New York Post, Sunday, November 15, 2020nypost.comSunday Break
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Monday, 8 p.m.
CBSH
OLLYWOOD new-
comer Marcel Spears
is a standout on the
CBS sitcom “The
Neighborhood.”
Now in its third season, the se-
ries centers around a white Mid-
western family — led by patriarch
Dave Johnson (Max Greenfield)
— as they adjust to moving into a
predominantly black neighbor-
hood in California. Dave and his
family’s next-door neighbors in-
clude Calvin (Cedric the Enter-
tainer); his wife Tina (Tichina Ar-
nold); and sons Malcolm (Sheaun
Mckinney) and Marty (Marcel
Spears), a successful engineer.
Spears, 30, spoke to The Post
about Season 3, working with
Cedric the Entertainer and escap-
ing Hurricane Katrina as a teen.What attracted you to the
show?
The fact that I get to play a
young intelligent aerospace engi-
neer. I don’t see that character
much. Especially on the network
that did “The Big Bang Theory”
— as great as that show was and
as much as I loved it, I missed
having the smart black kid on
there. So having that energy intro-
duced and getting to be part of
that was personally one of the
things that I really liked. It re-
minds me of the shows I grew up
on, these family sitcoms that ev-
erybody in the house can sit and
enjoy. The show’s message is
about bringing people together
despite whatever cultural racial
differences they might have.There’s a Season 3 episode ad-
dressing Black Lives Matter.
Is it important for entertain-
ment to cover social issues?
I honestly think sitcoms are
uniquely adapted to do that.
Growing up, the shows that I al-
ways watched were able to navi-
gate that space between talking
about a serious issue and making
you feel better about it. Comedy
is disarming, it invites people in.
And when you can laugh about
something, it always feels better
than if somebody’s preaching atyou. Our show is able to talk
about things that maybe others
aren’t able to do if they’re dramas.
Our audience invites us into their
living rooms every week, and it’s a
relationship that we respect and
hold in high regard.What’s it like to work with
Cedric the Entertainer?
Cedric feels like an uncle, be-
cause I’ve always admired his
work. He’s been part of my cul-
tural upbringing; he’s the king of
comedy. So to get to stand next to
this person and be in a scene with
him — and to have him be a men-
tor ... is hard to explain. If I can
make him laugh in a scene, it feels
like a huge accomplishment, be-
cause he’s tough and he knows
what he’s doing. The fact that I
can casually talk about Cedric the
Entertainer and call him “Ced”...
is blowing my mind.You grew up in New Orleans.What was it like to experi-
ence Hurricane Katrina?
I was 15 turning 16, and I’m the
oldest of five in my family. It was
a really difficult time. My family
had become homeless overnight.
We evacuated the city before the
storm, but we didn’t know how
bad the damage was until we saw
it on the news and realized we
couldn’t go home — there was no
home to go to. My family was liv-
ing in shelters, sleeping in the car.
When we finally landed, it was in
a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas,
and it was a culture shock for me.
I went from New Orleans, a pre-
dominantly black city that was
very vibrant and big, to this quiet
suburb where there weren’t that
many black kids ...That’s a diffi-
cult time at a difficult age to find
yourself in a new environment
under those circumstances.
Acting helped me stay sane
during that time.
— Lauren SarnerTVA 8 ThingS To wATch ThiS week
Marcel
Spears plays
Marty on “The
Neighborhood.”
Season 3 premieres
Monday night on
CBS.2
BOB’S BURGERS
Sunday, 9 p.m., Fox
The popular series cele-
brates its 200th episode as the
family must figure out how to
keep the restaurant open after
Bob’s flattop breaks on the
morning of the Ocean Fest
on Ocean Avenue. Starring
H. Jon Benjamin (Bob)
and Kristen Schaal.6
CHICAGO MED
Wednesday, 8 p.m.,
NBC
Goodwin (S. Epatha
Merkerson) announces a
new ED Chief and the
choice doesn’t make ev-
eryone happy, while Dr.
Manning (Torey DeVitto)
takes a stand for her pa-
tient and deals with
the repercussions.4
BIG SKY
Tuesday, 10
p.m., ABC
Series premiere.
Private detectives
Cassie Dewell
(Kylie Bunbury,
inset) and Cody Hoyt
(Ryan Phillippe) team
with his estranged wife5
ALL RISE
Monday, 9 p.m.,
CBS
Lola (Simone Missick)
and Mark (Wilson
Bethel, right) try to re-
build their friendship
after Lola is detained
during an escalating
protest to defend a teen
girl. Part 1 of the two-
part season premiere.7
THE
BLACKLIST
Friday, 8 p.m., NBC
Liz (Megan Boone)
leans on a source for
answers about Kat-
arina Rostova, while
Red (James Spader)
and the Task Force,
already at odds over
Liz’s situation, deal
with the fallout.8
I HATE SUZIE
Thursday on HBO Max
This darkly comic British series follows
Suzie Pickles (Billie Piper, left), an
actress whose life is turned upside-
down when her phone is hacked —
and compromising photos of her
are leaked to the world. Co-star-
ring Daniel Ings, Leila Farzad and
Nathaniel Martello-White.3
A LITTLE CHRISTMAS CHARM
Saturday, 10 p.m., Hallmark Movie Channel
After jewelry designer Holly (Ashley Greene) finds
a lost charm bracelet, she teams up with investiga-
tive reporter Greg (Brendan Penny) to find the
owner and return the bracelet by Christmas Eve.Come on by
A visit with Marcel Spears, who’s inviting
viewers to his CBS ‘Neighborhood’
and ex-cop,
Jenny Hoyt
(Katheryn
Winnick), to
search for
two sisters
kidnapped by
a psycho truck
driver on a remote
Montana highway.