Chris Rock and his writing partner and co-executive producer Ali LeRoi visited the TV Critics’ Association press tour on Monday to talk about their sophomore sitcom, its new network, and its new timeslot at 7 p.m. Sundays on The CW, Channel 11.
Sunday nights in the fall are typically reserved for football, so the writers were asked about their thoughts on the sport.
“I’m not really a football fan. I really suggest that people stop watching it because it promotes gratuitous violence in our society,” LeRoi said, drawing big laughs. “And, I think people should sit down on a Sunday evening and eat dinner and watch some family-oriented comedy programs, and I think that that will lead to a better nation.”
Rock was asked about how forthright his fellow comedians are with praise for the show.
“They’re very forthright because a lot of them want jobs,” he said. “So they look at me like, ‘Hey, Mr. Producer.’ They don’t even look at me like a comic. It’s like, ‘How’s it going, Mr. Producer? Here a script. ‘Happy Days’ meets ‘Love Boat,’ with a little bit of Cedric.’”
Rock was asked about his feelings on the UPN and WB merger into The CW, which he said didn’t surprise him.
“Well, you know what’s weird, even when we got (picked up by UPN last year), I always thought something was up. Even last year, I was like, hey, these two networks, it’s like a VCR and Betamax.
“I kind of knew. I figured one of us was going to drop. I didn’t know that we’d consolidate, but I suspected it was going to happen.”
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