''Wanda at Large'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

starring

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on ''The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertainme ...

; Sykes also created the series alongside

Bruce Helford Bruce Lewis Helford (born January 28, 1952) is an American television writer and producer. Career Helford was the co-creator of '' The Drew Carey Show''. He served as executive producer of the series for its entire run, from 1995 to 2004. Helf ...

, Les Firestein, and

Lance Crouther Lance Crouther is an American television producer, television writer and actor. He was the head writer of the TBS late night show '' Lopez Tonight'' until 2010, and was a writer for '' Down to Earth'', '' Wanda at Large'', and '' Good Hair'', am ...

. The series aired for two seasons on

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 ...

from March 26 to November 7, 2003.

Synopsis

Sykes starred as Wanda Hawkins, a former government worker who decides to become a stand-up comedian. Through her friend Keith ( Dale Godboldo), Wanda is tapped by WHDC-TV head Roger to become a new editorial correspondent for the low-rated political

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

''The Beltway Gang'' . She is immediately seen as unprofessional and inexperienced by the show's moderators, Bradley ( Phil Morris) and Rita (

Ann Magnuson Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer. She was described by ''The New York Times'' in 1990 as "An endearing theatrical chameleon who has as many characters at her fingertips as Lily Tomlin does". A f ...

), whose conservative politics clash with Wanda's liberal views. At home, she must deal with her sister-in-law Jenny (

Tammy Lauren Tammy Lauren is an American film and television actress. She starred in the 1997 horror film '' Wishmaster.'' Career As a child actress, Lauren's acting debut was in the role of Melissa Turner on the one-season television series '' Who's Watch ...

), a widow raising Wanda's niece Holly (

Jurnee Smollett Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including '' On Our Own'' (1994–1995) and ''Full House'' (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition ...

) and nephew Barris ( Robert Bailey Jr.), whom Wanda finds irritating. As the show progresses, Wanda begins to bond with her family and win over her colleagues, with some hinted attraction to Bradley.

Cast

as Wanda Hawkins * Phil Morris as Bradley Grimes * Dale Godboldo as Keith Townsend *

as Jenny Hawkins *

as Holly Hawkins * Robert Bailey Jr. as Barris Hawkins

Recurring

* Jason Kravitz as Roger *

as Rita Bahlberg

Episodes

Season 1 (2003)

Season 2 (2003)

''Note'': The unaired second-season episodes were aired for the first time on TV One on July 4, 2006, during the 4th of July launch marathon of the series.

Production and cancellation

premiered it on March 26, 2003. Fox renewed the show for a second season. The show returned with new episodes in September 2003, but in the so-called

Friday night death slot The "Friday night death slot" or "Friday evening death slot" is a perceived graveyard slot in American television. It implies that a television program in the United States scheduled on Friday nights (typically, between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. E ...

at 8:00pm. It was canceled on November 7, along with the new Fox comedy series ''

Luis Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

''. During an interview with the ''Urbanite'' magazine at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

, Sykes explained that the show was only supposed to be on Friday night for an interim basis. According to Sykes, "We were told if the new night didn't work out, we would be moved to another timeslot. But, that's part of the game television execs play." She also admitted in a January 2004 interview that she wished that the series would have launched on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

instead of Fox.

Broadcast and syndication

Reruns began airing regularly on July 5, 2006 on American cable channel TV One. A marathon aired on July 4 as part of the channel's "Power to the People" July 4 weekend celebration. In 2022, the series is made available for streaming online on

Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (commonly referred to as Fox Corp or simply Fox) is an American multinational mass media company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, with offices also in Burbank, Cali ...

Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...

Reception

Ratings

''Wanda at Large'' premiered on Fox on March 26, 2003, following ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. It gradually decreased in the ratings, premiering with 14.3 million viewers, and diminishing to 10 million by the season finale. It still averaged 12.2 million for the six-episode season, however, making it the fourth highest-rated show on Fox that year out of 26, and leading Fox to renew the show. In September, the show returned with new episodes in the

at 8:30pm.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
''Wanda at Large''
on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

* {{Authority control 2000s American multi-camera sitcoms 2000s American black sitcoms 2003 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings Television series about dysfunctional families American English-language television shows Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in Washington, D.C. Television series created by Bruce Helford Television series by Mohawk Productions Fox Broadcasting Company sitcoms