''Hey Monie!'' is an American animated sitcom produced by

Soup2Nuts Soup2Nuts (sometimes referred to as Soup2Nuts Studios, and formerly part of Tom Snyder Productions) was an American animation studio founded by Tom Snyder (animator), Tom Snyder. The studio is known for its animated comedy series, its use of Squ ...

. It features heavily improvised dialogue by the Second City cast, similarly to Soup2Nuts animated sitcom ''Home Movies''. Its creator and executive producer was Dorothea Gillim, creator of ''

WordGirl ''WordGirl'' is an American animated superhero children's television series produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids. The series began as a series of shorts entitled ''The Amazing Colossal Adventures of ...

'', who also produced animated series ''Curious George'', ''

Pinkalicious & Peterrific ''Pinkalicious & Peterrific'' is an educational animated children's television series on PBS Kids, based upon the '' Pinkalicious'' book series by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann (Elizabeth co-written Pinkalicious and Purplelicious). The series is p ...

'', ''

Molly of Denali ''Molly of Denali'' (stylized in all caps) is an animated children's television series produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH Kids and animated by Atomic Cartoons, created by Dorothea Gillim and Kathy Waugh for PBS Kids and CBC Kids.

'', and '' Time Warp Trio''. The show began as 5-minute shorts that were part of

Oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

's animation series ''X-Chromosome.'' It achieved 11-minute episodes ''Hey Monie!'' aired on

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 ...

and, afterward, on Oxygen in 2003. It was BET's first in-house animated series; BET stated that it followed "the tradition of entertaining and satirical animated programming like ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

The Critic ''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...

'', and ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom television series created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis, Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It centers on the titular character, D ...

''." In 2003, '' Seattle PI'' described the series as "smart, and at times wickedly funny." It was the only adult animated series to feature a Black woman as its protagonist until '' Oh My God... Yes! A Series of Extremely Relatable Circumstances'' which started airing on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

in 2025.

Plot

Simone a.k.a. "Monie" ( Angela V. Shelton), is a

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...

at a PR agency in Chicago. She lives in an apartment building with her best friend, Yvette (

Frances Callier Eleanor Frances Callier (born May 17, 1969) is an American producer, writer, comedian and actress. Her television credits include ''According to Jim'', ''My Name Is Earl'', ''Frasier'', ''Drake & Josh'', ''Hannah Montana'', and ''Curb Your Enthu ...

). The show chronicles her life living as a single

career woman A career woman is a term which describes a woman whose main goal in life is to create a career for herself. At the time that the term was first used in the 1930s American context, it was specifically used to differentiate between women who either ...

in the big city.

Cast

The series protagonists are voiced by the improv comedy Frangela duo, who are real-life best friends. * Angela V. Shelton as Monie * Frances Callier as Yvette *

Melissa Bardin Galsky Melissa Bardin Galsky (born January 17, 1972) is an American voice actress, writer and producer for several animated sitcoms from the Soup2Nuts company. She was associate producer and talent coordinator for ''Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.'' ...

as Robin * Dean Edwards *

Sam Seder Samuel Lincoln Seder (; born November 28, 1966) is an American actor, progressive political commentator, and media host. His works include the film '' Who's the Caboose?'' (1997) as well as the television shows ''Beat Cops'' (2001) and '' Pilot ...

* H. Jon Benjamin as a self-defense instructor * Brendan Small as Chad *

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

as herself

Legacy

''Hey Monie!'' was not released on DVD; this may explain its multiple half-hour lost episodes. This also may explain why ''Hey Monie!'' did not amass a

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

as numerous as that of ''Home Movies''; creator

Brendon Small Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer, director, producer, and musician who is known for co-creating the animated series ''Home Movies'' (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and ''Metalocalypse'' ...

has attributed ''Home Movies''' DVD release "for its increased popularity and cult following." A 2004 '' SFGate'' article lamented the previous year's cancellation of ''Hey Monie!'', as the show positively impacted diversity on television''.'' That year, the show was recommended in self-help book ''Beautylicious!'' In 2006, television scholar Amanda D. Lotz praised the show's cast for bringing "an authentic feel to the show's language and dialogue." In 2016, ''Bustle'' described the show as a feminist cartoon "way before its time and gone way too soon." That year, the show was listed in ''Vibe'''s "Forgotten Laughs: 9 Black Shows You Missed Out On." In 2018, Flood Magazine interviewed show creators and stars about the show, although series creator Gillim "was astonished that she was contacted for an interview for this piece, based on how little updated information about the show is available online." Once it was cancelled, Shelton and Callier stated "the show's momentum halted when executives got involved, hiring a white writer—without consulting either of them—to pen the final episodes." These episodes are now lost due to a lack of DVD release. In 2019, '' Tuca & Bertie'' creator

Lisa Hanawalt Lisa Hanawalt is an American illustrator, writer, and cartoonist. She has published comic series, as well as three books of illustrations. She worked as the production designer and a producer of the Netflix animated series ''BoJack Horseman'' (2 ...

mentioned the show while compiling a list of adult animated shows created by women.

References

External links

* {{BET 2003 American animated television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 2000s American adult animated television series 2000s American animated comedy television series 2000s American black cartoons 2000s American black sitcoms American adult animated comedy television series American animated sitcoms American flash adult animated television series American English-language television shows BET sitcoms Oxygen (TV channel) original programming Television series by Soup2Nuts Television series created by Dorothea Gillim Television shows set in Chicago

Plot

Cast

Legacy

See also

References

External links