NBC’s “The Carmichael Show” isn’t afraid to go “there,” and this spring’s Season 2 will ratchet up the controversial topics from the series’ solid summer start. But creator and star Jerrod Carmichael promises he won’t be ripping storylines from the headlines solely for the sake of topicality.
“If you just pick from the headlines, you end up writing about something that you’re not passionate about,” the stand-up comic thoughtfully answered one reporter’s question on Wednesday.
Rather, “We try to engage a genuine conversation,” Carmichael said, promising: “We’re still discovering more and trying to go deeper.”
So, which topics will the sophomore run cover? For starters, the writers are currently working on story where a Muslim neighbor moves into the neighborhood, Executive Producer Ravi Nandan teased. As one might imagine, unfounded fears likely result.
“My character joins ISIS,” David Alan Grier quipped of the coming 22 minutes.
The multi-hyphenate affectionately known as DAG stole the afternoon’s Television Critics Association press junket panel with that kind of humor, waking up a very sleepy Langham Huntington ballroom at the end of a long day. Then again, newcomer Tiffany Haddish had reporters in stitches when she finally spoke up, and Carmichael proved to be quite the charmer as well.