Why Damon Wayans Jr. Is Glad ‘Poppa’s House’ Makes CBS ‘Uncomfortable’

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Poppa’s House series premiere.]

When was the last time two brand new multi-cam sitcoms premiered within days of each other? Reba McEntire‘s Happy’s Place debuted to positive reviews from fans and critics alike on Friday, October 18 over at NBC. And Poppa’s House brought the Wayans family back to TV on Monday, October 21 on CBS. The pilot did the necessary leg work of setting up the comedy’s premise: Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. play a father and son whose generational differences both cause problems and provide solutions. While the format may feel like it’s from a bygone era, Poppa’s House only gets funnier from here and is aiming to “push the envelope,” Wayans Jr. tells TV Insider. Even if you don’t like the premise, good luck not being charmed by the Wayans duo.

Wayans Sr. and Jr. are in the roles they were born to play as father (Poppa) and son (Junior). Poppa is a legendary talk radio host and happily divorced man whose point of view is challenged as he finds himself still parenting his adult son, a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passion while being a responsible father and husband. The premiere revealed that Poppa would benefit from some change, as his commentary on the radio show is dated and lacking emotional intelligence. His comments make the station bring in a new cohost, Essence Atkins‘ Ivy Reed, a psychologist and author who wants Poppa to share his feelings. They become instant adversaries.

Junior is afraid of ending up working for his father-in-law, J.J.’s (Geoffrey Owens), company if his filmmaking career doesn’t take off. His hustle takes his focus away from his wife, Nina (Tetona Jackson), and their two kids, but it’s not hard to get his attention back. They move in next door to Poppa, and Poppa pretends he doesn’t love it.

The New Girl alum hopes to revive the adult humor of the genre’s classics while redefining what the multi-cam style can be today. They’re doing that by combining modern topics with the classic sitcom format. Topics for parents, like husbands using weaponized incompetence and how best to discipline your children, are covered in later episodes. Ivy, who’s also divorced, has biases about men that need to be challenged. And Poppa has to learn how to hold space for criticism of his parenting during Junior’s childhood. The series also experiments with breaking form in a future episode when incorporating mockumentary and sketch comedy styles.

“The goal of this show is to push the envelope. We make CBS uncomfortable a little bit, and they’re letting us have fun,” Wayans tells TV Insider. “That’s what they signed up for. You get two Wayans, we’re going to do gross stuff sometimes. But I think we also make sure that the episodes are heartfelt and that you fall in love with these characters and that they feel like real people. We’re trying to find that balance, and I think we find it more and more each episode.”

Below, Wayans explains how Poppa’s House only gets better from here. (