Damon Wayans Sr. and Jr. star in the CBS sitcom

Before social media became irrationally obsessed with Nepo babies, we accepted that comedy could be, at least to some extent, a family affair, and that if your TV show or movie featured a person named “Wayans” in the cast, that was There were probably 10 or 15 other people with that last name working behind the scenes in various capacities.

When you grew up In living colorWatching the Wayans torch pass over three decades from Keenan Ivory Wayans to siblings Damon, Kim, Shawn, Marlon and their additional brothers, sisters, children, aunts, uncles and cousins ​​has been a source of great amusement and a Lots of talent.

However, the Damons Wayans Jr. and Sr. have already played father and son on the ABC series “Darling.” Happy endingsthe new CBS sitcom Poppa’s house is their most extensive lead vehicle in this capacity. The series also stars Kim as director and producer, Dwayne as composer, Shawn as consulting producer and Michael as staff writer. It does not examine what relationship someone has to someone else.

Narratively sparse but quite skillful, the CBS multi-camera serves as a worthy addition to its Monday night cohort The neighborhood – Reunion New girlSchmidt and Coach in a single comedy block, if you want such a thing. It’s a tribute to an interaction between the Damons that’s something more primal than chemistry, although you might wish it had more to offer than, “Man, this cast seems to be having fun.”

Created by Senior and Kevin Hench, Poppa’s house In the lead role, Senior plays the eponymous Poppa, a beloved and venerable radio host from New York City whose show has slipped to second place in the ratings due, among other things, to a “women’s problem.” The broadcaster’s solution? Combine Poppa, who is either “old school” or “a dinosaur” depending on your generosity, with self-help guru Ivy (Essence Atkins), who wants to get Poppa in touch with his feelings. (What is the format of this radio station and what is the format of Poppa’s Show and how old does Ivy think this series is? These are not questions you should be asking! He is very successful and very rich.)

Living next door to Poppa in the suburbs is son Junior (Junior), an aspiring filmmaker who is married to event planner Nina (Tetona Jackson). The house is paid for by Nina’s father (Geoffrey Owens), who also keeps Junior busy when he’s not skipping important meetings to meet with advertising agencies and so on. (What are the filmmakers on the show thinking? Is it strange that Nina’s father’s company is built entirely on foam rollers? How much does the couple’s house cost in the show? Does Nina even make any money from her business? These aren’t questions for you .) should ask!)

At various points throughout the five episodes sent to critics, it is implied that Senior and Junior have a somewhat emotionally strained relationship, resulting from Poppa’s focus on his career, with the implication that Junior is largely dependent on his Mother (guest star Wendy Raquel Robinson, she only appears in one of the five, but she’s so good that you can be sure she’ll come back. So sometimes Poppa’s house wants to focus on different generational views on raising children as Junior and Nina have a pair of cute mops. But more often it’s about the Damons Wayans trying to take each other down using whatever tools they have at their disposal.

The outtakes that end each episode of Poppa’s house overall leaves the impression that it is largely improvised, which might explain why there are certain comic subterfuges and goals. When in doubt, Junior resorts to impressions and voices, while Senior relies on his physicality and line reading, emphasizing certain words unconventionally. When all else fails, everyone makes fun of Jackson’s size. She is very tiny! Or maybe the Wayans are big? This tends to be repetitive but highlights the looseness of the approach. The warmth of this family comes from how they get on each other’s nerves and how each character enjoys making the other members of their family laugh, even if they know they aren’t always funny.

Even without these outtakes, you would feel that the Damons are constantly trying to set each other up for failure. And you’d appreciate how immediately Jackson and Atkins can jump into action, making Nina more than just a wife who disapproves of her childish husband and Ivy more than just a touchy wet blanket. Jackson is particularly amusing in his own right, and the show works much better when it relies on the playful affection and give-and-take between Nina and Junior.

The generally pervasive conviviality covers more narrative sins than one would expect from such a relatively simple concept. Poppa’s house is still tinkering with the plot, trusting that once you’ve accepted the joys of watching the Wayans clan at work, you’ll patiently wait for the show to find itself at its most basic levels.

The series begins about 75 percent as a domestic sitcom and 25 percent as a workplace comedy at Poppa’s radio station. No matter how beautiful Poppa’s house may be, the structure is helpful in preventing claustrophobia from setting in. While the first episode begins with Poppa making fun of Ivy’s podcasting background, the next two episodes half-heartedly introduce various radio opponents/colleagues. By the fourth episode, Poppa and Ivy have moved on to just doing a podcast.

This definitely makes the show simpler – no one seems to know or care how podcasts are made, so they can just record in Poppa’s living room – but also a little more limited. The transition occurs in a strange chapter that wants to use a mockumentary format but doesn’t change the style at all, relying on supposed comments on the stupidity of AI even though no one knows exactly what AI is or what it can do.

The fifth part, in which junior and senior disagree about discipline and reveal family wounds, is, I suspect, the closest thing to a sequential template Poppa’s house would like to be there at the end of the first season. Damon Junior is often heard in funny voices and accents, but also has actual semi-dramatic beats and seems to set up a potential romance between Poppa and Ivy, both acrimoniously divorced, that is both unnecessary and inevitable. The theme of the episode – today’s parents don’t raise their children as strictly as parents used to, which is both good and bad – is pretty mundane, but at least it offers a point of view.

But does anyone really come to? Poppa’s housee for a point of view? Probably not. The appeal of the show lies in the relationship between the various members of the Wayans clan – a palpable community spirit that endures Poppa’s house that it ever feels generic, no matter how generic the trappings are on the page. After all, it is a family business.