47 Fun Facts About Everybody Hates Chris

Everybody Hates Chris was created by Chris Rock and which writer-producer?

Ali LeRoi co-created the series with Rock and served as showrunner; the pair had earlier co-written Rock's 2003 comedy film Head of State.

On which network did Everybody Hates Chris premiere on September 22, 2005?

The series premiered on UPN on September 22, 2005, and aired its first season there before UPN shut down in 2006 after merging with The WB.

How many seasons did Everybody Hates Chris run?

The show ran for Four seasons, premiering in September 2005 and ending with its series finale in May 2009.

In which Brooklyn neighbourhood is the show set?

The Rock family moves into a Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment in the pilot, the Brooklyn neighbourhood where Rock himself grew up; the show often shortens it to Bed-Stuy.

Which years does the series cover?

The series is set from 1982 to 1987, opening in 1982 with a 13-year-old Chris bussed to a mostly white junior high and ending in 1987 with Chris in high school.

Who narrates the show?

The real Chris Rock provides intermittent narration over his younger self's misadventures.

Which actor plays the teenage Chris?

Tyler James Williams, born in October 1992, was 12 when the series premiered; his younger brothers Tyrel and Tylen are also actors.

Who plays Julius, Chris's penny-pinching father?

Terry Crews plays Julius; before acting he was an NFL linebacker and defensive end with the Rams, Chargers and Redskins in the early 1990s.

Which actress plays Rochelle, Chris's temperamental mother?

Tichina Arnold plays Rochelle, the family's sharp-tongued mother; Arnold later played another matriarch, Tina Butler, on the CBS sitcom The Neighborhood.

What is the name of Chris's popular, athletic younger brother?

Drew, played by Tequan Richmond, is Chris's younger brother, who despite being younger is taller, more athletic and luckier with girls than Chris.

Chris's little sister, spoiled by her father and fond of tattling on her brothers, is called what?

Tonya, played by Imani Hakim, is the youngest Rock child; spoiled by Julius, she delights in tattling on her two brothers.

What is the surname of Greg, Chris's small, nerdy best friend at school?

Greg Wuliger, played by Vincent Martella, is Chris's loyal, undersized best friend from their first day at junior high; Martella also voiced Phineas on Phineas and Ferb.

Chris is bused across town to a junior high school slyly named after which movie crime family?

Corleone Junior High takes its name from the Godfather family; Chris is its only Black student after his mother insists on a school outside the neighbourhood.

The show's title parodies which CBS sitcom?

The title spoofs Everybody Loves Raymond, which ended its nine-season CBS run in May 2005; the joke is that, unlike Raymond, nobody seems to be on Chris's side.

Which well-meaning white teacher treats Chris with condescending stereotyped assumptions?

Ms. Morello, played by Jacqueline Mazarella, is the well-meaning teacher whose sympathy for Chris rests on wild assumptions about his home life, such as that his father is absent.

What is the name of the red-haired bully who torments Chris at school?

Joey Caruso is played by Travis T. Flory.

In Rochelle's catchphrase, what does she say her man has?

Rochelle's retort is 'I don't need this, my man has two jobs!'; Julius juggles multiple jobs and is so frugal he knows the price of every item in the house to the cent.

Which funeral director neighbour is known for exclaiming 'Tragic! Tragic!'?

He is played by Ernest Lee Thomas, best known as Raj on What's Happening!!

What is the name of the local grocery store owner Chris later works for?

Doc, played by Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch), runs the corner store where Chris works after school.

Which street dealer sells goods that are always bootlegged or stolen?

Risky, played by Mike Estime, is the neighbourhood hustler whose merchandise always turns out to be stolen or bootlegged; Malvo, by contrast, is the petty criminal who robs the store Chris works at.

Which neighbourhood character routinely greets Chris with 'Lemme hold a dollar'?

Jerome, played by Kevontay Jackson, is the perpetually broke older kid who greets Chris as 'little dude' before asking to hold a dollar.

What is the name of the homeless man who practises martial arts around the neighbourhood?

Kill Moves, played by Jeris Lee Poindexter, is the homeless neighbourhood martial artist; Phylicia Rashad once guest-starred as his mother.

Which sitcom veteran plays Vanessa, Rochelle's wise-cracking best friend who owns the beauty salon?

Jackee Harry, an Emmy winner for 227 who later starred on Sister, Sister, plays Vanessa, the salon owner and Rochelle's confidante.

Which Oscar winner plays Louise, the nosy next-door neighbour and Tasha's grandmother?

Whoopi Goldberg plays Louise, grandmother of Chris's crush Tasha (Paige Hurd); the pair move into the house next door from season two.

Who plays Rochelle's soft-spoken but critical mother, Grandma Maxine?

Loretta Devine plays Grandma Maxine; she had just finished a run on Boston Public and went on to play Adele Webber on Grey's Anatomy.

Chris's high school shares its name with which Godfather crime family?

Tattaglia High School, where Chris starts in season three after leaving junior high, takes its name from one of The Godfather's Five Families.

What is the title of the series finale?

In 'Everybody Hates the G.E.D.' Chris, told that one more late arrival means repeating the grade, quits school to sit the G.E.D. instead, mirroring Rock's own path.

The final scene of the series is a spoof of which HBO drama's famous ending?

The finale cuts to black mid-scene, mimicking The Sopranos, whose June 2007 ending cut out on Tony's diner visit.

What is the title of the very first episode?

The first episode is titled Everybody Hates the Pilot; it aired on September 22, 2005, and introduced the Rock family's move to a new neighbourhood.

Which Seinfeld star guest-starred as Principal Edwards?

Jason Alexander, Seinfeld's George Costanza, guest-starred as Principal Edwards, the head of Chris's junior high, in season two.

Which jazz bassist composed the show's music?

Marcus Miller, the jazz bassist who wrote and produced Miles Davis's 1986 album Tutu, composed the show's music.

Where was the show shot?

The series was filmed at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, where the backlot's New York Street stood in for Brooklyn despite the very New York setting.

The show's two lead performances, as Chris and Rochelle, each won which honour?

Both leads won NAACP Image Awards, as Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series; the series was nominated for a Golden Globe but never won one or an Emmy.

The animated revival Everybody Still Hates Chris premiered in September 2024 on which channel?

Everybody Still Hates Chris premiered on Comedy Central in September 2024, with the original Julius and Rochelle actors returning to voice their roles.

Who voices the young Chris in Everybody Still Hates Chris?

Tim Johnson Jr. voices the young Chris in the 2024 animated revival, with Rock again narrating as his adult self.

The actor who played teenage Chris later won a Golden Globe playing Gregory Eddie on which sitcom?

Abbott Elementary earned him the 2023 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor on television; in between he played Noah on The Walking Dead and Lionel in Dear White People.

The actor who played Julius went on to play Sergeant Terry Jeffords on which police comedy?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast him as Sergeant Terry Jeffords for all eight seasons, 2013 to 2021; he also began hosting America's Got Talent in 2019.

Before playing Rochelle, the actress spent five years as Pam on which 1990s sitcom?

Martin, the 1992-1997 sitcom starring Martin Lawrence, cast her as Pam James, Gina's best friend; as a teenager she was also a doo-wop chorus girl in 1986's Little Shop of Horrors.

How many episodes of Everybody Hates Chris were made in total?

88 episodes were made between the September 2005 premiere and the May 2009 series finale, with the show ending before its star turned 17.

After its first season, the show moved to which network for its remaining three seasons?

The CW, the network created by a 2006 merger, carried the show from season two onward, through the May 2009 series finale.

Chris's athletic younger brother loves hockey and idolises which player?

Wayne Gretzky is the idol of Chris's hockey-loving younger brother, who also dabbles in magic and karate.

Before playing teen Chris, the lead actor appeared as himself from 2000 to 2005 on which PBS series?

Sesame Street featured him as a regular cast kid from 2000 to 2005; he also voiced Bobby on Nickelodeon's Little Bill.

Which sweet treat calms Rochelle down, leaving her in withdrawal whenever she gives it up?

Chocolate Turtles, the caramel-and-pecan clusters coated in chocolate, are Rochelle's comfort food, and cutting them out leaves her edgy and snappish with the family.

Which actor plays Monk, the paranoid veteran who helps mind the grocery store?

Todd Bridges, Willis on Diff'rent Strokes, plays Monk, the paranoid army veteran in surplus gear who helps Chris mind the store.

The show was originally developed for which network before another one picked it up?

Fox developed the show first but passed on it, after which a smaller broadcast network picked it up and premiered it in September 2005.

Who developed and ran the animated revival, having previously co-run Central Park?

Sanjay Shah developed the 2024 animated revival and served as its showrunner, after writing for King of the Hill and Fresh Off the Boat and co-running Central Park.

In which country did the dubbed series become a long-running television hit after 2006?

Brazil embraced the show as Todo Mundo Odeia o Chris; RecordTV began airing the dubbed version in 2006 and kept it in reruns for years, making the cast celebrities there.