After what had been a longtime coming, fans of the Adult Swim series, The Boondocks, were thrilled to hear that a reboot for the show was finally in the works. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. HBO Max was set to be the home of the reboot simply titled, Boondocks, which would pick up where the original show that aired for four seasons from 2005 to 2014, left off.
Back in 2019, HBO Max got hopes up when they ordered two seasons with a total of 24 episodes of the fan favorite animated sitcom with a premiere date in the fall of 2020. After not taking part in the show’s fourth and final season, original creator, Aaron McGruder was on board for the newest installment for which he was planning to work alongside Sony Pictures Animation.
The original series, which was based off of a comic strip, took place in the fictional, primarily white suburb of Woodcrest, otherwise known as “the boondocks.” After thinking the new town would be the best place to raise his two grandsons and enjoy some peace and quiet for his older years, Robert “Granddad” Freeman uprooted 10 and 8-year-old Huey and Riley (respectively) from their home in Chicago’s south side. Despite their grandfather’s bid for an easy-going life, the two brothers found themselves running amuck in their new neighborhood.
HBO Max’s Boondocks, would have seen Granddad, Huey, and Riley in a new town located in the suburbs of Maryland. Trouble is soon to arise for the family and the rest of the citizens as Uncle Ruckus, an oppressive leader with an equally evil following, seized control of the town. Along with the knowledge and help of their grandfather’s civil rights background, Huey and Riley set out to stop Uncle Ruckus and his cronies dead in their tracks.
News of the series cancellation came from one of the show’s voice actors, Cedric Yarbrough, on the Geekset Podcast. During the interview, Yarbrough, who gave the voice to Tom DuBois stated, “the show is not coming back.” He went on to add that while the production crew and Sony have “been wanting to do the show,” ultimately the decision was made to “pull the plug.” The actor shared hopes that “one day we’ll be able to revisit it” and added, “I wish the show was coming back.”
And just like that, fans learned one of the most anticipated reboots would not be returning to the airwaves, at least for now. Hopefully in the upcoming days, we will hear more from those surrounding the now canceled series, including McGruder himself who earned a Peabody Award for the initial show.