THE UPSHAWS
Created by Regina Y. Hicks and Wanda Sykes, and starring Sykes, Mike Epps, Kim Fields, Page Kennedy, Diamond Lyons, Khali Spraggins, Jermelle Simon, Gabrielle Dennis, and Journey Christine, “The Upshaws” is an American sitcom that premiered on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, on Netflix.
Bennie Upshaw (Mike Epps), the head of a Black working-class family in Indianapolis, is a charming, well-intentioned mechanic and lifelong mess just trying his best to step up and care for his family – wife Regina (Kim Fields), their two young daughters (Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins, Journey Christine) and firstborn son (Jermelle Simon), the teenage son (Diamond Lyons) he fathered with another woman (Gabrielle Dennis) – and tolerate his sardonic sister-in-law (Wanda Sykes), all without a blueprint for success. But the Upshaws are determined to make it work, and make it to the next level, together.
Bennie’s antiheroic qualities don’t make The Upshaws’ characters any less two-dimensional or its dusty jokes any funnier. (Along with the insults, the show regularly offers up groan-worthy lines like Bennie wagging his eyebrows at his wife with, “Forget the coffee — I got something hot and black waiting for you right now.”) The quips don’t improve, but the back half of the 10-part season does offer a serialized storyline about how Bennie’s tendency to use shortcuts in life — which often involve keeping secrets from his wife and culminate in a major betrayal of trust — leads to a second serious rupture in their marriage. All The Upshaws’ jokes might well be a couple decades old, but there’s also a laudable attempt here at a different kind of family sitcom.
Where can I watch “The Upshaws”?
Exclusively available for streaming only on Netflix.