Netflix announced that hit scripted series The Upshaws is being renewed for a third season, premiering with new episodes early next year.
Created by Wanda Sykes and Regina Hicks, this multi-camera comedy follows the daily happenings of a working-class African American family in Indiana. In addition to Sykes, the show stars Mike Epps, Kim Fields, Page Kennedy, Diamond Lyons, Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins, Jermelle Simon, Gabrielle Dennis, and Journey Christine.
“Most of our audience grew up watching multi-cams, and they are excited to see a format that feels like a throwback, but with fresh stories,” Sykes said in a statement to Variety about the show’s popularity.
“I think people do love the multicam when it’s done well,” Hicks added. “It relies on immediate audience response in the laughter, and you need ‘honest funny’ to make that happen. It rings false to add laughs when something just isn’t.”
The Upshaws tells the story of Bennie Upshaw (Epps), the head of a Black working class family in Indianapolis. He is a funny and good-natured mechanic doing whatever he can to protect and provide for his family, which includes his wife Regina (Fields), their two young daughters (Spraggins, Christine) and firstborn son (Simon). Bennie also has a teenager (Lyons) from a previous relationship with a woman named Tasha Lewis (Dennis). He also has to deal with constant pushback from his hilarious but sarcastic sister-in-law (Sykes), while attempting to keep everything and everybody together as one.
The renewal news comes after Hicks signed an overall deal with Netflix in 2021 to write, produce and create projects for the digital streaming platform. Her previous credits include Sister, Sister, Girlfriends, Are We There Yet?, Insecure, VH1’s Drumline 2: A New Beat, and more.
Alongside Hicks, Sykes will serve as showrunner and executive producer of The Upshaws. Epps, Page Hurwitz, Niles Kirchner, Annie Levine, and Jon Emerson also executive produce.
