Boondocks Season 2 Episodes
Stanisha Kunselman
The Boondocks is an American adult animated sitcom created by Aaron McGruder,[1] and based upon his comic strip of the same name,[1] that premiered on Adult Swim on November 6, 2005. The series begins with an African American family, the Freemans, settling into the fictional, peaceful, and mostly white suburb of Woodcrest from Chicago's South Side.[2] The perspective offered by this mixture of cultures, lifestyles, social classes, stereotypes, viewpoints and races provides for much of the series' satire, comedy, and conflict.
During the course of the series, 55 episodes of The Boondocks aired over four seasons, between November 6, 2005, and June 23, 2014. The series also airs in syndication outside the United States and has been released on various DVD sets and other forms of home media.
The Boondocks is an American anime-influenced adult animated sitcom created by Aaron McGruder for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim.[1] It is based upon his manga-influenced comic strip of the same name.[1] The series premiered on November 6, 2005. The show focuses on a Black American family, the Freemans, settling into the fictional, friendly and predominantly white suburb of Woodcrest.[2] The perspective offered by this mixture of cultures, lifestyles, social classes, stereotypes, viewpoints and racialized identities provides for much of the series' satire, comedy, and conflict.
The series ended its run on June 23, 2014, with a total of 55 episodes over the course of the show's four seasons, the last of which was produced without any involvement from McGruder, reportedly because "a mutually agreeable production schedule could not be determined".[3] The series also has aired in syndication outside the United States and has been released on various DVD sets and other forms of home media.
The Boondocks has received several accolades including an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and a Peabody Award. On June 12, 2019, it was announced that Sony Pictures Animation would be producing a reboot of the television series that was set to premiere in 2022 with McGruder's involvement; John Witherspoon was also attached to the project to reprise his role as Robert Freeman before his death on October 29, 2019.[4][5] On September 18, 2019, it was announced that HBO Max had picked up the reboot with a two-season order. The two seasons were set to consist of twelve episodes each.[6] On February 2, 2022, it was revealed that development had been canceled and that the project was shelved.[7]
The Boondocks began as a comic strip on Hitlist.com, one of the first music websites.[8] The strip later found its way into The Source magazine. Following these runs, McGruder began simultaneously pitching The Boondocks as both a syndicated comic strip and an animated television series.[9] The former goal was met first, and The Boondocks debuted in newspapers in April 1999.
In the meantime, the development of the TV series continued. McGruder and film producer/director Reginald Hudlin (President of Entertainment for BET from 2005 to 2008) created a Boondocks pilot for the Fox network, but found great difficulty in making the series acceptable for network television. Hudlin left the project after the Fox deal fell through, though McGruder and Sony Pictures Television were contractually obligated to credit him as an executive producer for the first two seasons.[10] Mike Lazzo, president of Adult Swim and executive producer for Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost Coast to Coast, stumbled across the pilot and declared it "too networky". He then ordered a 15-episode season and told McGruder to "just tell stories".
The series has a loose connection with the continuity of the comic strip, though during the final year of the strip McGruder made a point to try to synchronize them. He introduced Uncle Ruckus into the strip, and the comic-strip version of Riley's hair was braided into cornrows to match the character's hair in the series. During Season 1, McGruder put the strip on a 6-month hiatus beginning in March 2006. He did not return to the strip the following November, and the strip's syndicate, Universal Press Syndicate, announced that it had been canceled.[11]
The series was produced in widescreen since the beginning, but the image was cropped to accommodate the 4:3 aspect ratio at the time of their original broadcasts as well as reruns. Adult Swim rarely crops widescreen material. Since the third season, the series has been produced in 16:9 high definition and presented in its original aspect ratio and resolution.
In 2014, it was announced that McGruder would not be involved in the show's fourth season. Adult Swim stated, "a mutually agreeable production schedule could not be determined."[12] The fourth season premiered on April 21, 2014, ending its run on June 23, 2014.[13]
The series opens with the Freemans settling into the fictional, peaceful, and mostly white suburb of Woodcrest. Evidence for the real-world location of the fictional Woodcrest is mixed. Proponents of the Chicago's South Side theory cite the real-life suburb of Crestwood, Illinois and the similarity of the two names.[14] The first season features several Chicago landmarks: a skyline shot showing the Willis Tower, Grant Park, buildings of the Michigan Avenue Historic District, and Lake Michigan;[15] as well as elevated rapid transit endemic to the city, resembling the Chicago "L".[16] More conclusive evidence is presented in "The Trial of Robert Kelly", in which Riley asks Grandad, "Can you take us into the city tomorrow to watch the R. Kelly trial?".[17] Grandad denies his request and tells him to walk, and Riley replies "But it's 40 miles!" R. Kelly is from Chicago, and his trial was held there, giving more evidence that The Boondocks is in fact set in Illinois.[18] Another reference to Chicago is Martin Luther King Drive, a major street running through the South Side of Chicago, mentioned for its violent activity in the 9th episode of season 1, "Return of the King".[18] Additionally, in "Let's Nab Oprah", Ed Wuncler III, Gin Rummy and Riley go to Oprah Winfrey's television studio in an attempt to kidnap her. The Oprah Winfrey Show was recorded at Harpo Studios in Near West Side Chicago.[19]
Proponents of the Columbia, Maryland theory cite other evidence, such as McGruder's own childhood there, where his father worked for the National Transportation Safety Board.[20] In the comics, Huey's cellphone number has a 443 area code, which belongs to the Baltimore metropolitan area.[21] In "Wingmen", the Freemans fly "home" to Chicago, where they lived before moving to Woodcrest, to attend a funeral.[22] In "The Fried Chicken Flu", a reporter on a passing television screen reports on the titular disease's effect on the state of Maryland.[23] In addition, in Season 4's first episode, "Pretty Boy Flizzy", a man references an upcoming concert at Woodcrest Post Pavilion, which may be a play on Columbia's notable concert venue Merriweather Post Pavilion.[24]
Both the comic strip and the cartoon were influenced by McGruder's love of anime and manga.[25] He cites Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo as sources of inspiration for the series' fight scenes. The opening sequence of Season 1 contains similarities to that of Samurai Champloo. Some of the humor is based on the characters' anime-style movements.[26] In 2006, McGruder explained in an interview, "We now have a Japanese anime studio named Madhouse to help us out",[27] but at some point, the deal with Madhouse fell through.[28] Instead, the Emmy Award-winning South Korean studio Moi Animation, handled the animation for season two onwards. As a result, the following seasons of the series have more detailed animation, as well as minor updates for most of the character designs.
The episode "Pause" presents a thinly veiled parody of Tyler Perry, presented as using his religion to hide his cross-dressing. The episode reportedly angered Perry, with the network responding to his complaints by saying that they should have warned him before the episode aired.[29]
While the series was originally going to end with the third season, on March 21, 2014, it was revealed via press release from Adult Swim that The Boondocks would return for a fourth and final season.[30][3][31] It was later revealed that the fourth season would be produced without the involvement of the series creator Aaron McGruder. The reason cited for the split between the creator and the company was a disagreement over the production schedule.[3] The fourth and final season was co-produced and animated by South Korean studio Studio Mir.
The Boondocks gives commentary on American politics from a black left-wing perspective.[32][33] The series accomplishes this by using satire and controversial statements, such as the opening lines of the series, "Jesus was Black, Ronald Reagan was the devil, and the government is lying about 9/11."[34] The show has also given input on subjects like the American government's response to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War, and other controversial political events that took place throughout the 2000s. When asked about the show and the approaches taken that make it so controversial, series creator Aaron McGruder said, "I just hope to expand the dialogue and hope the show will challenge people to think about things they wouldn't normally think about, or think about it in a very different way."[35]
The series typically features appearances by well-known entities (singers, rappers, public figures) within Black popular culture as well as parodies of them. Episodes often feature cameos, as in the episode "Let's Nab Oprah", which features appearances from Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, and Bill Cosby.[34] Other appearances and parodies within the show include R. Kelly on trial for sexual misconduct accusations, DMX's disbelief when told about Barack Obama running for president in an interview, and an episode that mimicked Juice.[36][37] The series also parodies famous news reports including a broadcast in which a freshman in high school was called a "nigga" by his teacher, who thought the word was acceptable to use. The Boondocks recreates this incident with Riley and his teacher.[38]
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