The Upshaws

The Upshaws
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Regina Y. Hicks & Wanda Sykes
Starring	Wanda Sykes Mike Epps Kim Fields Page Kennedy Diamond Lyons Khali Spraggins Jermelle Simon Gabrielle Dennis Journey Christine
Opening theme	Solid by Ashford & Simpson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Regina Y. Hicks Wanda Sykes Page Hurwitz Mike Epps Niles Kirchner
Running time	25–29 minutes
Production companies	Savannah Sweet Productions Push It Productions Naptown Productions
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	May 12, 2021 (2021-05-12) – present (present)

The Upshaws is an American sitcom created by Regina Y. Hicks and Wanda Sykes. The series stars Sykes, Mike Epps, Kim Fields, Page Kennedy, Diamond Lyons, Khali Spraggins, Jermelle Simon, Gabrielle Dennis, and Journey Christine. The series premiered on Netflix on May 12, 2021.^[1][2] In June 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.^[3]

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

• Kim Fields as Regina Upshaw, the matriarch of the Upshaw family; Bennie Sr's wife and mother to Bernard Jr., Aaliyah, and Maya
• Mike Epps as Bernard "Bennie" Upshaw, Sr., patriarch of the Upshaw family, Regina's high-school sweetheart and eventual husband. He is the owner of Bennie's Garage.
• Wanda Sykes as Lucretia Turner, Regina's older sister. She doesn't like "Bennie" and makes it known but she also helped him buy the garage, being a partial owner
• Diamond Lyons as Kelvin Upshaw, Bennie and Tasha's son who is the same age as Aaliyah, who calls Kelvin her "Ghetto Twin." He was conceived when Bennie thought he and Regina were on a break.
• Khali Spraggins as Aaliyah Upshaw, Bennie and Regina's eldest daughter
• Page Kennedy as Duck, an old friend of Bennie's who also works at his garage. He is recently out of prison and has become a practicing Christian.
• Jermelle Simon as Bernard Upshaw, Jr., Bennie and Regina's eldest child and only son together. He has a strained relationship with his father, who wasn't there for him until he was 16. Bernard consistently says he abandoned him and still doesn’t put in true effort.
• Gabrielle Dennis as Tasha Lewis, Kelvin's mother, a caricature of a “babymama." She has no issues with Regina, although, Regina does not like her at all.
• Journey Christine as Maya Upshaw, Bennie and Regina's youngest child.

Recurring[]

• Michel Estimé as Tony, Bennie's friend and employee
• Dayna Dooley as Sheila, Regina's boss at the hospital
• Daria Johns as Savannah, Aaliyah's best friend
• Jessica Morris as Amy, Regina's friend
• Dewayne Perkins as Hector
• Leonard Earl Howze as Davis, another of Bennie's friends

Episodes[]

Production[]

Development[]

On August 20, 2019, Netflix gave production a series order. The Upshaws is created by Regina Y. Hicks and Wanda Sykes who are expected to executive produce alongside Mike Epps, Niles Kirchner, and Page Hurwitz. Push It Productions is the production company involved with producing the series.^[1] The series was released on May 12, 2021.^[2] On June 24, 2021, Netflix renewed the series for a 16-episode second season which is expected to be split into two parts.^[3]

Casting[]

Upon series order announcement, Sykes and Epps were also cast to star.^[1] On March 4, 2020, Kim Fields joined the cast in a starring role.^[4] On December 2, 2020, Gabrielle Dennis, Page Kennedy, Diamond Lyons, Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins, Jermelle Simon, and Journey Christine were cast in starring roles.^[5]

Reception[]

For the series, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 57% based on 7 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7/10.^[6] Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 4 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[7]

References[]

External links[]

• The Upshaws on Netflix
• The Upshaws at IMDb