The Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to May 22, 2000 and on the UPN network from September 4, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D.L. Hughley as the main character, Darryl Hughley and Elise Neal as Yvonne, his hard-working wife who move their family from the inner city neighborhood to the suburban California.
Plot summary
The show's main cast consisted of D.L. Hughley as the main character, vending machine salesman Darryl Hughley. Elise Neal portrayed Darryl's wife, Yvonne. Alongside starring in the series was ex-Living Single co-star, John Henton who portrayed the couple's best friend, Milsap, from the "old neighborhood", most often visit them and stopped by to help the family out (much resemblance to Willona visiting James and Florida on Good Times.), and including Yvonne and Darryl's two children: 12-year old Sydney, played by Ashley Monique Clark and 10-year old Michael, played by Dee Jay Daniels, who both sometimes acted out or got into complete chaos. Michael's best friends included: Ronnie (played by Preston Wamsley), Otto (originally played by Connor Matheus in Season 1 and 2, then Ian Meltzer from Season 3 and 4), and Miles (played by Martin Spanjers).
The initial plot for the story is Darryl Hugley, who owns his own vending machine business, moving out of a South Los Angeles ghetto to West Hills, a predominately white neighborhood within the San Fernando Valley. Darryl and his family try to adjust to living in an all white area, at the same time trying to not forget who they are and where they came from. Darryl and Yvonne befriend their new neighbors Sally and Dave who are literally the polar opposite of Darryl. The story has many racial themes to it but are usually comedic as Darryl makes fun of other races, especially his white and Korean neighbors.
Other cast members and Characters
Marietta DePrima and Eric Allan Kramer played Dave and Sally Rogers, a primary, friendly, wholesome white couple that live in the suburbs, and Darryl's happy-go-lucky mother Hattie Mae Hughley, played by Marla Gibbs and his father, Henry Hughley, played by Ellis Williams.
In return, Telma Hopkins portrayed Yvonne's mother, Paulette Williams; opposite Hopkins, Sherman Hemsley portrayed Yvonne's father, Mr. Williams–who did not get along with Darryl, because in Darryl's own words, thought of him as a "jackass", including Patricia Belcher as the family's Aunt Jessie Mae Hughley. Adele Givens portrayed Yvonne's older sister Shari Williams, a wise-cracking, back-talking evil sister-in-law to Darryl.
The show spent two seasons on ABC. In its first season, it followed Home Improvement[1], but was canceled when ABC decided to revamp its TGIF lineup.[2] UPN picked up the show in the fall of 2000 and it aired in the Monday night lineup along Moesha, The Parkers and Girlfriends.[3] While The Parkers and Girlfriends had improved ratings, The Hughleys aired its series finale after its fourth season.
The series had many guest stars including Ashley Tisdale, Kelly Rowland, Lil' Romeo, Gary Coleman, Adele Givens, Telma Hopkins, Sherman Hemsley, Vivica A. Fox, Martin Spanjers, Mo'Nique, Tyra Banks, among others.
Series finale
The Hughleys ended with a cliffhanger. On the two-part series finale entitled "It's a Girl!" (aired on May 13 and May 20, 2002), Darryl Hughley's niece, Carly (guest star Kelly Rowland) is preparing for college (the college was unknown), with peace, tranquility and no expectation of her relatives coming to annoy her (implying the entire Hughleys clan). Carly then receives an unexpected visit from her cousins Sydney and Michael. Darryl and Milsap go to their twentieth high school reunion and Milsap learns that his "old" girlfriend, Shandra, has a child, and he is the father.
Ratings
- 1998-1999: #37 (12.4 million viewers)[4]
- 1999-2000: #95 (5.4 rating)[5]
- 2000-2001: #130 (2.3 rating)[6]
- 2001-2002: #131 (3.6 million viewers)[7]
Syndication
Reruns of The Hughleys started airing on syndication in mid-September of 2002, then currently reruning TV One.[8]
See also
References
External links
