Per Deadline, ABC has announced the cast of Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s Good Times,and it is already shaping up to be a gathering of some of the industry’s most sought-after award winners and biggest personalities. Viola Davis, Andre Braugher, Jharrel Jerome, Tiffany Haddish, Jay Pharoah, Asante Blackk and Corinne Foxx have all be tapped to depict one of the most iconic Black families in television history. Anthony Anderson and Patti LaBelle will stop by to sing the theme live.
Davis and Braugher will lead as Florida and James Evans. Their kids—J.J., Thelma, and Michael—will be played by Pharoah (insert chef’s kiss here), Foxx, and Blackk, respectively. Haddish will round off the main cast as family friend and neighbor, Willona Woods. There’s definitely a word for this level of kismet casting, but it escapes us at the moment. Maybe Jimmie Walker would know.
ABC hopes to recreate some of the magic from this year’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons event from earlier this year, which earned an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) and two additional nominations. It was also a ratings smash, garnering an average viewership of 14.29 million viewers. Live In Front Of A Studio Audience All in the Family and Good Times will air Wednesday, December 18 at 8 PM ET on ABC.