Jamie Foxx becomes a sitcom dad in first look at Netflix's Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!
By Derek Lawrence
February 18, 2021 at 11:00 AM EST
For Corinne Foxx, being the daughter of Jamie Foxx, 53, clearly has its perks, including memorably getting to sit by his side at age 11 when he won the Best Actor Oscar for Ray. But it also means being prepared to get embarrassed at any moment.
"I was cheering at my final game in high school, and I look into the crowd and my whole family is there in T-shirts with my face on them," recalls the actress and cohost of Fox's Beat Shazam (alongside her old man). "It's 15 people, and my dad is the ringleader. The last thing a teenage girl ever wants is their dad drawing attention to themselves in that way."
While she might not have known it at the time, Corinne was living through a future TV show. Inspired by her relationship with her multi-hyphenate father, the new, aptly titled Netflix sitcom Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! stars Jamie as Brian, the owner of a cosmetic company and single father to Sasha (Kyla-Drew), as well as a slew of other characters — akin to his In Living Color days.
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
"We didn't want him to play himself, and what's more embarrassing than your dad doing makeup all the time?" jokes Corinne, 27, who opted to stay behind the camera as an executive producer, believing the "prime conflict" comes in the teenage years. "Brian really wants to understand [Sasha] so badly and be there for her — and he maybe goes to extreme lengths to do so."
Sounds familiar.
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
Corinne sees Dad as her dad "back in his comedy roots," which makes it fitting that he's chosen to reunite with his In Living Color costar David Alan Grier, who plays Pops, a character loosely based on Jamie's stepfather. "It really was surreal," Grier, 64, says of being back on camera with Foxx almost 30 years later — and only one block from where they filmed the trailblazing '90s sketch series. "Jamie told me he wanted someone there that he knew he could pass the baton to. My main concern was, 'Is Jamie really going to be in the show?' I didn't want to do a show where your famous friend is like, 'Yeah, man, I'm going to be in it,' but it's like the Brad Pitt Comedy Hour and he introduces the first act and then comes back at the end of the season. But Jamie was there every minute, every day, encouraging me to do more and run with it."
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
Corinne was only three months old when In Living Color ended in 1994 — let that sink in for a second — so she had never seen "the magic" between her real dad and onscreen granddad. "When David came to set, I saw them immediately light up and comedically understand each other," she recalls. "I was like, 'Oh, this is the money. This is why my dad was so adamant to have David be a part of it.'"
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
The result is a "throwback vibe" filled with "old-school laughter," according to Grier, while the younger Foxx promises a father-daughter relationship that all families can relate to and appreciate. "When you're in the moment as a teenager and going through this stuff, it's not funny, and you're actually upset," she says. "But it's so fulfilling to see how these stories have grown into something that my dad and I can cherish and love. This is our story, and it's just like, 'Wow, at least we went through all that for something!'
Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! premieres April 14 on Netflix.
By Derek Lawrence
February 18, 2021 at 11:00 AM EST
For Corinne Foxx, being the daughter of Jamie Foxx, 53, clearly has its perks, including memorably getting to sit by his side at age 11 when he won the Best Actor Oscar for Ray. But it also means being prepared to get embarrassed at any moment.
"I was cheering at my final game in high school, and I look into the crowd and my whole family is there in T-shirts with my face on them," recalls the actress and cohost of Fox's Beat Shazam (alongside her old man). "It's 15 people, and my dad is the ringleader. The last thing a teenage girl ever wants is their dad drawing attention to themselves in that way."
While she might not have known it at the time, Corinne was living through a future TV show. Inspired by her relationship with her multi-hyphenate father, the new, aptly titled Netflix sitcom Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! stars Jamie as Brian, the owner of a cosmetic company and single father to Sasha (Kyla-Drew), as well as a slew of other characters — akin to his In Living Color days.
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
"We didn't want him to play himself, and what's more embarrassing than your dad doing makeup all the time?" jokes Corinne, 27, who opted to stay behind the camera as an executive producer, believing the "prime conflict" comes in the teenage years. "Brian really wants to understand [Sasha] so badly and be there for her — and he maybe goes to extreme lengths to do so."
Sounds familiar.
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
Corinne sees Dad as her dad "back in his comedy roots," which makes it fitting that he's chosen to reunite with his In Living Color costar David Alan Grier, who plays Pops, a character loosely based on Jamie's stepfather. "It really was surreal," Grier, 64, says of being back on camera with Foxx almost 30 years later — and only one block from where they filmed the trailblazing '90s sketch series. "Jamie told me he wanted someone there that he knew he could pass the baton to. My main concern was, 'Is Jamie really going to be in the show?' I didn't want to do a show where your famous friend is like, 'Yeah, man, I'm going to be in it,' but it's like the Brad Pitt Comedy Hour and he introduces the first act and then comes back at the end of the season. But Jamie was there every minute, every day, encouraging me to do more and run with it."
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
Corinne was only three months old when In Living Color ended in 1994 — let that sink in for a second — so she had never seen "the magic" between her real dad and onscreen granddad. "When David came to set, I saw them immediately light up and comedically understand each other," she recalls. "I was like, 'Oh, this is the money. This is why my dad was so adamant to have David be a part of it.'"
CREDIT: SAEED ADYANI/NETFLIX
The result is a "throwback vibe" filled with "old-school laughter," according to Grier, while the younger Foxx promises a father-daughter relationship that all families can relate to and appreciate. "When you're in the moment as a teenager and going through this stuff, it's not funny, and you're actually upset," she says. "But it's so fulfilling to see how these stories have grown into something that my dad and I can cherish and love. This is our story, and it's just like, 'Wow, at least we went through all that for something!'
Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! premieres April 14 on Netflix.
