It looks like there are about to be some new faces on the block. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new spinoff of Cedric the Entertainer’s popular CBS sitcom The Neighborhood has just received a straight-to-series order from streaming platform Paramount+. The new series, called Crutch, is set to star Tracy Morgan. While The Neighborhood centers around protagonist Calvin Butler’s (Cedric the Entertainer) day-to-day life in his eventful Pasadena neighborhood, Crutch will reportedly take place in Harlem and revolve around the adventures of Calvin’s cousin Francois Crutchfield (Morgan), nicknamed ‘Crutch.’
This is not the first time that Morgan has made an appearance in The Neighborhood universe. He notably starred in a Season 5 episode of the original show titled “Welcome to Bro Money, Bro Problems,” playing Calvin’s wealthy younger brother Curtis. While Morgan’s portrayal offered up tantalizing hints of a potential Curtis spinoff, screenwriter Owen Smith’s pilot script for Crutch ultimately envisioned Morgan as a brand new character — albeit from the same family.
This spinoff will act as a reunion for Smith, Morgan, and Cedric the Entertainer, who all previously collaborated on the TBS sitcom The Last O.G. It is set to be produced by Cedric’s A Bird and a Bear Entertainment, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Wendi Trilling’s Trill Television and CBS Studios, all companies that additionally produce The Neighborhood.
What Will Happen to Tracy Morgan’s Character in ‘Crutch?’
In the upcoming Paramount+ sitcom, Calvin Butler’s cousin ‘Crutch’ will be a Harlem widower and empty-nester who is making plans for his new life as an older adult flying solo. These plans, however — as in most sitcoms — are ultimately fated to be turned completely upside-down. Crutch’s solitary lifestyle becomes thoroughly disturbed when his two adult children and their children find themselves needing to move back home with him — sparking a chain of comedic complications and events that will kick off the rest of the series.
While production on Crutch is slated to start later this year, any official premiere date for the spinoff has yet to be confirmed. Other unanswered questions include whether any characters from The Neighborhood will be appearing on Crutch. But whether or not his character appears in the sitcom, Cedric the Entertainer — who will act as one of Crutch’s executive producers — will likely have a strong creative presence in the show either way. “I am so happy to be able to do this with my brother Cedric the Entertainer, Owen Smith and the rest of the amazing crew we have put together,” Morgan told The Hollywood Reporter. “Crutch will be navigating the ups and downs of having his kids and grandkids back under one roof, and you know if I am doing this, there will be plenty of laughs along the way.”
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on Crutch and other upcoming sitcoms.
via Collider