Original ‘Good Times’ Cast Members Share Reaction To Animated Reboot

Cast members from the original Good Times series have shared their opinions on the show’s pending animated revival.

John Amos, who played tough father James Evans in the 1970s during the first three seasons of the television show, has no gripes against the cartoon reboot. He does, however, doubt it will reach the bar set by the original series.

“I really can’t form an opinion, as I’ve not seen any of the episodes yet,” explained the 84-year-old to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Norman [Lear] — and the entire cast and company — set the bar pretty high. They’ll have a hard time reaching that level of entertainment [and] education. I wish them the best. I see people aspiring to that, but I don’t see anybody reaching that goal, especially in an animated version.”

BernNadette Stanis, who played the eldest daughter of the Evans family, Thelma, also shared her opinion on the new Netflix project. Although she admittedly did not watch the trailer, she is aware of the mixed reactions.

“Probably a lot of people don’t know how Hollywood works,” Stanis says. “A lot of times, you use a certain name to open up the door for a new show. That could be what it is. But I’m sure a lot of people will be a little confused at first because they have to think that it’s us. They think, ‘Oh, my God! That’s got to be Thelma, J.J. [Jimmie Walker] and Michael [Ralph Carter].’ And then you come in there, and you don’t see anything like that,” she detailed.

She continued to explain how she and Walker have minor roles in the new series.

“I did a little voice for them, but I did not know it was going to be the way it is. I thought it was going to be different,” the 70-year-old elaborated. “It’s just a little here and there. But I think that they did that because they knew what their show was going to be like. So I guess they figured, if you put us in there, it wouldn’t look so bad or whatever.”

Good Times is set to premiere on Netflix on April 12 featuring the vocal talents of Marsai Martin, Jay Pharoah, Yvette Nicole Brown, JB Smoove, Slink Johnson, and Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola. 9th Wonder serves as the show’s executive music producer and music supervisor.

\Watch the official trailer below.

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