''Soul Food'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series that aired on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

from June 28, 2000, to May 26, 2004. Developed for television by Felicia D. Henderson, the series was an adaptation of George Tillman Jr.'s 1997 film of the same name, which was based on his childhood experiences growing up in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

.Wiggins, Ovetta.
"Last Call for 'Soul Food
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', May 26, 2004. Retrieved August 18, 2009.

Premise

''Soul Food'' follows the triumphs, struggles, and rivalries of the Josephs, a tight-knit

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

family living in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The series picks up six months after the events in the 1997 film, starting with the birth of Bird and Lem's son Jeremiah, as the family tries to hold together after the death of the Joseph sisters' mother Josephine ( Irma P. Hall, reprising her role in flashback sequences), usually referred to as Mama, Mother Joe, or Big Mama.

Cast

Rockmond Dunbar Rockmond Dunbar (born January 11, 1973) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series ''Earth 2 (TV series), Earth 2'', Kenny Chadway on Showtime (TV network), Showtime family drama ''Soul Food (TV series), Soul Food' ...

as Kenny Chadway, replacing Jeffrey D. Sams from the

original film Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'', '' Cruel Intentions'' and ''Fast & Furious'' franchises, the ...

Darrin Dewitt Henson Darrin Dewitt Henson (born May 5, 1972) is an American choreographer, dancer, actor, and producer. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music 1980s group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time".

as Lem Van Adams, replacing

Mekhi Phifer Mekhi Phifer ( ; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s, Phifer was known for a few notable roles in films including ''Clockers (film), Clockers'', ''Soul Food (film), Soul Food'', ''High School High' ...

from the

* Aaron Meeks as Ahmad Chadway, replacing

Brandon Hammond Brandon La Ron Hammond (born February 6, 1984) is an American former child actor who appeared in several movie and television roles mainly during the 1990s. He appeared in the feature films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), ''Mars Attacks!'' (1996) an ...

from the

Nicole Ari Parker Nicole Ari Parker Kodjoe (born October 7, 1970) is an American actress and model. She made her screen debut with a leading role in the critically acclaimed independent film '' The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love'' (1995) and went o ...

as Teri Joseph, replacing

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

from the

Malinda Williams Malinda Williams (born September 24, 1970) is an American actress and producer. She began her career on television, before appearing in films ''A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'' (1996), ''High School High'' (1996), and ''The Wood'' (1999). Fr ...

as Robyn "Bird" Joseph Van Adams, replacing

Nia Long Nia Talita Long ( ; born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the N ...

from the

Vanessa Estelle Williams Vanessa Estelle Williams (born May 12, 1963) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Maxine Joseph–Chadway in the Showtime drama series, ''Soul Food'' (2000–2004), for which she received NAACP Image Award f ...

as Maxine Joseph Chadway, replacing

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983) and played roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' (1988) and ''Generations (American TV s ...

from the

Boris Kodjoe Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe (; born March 8, 1973) is a German actor and former model, based in the United States. His breakthrough role was as sports-courier agent Damon Carter on the Showtime drama series '' Soul Food'' (2000- ...

as Damon Carter (recurring season 1; regular seasons 2–4; guest season 5)

Episodes

Response

''Soul Food'' was one of the first long-running and successful dramatic series on television to feature a predominantly African-American cast. Short-lived series such as '' Under One Roof'' and '' City of Angels'' featured predominantly black casts but never gained recognition due to lack of ratings and viewership. The show dealt in topics of politics, homosexuality, racial discrimination, and certain forms of abuse (drug, domestic, and sexual). Because it aired on Showtime, there was use of mild profanity and partial nudity. Several episodes even served as launching pads for upcoming new music artists. Many known performers such as

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and Music Producer, producer. Levert performed with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon with the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Le ...

Montell Jordan Montell Du'Sean Jordan (born December 3, 1968) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. Best known for his 1995 single " This Is How We Do It", and " Get It On Tonite", Jordan was the primary male solo artist on Def Jam's Def Soul ...

India Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence with her debut album, '' Acoustic Soul (2001),'' which was a commercial and critical success. She has since released the albums '' Voyage to ...

Sunshine Anderson Sunshine Jocelyn Sian Anderson (born June 7, 1974) is an American R&B and soul singer from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is best known for her 2001 single " Heard It All Before", which peaked within the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

and

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

have made guest appearances as well.

Popularity

The show received five

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and won three consecutive times in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Also, a three-book series was launched in 2002. The ''Soul Food'' cast was interviewed by comedian

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known mononymously as Mo'Nique, is an American comedian and actress. She debuted as a member of The Queens of Comedy and earned recognition as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. In 2 ...

about fan reaction to the series. The cast considered that fans of the show would approach them at different places, including the airport, and would talk to them about storylines that they enjoyed or disliked. Nicole Ari Parker commented on studio executives telling the cast and crew that they were not marketable overseas; yet, after the show ended, the series garnered a fanbase in France.

Syndication

In 2003,

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

acquired the rights to air reruns of the series (in the United States). The episodes have been edited to allow for commercials, and to meet

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

content standards for basic cable networks. BET aired syndicated reruns of ''Soul Food'' for a long time, until it shifted the series to its sister network,

BET J BET Her is an American basic cable television network currently owned by the BET Networks, BET Media Group subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. The channel originally launched in 1996 as BET on Jazz, a spin-off from BET wit ...

(now known as BET Her). On March 15, 2010, the principal cast members (except for Rockmond Dunbar), appeared together on the

late-night talk show ''

The Mo'Nique Show ''The Mo'Nique Show'' is an American talk show hosted by comedian and actress Mo'Nique. Airing on BET, the series began October 5, 2009. The show's second and final season premiered on Monday, October 4, 2010. Overview The show ran all-new episo ...

''. TV One began airing reruns of the series in January 2012. Syndication rights are currently held by Aspire, which began airing reruns of the series in January 2016.

Home releases

On June 24, 2003,

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. The division oversees Para ...

(under the Showtime Entertainment label) released the first season of ''Soul Food: The Series'' on DVD, just two weeks after the series wrapped its fourth season. After a long delay, the remaining four seasons were released in 2007 and 2008 by Paramount Home Entertainment (through

CBS Home Entertainment CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is an American home video company that distribut ...

, because of

CBS Corporation CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...

acquiring the pre-2006 Viacom, including

Showtime Networks Showtime Networks, Inc. is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks division that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship namesake service. Overview The compan ...

). While season one (billed as "the complete first season") runs in its uncut, complete form, the remaining other seasons did not, primarily due to music licensing issues, and some episodes being edited from their original versions, primarily due to expensive costing issues while trying to go back to their original, unedited versions. International rights to the series are held by

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, which has yet to release DVD sets in other territories. ^ The 20-episode DVD release of "Season 3" actually contains the 10 episodes in Season 3 and the 10 episodes in Season 4.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soul Food 2000s American black television series 2000s American drama television series 2000 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings American English-language television shows Live action television shows based on films Serial drama television series Showtime (TV network) original programming Television series by CBS Studios Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows filmed in Toronto Television shows set in Chicago