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What's Happening!!
What's Happening!! is an American sitcom television series that first aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, premiering as a summer series. Thanks to the show's popularity, and with the failure of other shows, it eventually returned as a weekly series, that later aired for the rest of the three seasons, from November 13, 1976, to April 28, 1979. Created by Eric Monte (of Good Times), What's Happening!! was loosely based on the film Cooley High. It was television's first African-American show that dealt with teenagers, which was also a groundbreaking sitcom.
From September 7, 1985, to March 26, 1988, a sequel series titled: What's Happening Now!!, aired in first-run syndication, with some of the major cast members reprising their roles.
What's Happening!! was Bud Yorkin's second series after he ended his partnership with Norman Lear and Tandem Productions. The show was produced by TOY Productions, which was formed by Yorkin, Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, after their split.
Compared to many other popular sitcoms of the 1970s, What's Happening!! was the first non-Norman Lear sitcom to also have tackled some challenging and complex issues such as: friendships, communication, obesity, divorce, financial struggles, unemployment, poverty, racism, gambling, dating, education, teen pregnancy, babysitting, stealing, adolescence, controlling, and marriage.
What's Happening!! follows the lives of three working-class African-American teens living in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. The show stars Ernest Thomas as Roger "Raj" Thomas, Haywood Nelson as Dwayne Nelson, and Fred Berry as Freddy "Rerun" Stubbs. Additional costars include Danielle Spencer as Roger's younger sister Dee and Mabel King as Roger and Dee's mother Mabel. Shirley Hemphill stars as Shirley Wilson, a tough but lovable waitress at Rob's Place, the neighborhood soda shop where the boys are regular patrons. Recurring characters include Rob (Earl Billings), owner of Rob's Place; and Mrs. Collins (Fritzi Burr), a sardonic but caring history teacher and the sponsor of the school newspaper.
The pilot episode, "The Birthday Present", was videotaped in front of a live audience at ABC Television Studios in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles on March 16, 1976. Three additional episodes were videotaped that June, with the plan to release What's Happening!! as a short-duration "summer series" in August 1976. The first episode aired, "The Runaway", was actually the second episode taped, but was used as the premiere because it featured Fred Berry's dancing skills in a short scene.
The series was picked up after a successful summer run, and additional episodes were ordered for a November 1976 airdate. Production was moved from ABC to Golden West Videotape Division Studios, an older but larger facility, where it would remain for the rest of the series.
During the second season, Fred Berry demanded pay increases and improved studio accommodations for the actors by using the show's first season's success as leverage. The accommodations issue eventually led to a walkout by Berry and Thomas during the second-season episode "If I'm Elected" (leaving Haywood Nelson to carry the entire episode, with Shirley Hemphill stepping to the forefront, along with Bryan O'Dell and Debbi Morgan in featured speaking parts). Producer Bud Yorkin, in turn, suspended the pair and forced them to sign $25,000 promissory notes to return to the show and prevent further walkouts.
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What's Happening!!
What's Happening!! is an American sitcom television series that first aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, premiering as a summer series. Thanks to the show's popularity, and with the failure of other shows, it eventually returned as a weekly series, that later aired for the rest of the three seasons, from November 13, 1976, to April 28, 1979. Created by Eric Monte (of Good Times), What's Happening!! was loosely based on the film Cooley High. It was television's first African-American show that dealt with teenagers, which was also a groundbreaking sitcom.
From September 7, 1985, to March 26, 1988, a sequel series titled: What's Happening Now!!, aired in first-run syndication, with some of the major cast members reprising their roles.
What's Happening!! was Bud Yorkin's second series after he ended his partnership with Norman Lear and Tandem Productions. The show was produced by TOY Productions, which was formed by Yorkin, Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, after their split.
Compared to many other popular sitcoms of the 1970s, What's Happening!! was the first non-Norman Lear sitcom to also have tackled some challenging and complex issues such as: friendships, communication, obesity, divorce, financial struggles, unemployment, poverty, racism, gambling, dating, education, teen pregnancy, babysitting, stealing, adolescence, controlling, and marriage.
What's Happening!! follows the lives of three working-class African-American teens living in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. The show stars Ernest Thomas as Roger "Raj" Thomas, Haywood Nelson as Dwayne Nelson, and Fred Berry as Freddy "Rerun" Stubbs. Additional costars include Danielle Spencer as Roger's younger sister Dee and Mabel King as Roger and Dee's mother Mabel. Shirley Hemphill stars as Shirley Wilson, a tough but lovable waitress at Rob's Place, the neighborhood soda shop where the boys are regular patrons. Recurring characters include Rob (Earl Billings), owner of Rob's Place; and Mrs. Collins (Fritzi Burr), a sardonic but caring history teacher and the sponsor of the school newspaper.
The pilot episode, "The Birthday Present", was videotaped in front of a live audience at ABC Television Studios in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles on March 16, 1976. Three additional episodes were videotaped that June, with the plan to release What's Happening!! as a short-duration "summer series" in August 1976. The first episode aired, "The Runaway", was actually the second episode taped, but was used as the premiere because it featured Fred Berry's dancing skills in a short scene.
The series was picked up after a successful summer run, and additional episodes were ordered for a November 1976 airdate. Production was moved from ABC to Golden West Videotape Division Studios, an older but larger facility, where it would remain for the rest of the series.
During the second season, Fred Berry demanded pay increases and improved studio accommodations for the actors by using the show's first season's success as leverage. The accommodations issue eventually led to a walkout by Berry and Thomas during the second-season episode "If I'm Elected" (leaving Haywood Nelson to carry the entire episode, with Shirley Hemphill stepping to the forefront, along with Bryan O'Dell and Debbi Morgan in featured speaking parts). Producer Bud Yorkin, in turn, suspended the pair and forced them to sign $25,000 promissory notes to return to the show and prevent further walkouts.
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