‘The Neighborhood’ Spinoff ‘Crutch’ Starring Tracy Morgan Ordered By Paramount+
06.05.2024 - 17:03
/ deadline.com
The Neighborhood universe is expanding with a second series, Crutch. Paramount+ has picked up the half-hour, multi-camera comedy headlined by Tracy Morgan. It is set in the world of the popular CBS sitcom starring Cedric the Entertainer, which has been renewed for a seventh season.
Crutch hails from Owen Smith, who penned the pilot script, and The Neighborhood‘s production companies, Cedric’s A Bird and a Bear Entertainment, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Wendi Trilling TrillTV and CBS Studios.
It centers on its titular character Francois “Frank” Crutchfield (Morgan) – or “Crutch” to those who know him well – a Harlem widower whose empty-nest plans are put on hold after his millennial son and free-spirited daughter move back home.
Morgan and Cedric starred together on Morgan’s TBS comedy series The Last O.G., with Cedric as a series regular on Season 1 before segueing to recurring when The Neighborhood was picked up to series.
The idea for an offshoot of the CBS sitcom built around Morgan has been percolating for a couple of years. During Season 5 of The Neighborhood, the SNL alum guest starred in the episode “Welcome to Bro Money, Bro Problems,” written by then-showrunner Meg DeLoatch, as Calvin’s (Cedric) rich younger brother, Curtis. While not a formal backdoor pilot, the episode had been envisioned as proof of concept for a potential spinoff.
That project didn’t move forward. The new idea, which landed a series order by Paramount+, comes from a new writer, Smith, who is reuniting with Morgan and Cedric after serving as showrunner and executive producer on The Last O.G.. It features Morgan as a different character, Crutch, who is Calvin’s cousin.
“I’m excited to be expanding our The Neighborhood universe