''Sparks'' 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 ...

television series that aired on UPN from August 26, 1996, to March 2, 1998. The series stars James Avery,

Robin Givens Robin Givens (born November 27, 1964) is an American actress and director. Givens played Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom '' Head of the Class'' in 1986, and remained on the series for its five year duration. Her troubled marriage to boxer ...

Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor performing on film and television. He has received a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden ...

, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Kym Whitley and Arif S. Kinchen. The sitcom is set in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and is about the everyday lives of a family of

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

s running a family-owned law practice. Reruns of the show aired on BET in the late 1990s.

Content

The show stars James Avery as Alonzo Sparks, a

running a family law firm with his sons Maxey ( Miguel A. Núñez Jr.) and Greg (

) in inner-city

Cast

Main

* James Avery as Alonzo Sparks * Miguel A. Nunez Jr. as Maxey Sparks, Alonzo's first son * Terrence DaShown Howard as Greg Sparks, Alonzo's second son * Kym E. Whitley as Darice Mayberry * Arif S. Kinchen as LaMarr Hicks *

as Wilma Cuthbert

Recurring

* Wanda-Lee Evans as Judge *

Phill Lewis Phillip David Lewis (born February 14, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, and director. He is best known for playing hotel manager Mr. Moseby on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, ''The Suite Life ...

as Detective Floyd Pitts * Hawthorne James as Claude * Rod McCary as Attorney Mason * Michael Warren as Desmond

Special guest appearances

Vanessa Bell Calloway Vanessa Bell Calloway ( Bell; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy ''Coming to America'' and its sequel. Since the ...

as Monique *

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American actress and singer. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later began work on television. She was best known for her role as Nell ...

as Barbara Rogers * Terry Ellis as Deidre *

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and martial artist. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star, she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970s action, blaxploitati ...

as Ms. Grayson *

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

as Himself *

Anna Maria Horsford Anna Maria Horsford is an American actress, known for her performances in television comedies. Horsford is best known for her roles as Thelma Frye on the NBC sitcom ''Amen'' (1986–91), and as Dee Baxter on the WB sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.'' (1 ...

as Wilma's Aunt *

Kenya Moore Kenya Summer Moore (born January 24, 1971) is an American actress, author, entrepreneur, television personality and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1993. Since 2012, she stars on the reality TV series, ''The Real Housewives of Atlant ...

as Ms. Collins * Ron O'Neal as Arthur Fairchild *

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

as Himself

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1996–97)

Season 2 (1997–98)

Reception

Kevin D. Thompson of ''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...

'' gave the show a mostly-negative review, criticizing Avery's performances and the "normal cardboard cutout characters". Frederic M. Biddle of the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' also criticized the performances of the lead actors and thought that Núñez's and Howard's characters were "silently perpetuating stereotypes equating character with Caucasian features".

References

External links

* {{UPN 1996 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 1990s American black sitcoms 1990s American legal television series American English-language television shows UPN sitcoms Television shows set in California Television series created by Ed. Weinberger Television series by MTM Enterprises