The Soul Man

Synopsis

The series follows R&B superstar-turned-minister Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballantine (Cedric the Entertainer), who was living the high life in Las Vegas at the top of the music charts when he got "the calling" and decided to relocate to St. Louis with his family to become a preacher in his father's church. However, his family members — including wife Lolli (Niecy Nash), daughter Lyric (Jazz Raycole) and younger brother Stamps (Wesley Jonathan) — are not exactly eager to give up the fabulous superstar life for their new humble one.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Cedric the Entertainer as Reverend Sherman Boyce Ballentine, a former R&B singer turned minister. "Boyce" was the maiden name of Cedric's real-life mother.
• Niecy Nash as Lolli Ballentine, Boyce's wife, a beauty salon owner
• Wesley Jonathan as Fletcher Emmanuel "Stamps" Ballentine, Boyce's carefree younger brother. He was Boyce's tour manager in the music business, but now struggles to find employment.
• Jazz Raycole as Lyric Ballentine (main cast season 1, recurring seasons 2–3), Boyce's daughter, who is adjusting to her father's new lifestyle
• John Beasley as Barton Moses Ballentine (main cast season 1, recurring seasons 2–5), Boyce's and Stamps' father, a retired minister who now serves on the church Board of Elders, often to Boyce's annoyance

Recurring cast

• Gary Anthony Williams as Lester, member of the Ballentines' church who serves the church in various capacities, including choir director
• Hattie Winston as Sister Coriann Pearly (seasons 1–4), member of the Ballentines' church
• Kim Coles as Wanda (season 1), member of the Ballentines' church
• Cedric Yarbrough and Yvette Nicole Brown as Paul and Robyn (seasons 1–3, 5), the Ballentines' bickering former neighbors from Las Vegas
• Kellee Stewart as Kim (seasons 1–4), Lolli's younger sister who is an anesthesiologist; she later becomes Stamps' girlfriend
• Malcolm Barrett as Bird (season 2), co-owner (with Boyce) of Bird's, a bar & grill that the Ballentines frequent
• Malik S as Curtis (seasons 2–5), Stamps' friend who has spent time in prison
• Sherri Shepherd as Nikki (seasons 1 & 4), Boyce's irritating cousin from Chicago, who later becomes the new church treasurer
• Nyima Funk as Terri (season 4), a church member and Lolli's friend
• Aloma Wright as Shirley (seasons 4–5), a church member who serves as the church secretary
• Missi Pyle as Alicia (season 5), Boyce's campaign manager in his run for Mayor of St. Louis

Episodes

Main article: List of The Soul Man episodes

Syndication

The Soul Man aired on NickMom from August 17, to September 27, 2015 and aired on BET Her for a period of time

Home media

Shout! Factory (under license from Paramount) released the complete first season on DVD in Region 1 on July 8, 2014. Season 2 was released on October 21, 2014.

Development and production

On April 18, 2011, it was announced that Cedric the Entertainer would guest star in a season 2 episode of Hot in Cleveland, as a minister that gets caught up in the girls' problems. The episode served as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series to star Cedric. The episode entitled "Bridezelka" was written by Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin and aired on August 24, 2011.

In November 2011, it was that announced that Niecy Nash was cast the female lead opposite Cedric. The two had previously worked together in the 2007 film Code Name: The Cleaner. John Beasley, Wesley Jonathan, and Jazz Raycole, were then cast, with Beasley playing Boyce's father; Jonathan playing Boyce's brother; and Raycole playing Boyce's daughter. Suzanne Martin and Cedric wrote the pilot and are executive producing with Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner. The pilot was filmed on December 2, 2011.

On January 12, 2012, TV Land officially picked up the pilot to series, under the title Have Faith, and set the first season at 12 episodes. On March 11, 2012 it was announced that the series' title was changed from Have Faith to The Soul Man.

For the first season, former Cheers writer/producer Phoef Sutton was hired as the showrunner. Stan Lathan, who previously directed Cedric in every episode of The Steve Harvey Show, served as the director of the first season. Anthony Anderson, Tamar Braxton, Trina Braxton, Robert Forster, Cee Lo Green, Tim Reid and Sherri Shepherd all guest starred during the show's first season.

Reception

The series has received generally positive reviews from critics, with an initial score 65 out of 100 on Metacritic.

References

References

1. Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com. (April 23, 2012). "TV Land Brings Back I Love Lucy in June 2012; Good Morning America's TV Reunion Blowout: One Day at a Time, Laverne & Shirley, and More - SitcomsOnline.com News Blog". Blog.sitcomsonline.com.
2. Bibel, Sara. (December 13, 2012). "'The Soul Man' & 'The Exes' Renewed by TV Land". TV by the Numbers.
3. [http://www.locatetv.com/listings/tv-land#19-Jun-2013 TV Land June 19, 2013 Schedule] {{webarchive. link. (October 2, 2013 locatetv.com, retrieved June 14, 2013)
4. Kondolojy, Amanda. (December 4, 2013). "'The Soul Man' Renewed for Third Season by TV Land". TV by the Numbers.
5. [https://deadline.com/2014/01/hot-in-cleveland-live-episode-the-soul-man-animated-670375/ TV Land’s ‘Hot In Cleveland’ & ‘The Soul Man’ Starting New Seasons With Live Episodes] deadline.com on 23 January 2014.
6. "TV Land Renews The Soul Man". Seat42F.
7. (17 March 2015). "Sherri Shepherd Returns to 'The Soul Man,' Applauds Diversity Increase on TV". eurweb.com.
8. Andreeva, Nellie. (2015-07-28). "'The Soul Man' Picked Up For Fifth & Final Season By TV Land".
9. (March 12, 2016). "The Soul Man season 5 to premiere on March 30, 2016". when-will.net.
10. "Soul Man Wesley Jonathan Talks Race and Network Politics". The Burton Wire.
11. [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Soul-Man-Season-1-Press-Release/19992 Press Release for Next Week's Shout! DVD for 'The Complete 1st Season'] {{webarchive. link. (2014-08-10)
12. [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Soul-Man-Season-2/20020 'The Complete 2nd Season' with Cedric the Entertainer and Niecy Nash] {{webarchive. link. (2014-07-14)
13. Hinckley, David. (April 18, 2011). "Cedric's so hot in Cleveland that he's got a spinoff before he's on the show". [[Daily News (New York).
14. "Hot in Cleveland: Episode Info - "Bridezelka"". MSN TV.
15. Maerz, Melissa. (April 18, 2011). "Cedric the Entertainer to develop 'Hot in Cleveland' spinoff". [[Los Angeles Times]].
16. (June 6, 2011). "TV Land July 2011 Highlights; MeTV Network Honors James Arnes". SitcomsOnline.com.
17. Andreeva, Nellie. (November 11, 2011). "Joel Gretsch, Gillian Vigman And Todd Stashwick Among Latest Cable Castings –".
18. Andreeva, Nellie. (November 1, 2011). "Niecy Nash To Star In TV Land's Cedric Pilot, Summer Glau Joins TNT's 'Scent'".
19. "Official: TV Land Picks Up "Have Faith" Starring Cedric "The Entertainer"; Renews Hot in Cleveland - Ratings". Zap2it.
20. "TV Land Changes Cedric Sitcom Name To The Soul Man, Schedules Retired at 35; Just My Show Talks To Bill Kirchenbauer About Kirk Cameron's Comments". SitcomsOnline.com.
21. (May 24, 2012). "Breaking News - Anthony Anderson, Tamar Braxton, Trina Braxton, Kim Coles, Robert Forster and Sherri Shepherd to Guest Star on TV Land's "The Soul Man"". TheFutonCritic.com.
22. [https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-soul-man The Soul Man: Season 1]