What's up, dad?

Television series
German title	What's up, dad?
Original title	My Wife and Kids
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Year (s)	2001-2005
length	23 minutes
Episodes	123 in 5 seasons ( list )
genre	Sitcom
idea	Don Reo ; Damon Wayans
music	Derryck Thornton ; Dwayne Wayans
First broadcast	March 28, 2001 (USA) on ABC
German-language ; first broadcast	November 15, 2003 on ProSieben

What's up, dad? (Original title: My Wife and Kids ) is an American sitcom that was broadcast on ABC from 2001 to 2005. In Germany, ProSieben took overthe first broadcast. The series hasbeen repeatedby Disney Channel since May 21, 2014. Due to falling audience ratings, production was discontinued after the fifth season.

The series is about the Kyle family, an upper-middle class African American family living in Stamford , Connecticut .

Characters

family

Michael Richard Kyle ( Damon Wayans , seasons 1-5) is the protagonist of the series. He is a Michael Jordan fan and once had the opportunity to play against his idol at the Michael Jordan Camp, where he finally lost 10-0. The bald head of the family runs his own company and has three children with his wife, Janet. He enjoys being creative and permanent revenge for small mistakes of his children.
Janet 'Jay' Marie Kyle ( Tisha Campbell-Martin , seasons 1-5) is Michael's wife, who is usually addressed as "Jay". She is selfish and ambitious, very prone to outbursts of anger, and always anxious to look good. Nevertheless, their self-esteem is rather sparse. If she is jealous, she sanctions her husband e.g. B. with the withdrawal of physical love. She loves and cares for her family.
Michael Kyle Junior ( George O. Gore II , seasons 1-5) is the oldest child in the family and is called "Junior". He is not particularly intelligent and tries to cover up this fact with supposedly clever ideas, but he never succeeds. His elongated skull shape gives his family reason to make fun of him.
Claire Kyle ( Jazz Raycole , Season 1 / Jennifer Nicole Freeman , from Season 2) is the older of the two daughters and often tries to manipulate other people in their favor or to discredit her brother for no reason. She suffers from her father's excessive protection from her suitors. Her clumsiness leads to her falling down stairs more often or having difficulties overcoming other obstacles. She is proud of her beauty and often mentions it.
Kady Kyle ( Parker McKenna Posey , seasons 1-5) is the youngest child and has a friend named Franklin who tries to teach her everything he can do himself. Their naivety often leads to actions that are contrary to all expectations. In German, Shadi Saee takes over her voice.

Supporting characters

Dr. Franklin Aloysius Mumford ( Noah Gray-Cabey , seasons 3–5) is a child prodigy who graduated from Harvard University in various subjects at the age of six . He has been a professor there since he was seven and also lectures at other high-ranking universities. He is also a virtuoso at the piano and overall very confident of himself. While he is widely admired, his well-intentioned advice is regularly ignored. His constant expressions of love concerning Kady also indicate an emotional precocity. Franklin has a younger sister named Aretha (based on Aretha Franklin ) ( Jamia Simone Nash ), who loves to sing.

Vanessa Scott ( Meagan Good , 3rd season / Brooklyn Sudano , seasons 4-5) appears in the third season with her somewhat strange parents. Junior falls in love with the pretty girl, has sexual intercourse with her and is thrown out of the house by his father. At the end of the series, Vanessa has a child from Junior and the two get married.

Calvin Scott ( Lester Speight , seasons 3-5) is the violent, muscular father of Vanessa. He always prefers direct, physical conflict to deliberation, even if it has a soft core. He seems a bit retarded and naive.

Tony Jeffers ( Andrew McFarlane , seasons 1-5) is Claire's boyfriend. He is characterized by his beliefs as well as his emotional instability. McFarlane played a crush in the first season of Claire named Roger.

Bobby Shaw ( Katt Williams , season 5) is a former classmate and adversary of Michael and Jay's first lover. At the end of the series he buys his company from Michael through a cash profit.

occupation

The German dubbed version was created by the dubbing company Telesynchron in Berlin .

role	actor	Season	Voice actor
00main characters
Michael Richard Kyle	Damon Wayans	1-5	Oliver Mink
Janet "Jay" Marie Kyle	Tisha Campbell-Martin	1-5	Claudia Urbschat-Mingues
Michael Kyle Junior	George O. Gore II	1-5	Michael Verona
Claire Kyle	Jazz Raycole	1, 2	Yvonne Greitzke
Claire Kyle	Jennifer Nicole Freeman	2-5	Yvonne Greitzke
Kady Kyle	Parker McKenna Posey	1-5	Shadi Saee
00Supporting characters
Dr. Franklin Aloysius Mumford	Noah Gray-Cabey	3-5	Adrian Kilian
Vanessa Scott	Meagan Good	3	Julia Kaufmann
Vanessa Scott	Brooklyn Sudano	4-5	Julia Kaufmann
Calvin Scott	Lester Speight	4-5	Tilo Schmitz
Tony Jeffers	Andrew McFarlane	1-5	Konrad Bösherz
Bobby Shaw	Katt Williams	5	Santiago Ziesmer

annotation

↑ This episode was produced with the first season, but not aired until the second season.

background

Claire Kyle was played by Jazz Raycole in season one and episode 20 of season two , and Jennifer Nicole Freeman in the remaining episodes . In the first episode of season two, Michael mentions that Claire looks like a completely different person. Claire replies that she just pulled her hair back. However, Michael sticks to his comment.
Vanessa Scott was played by Meagan Good in 2003 and was replaced by Brooklyn Sudano from 2003 to 2005 , even in an overarching episode.
At the end of the fourth season, the special My Wife and Kids: Access All Areas was broadcast on March 12, 2004 , but this has not yet been dubbed for German television.

Running gags

In this comedy series, as in many others, there are running gags . Most of them treat Junior's simple mind and big head. He has to keep “dummy books” and gets slaps on the back of the head, mainly from his father. Often there are sayings like Michael's "Uh ... no." Or Jay's "Really?". Other gags are:

Claire is very clumsy, tripping over objects or the stairs
Tony's feminine demeanor, as well as his religious fanaticism
Michael often calls Franklin Frankenberry
Jay's constant admiration for Denzel Washington and Michael's frequent admiration for Halle Berry
- Actors Damon Wayans and Halle Berry played in Last Boy Scout back in 1991 .
Frequent references to Michael's hairlessness
Michael often plays Bill Cosby , but almost nobody around him finds this funny
Kady's constant appearing during kisses between Michael and Jay
Michael's constant attempts to bribe others, but it never works

Episode list

Awards & nominations

NAACP Image Awards

2002: Nominated for Best Series - Comedy
2002: Nominated for Best Actor in a Series - Comedy for Damon Wayans
2002: Nominated Best Actress in a Series - Comedy for Tisha Campbell-Martin
2003: Nominated for Best Series - Comedy
2003: Nominated for Best Actor in a Series - Comedy for Damon Wayans
2003: Winner Best Actress in a Series - Comedy for Tisha Campbell-Martin
2004: Nominated for Best Series - Comedy
2004: Nominated for Best Actor in a Series - Comedy for Damon Wayans
2004: Nominated Best Actress in a Series - Comedy for Tisha Campbell-Martin
2004: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Series - Comedy for George Gore II
2005: Nominated for Best Series - Comedy
2005: Nominated for Best Actor in a Series - Comedy for Damon Wayans
2005: Nominated for Best Actress in a Series - Comedy for Tisha Campbell-Martin
2006: Nominated for Best Series Director - Comedy for Matti Caruthes
2006: Nominated for Best Series Director - Comedy for James Wilcox

Young Artist Awards

2002: Nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series - Actors 10 Years or Under for Parker McKenna Posey
2003: Nominated Best Ensemble for George Gore II , Parker McKenna Posey and Jennifer Nicole Freeman
2003: Nominated for Best Family TV Series
2003: Nominated for Best Actress in a TV Series - Guest Actress for Marina Malota
2003: Nominated for Best Actor in a TV Series - Guest Actress - Actor up to 10 years or younger for Liliana Mumy
2003: Winner Best Actress in a TV Series - Guest Actress - Actor up to 10 years or younger for Jessica Sara
2004: Nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series - Actors 10 Years or Under for Noah Gray-Cabey
2005: Nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series - Actors 10 Years or Under for Noah Gray-Cabey
2006: Nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series - Supporting Actor for Jazz Raycole
2006: Winner Best Actor in a Television Series - Actors 10 Years or Under for Noah Gray-Cabey

BET Awards

2004: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for George Gore II
2004: Nominated for Best Comedy Series
2004: Nominated Best Director for a Comedy Series
2004: Nominated Best Screenplay for a Comedy Series
2004: Winner for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Damon Wayans
2004: Winner Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Tisha Campbell-Martin
2005: Nominated for Best Comedy Series
2005: Nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Damon Wayans
2005: Nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Tisha Campbell-Martin
2005: Nominated Best Director for a Comedy Series a . a. for George Gore II and Tisha Campbell-Martin
2005: Nominated Best Screenplay for a Comedy Series