my character Calvin Butler and you will enjoy some of their many similarities. Morgan plays Crutch, a ‘say-it-like-it-is’ widowed father who is challenged when his two adult children and a couple of grandchildren need to move back home, and let’s say there will be several comedic complications.”
Added Morgan: “Crutch will be navigating the ups and downs of having his kids and grandkids back under one roof, and you know if I am doing this, there will be plenty of laughs along the way. I am so happy to be able to do this with my brother Cedric the Entertainer, [series creator] Owen Smith, and the rest of the amazing crew we have put together. Get ready for your new favorite show!”
The multi-cam reunites Morgan with Smith, who served as a showrunner and executive producer on Morgan’s TBS sitcom The Last O.G. Production is slated to begin later this year; a timetable for release has not yet been determined.
The news comes just hours ahead of The Neighborhood’s Season 6 finale; the CBS comedy, which also stars Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs and Tichina Arnold, was previously renewed for Season 7.
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