On April 21st,
The Boondocks will be returning to Adult Swim for their fourth season debut.
Fans of the show and comic strip have been waiting four years to sink their
teeth into what new adventures Huey, Riley and Grandad will be getting into.
The Boondocks is a comic strip that was later adapted into an animated series.
The creator, Aaron McGruder, wanted to create material that would touch on
various taboo subject matters and use satire and comedy to provoke thought
regarding social, cultural and political topics. McGruder and company have been
successful with that task gaining notoriety, awards and their share of
controversy.
Leading into
the season four premiere, it seems like The Boondocks is continuing it’s trend
of controversy. This time, it’s from within. Recently it has been revealed that
the show’s creator, Aaron
McGruder has had no involvement in the writing and production of season
four. This has come as a shock to longtime fans and have left them wondering if
the show’s tone will have a significant change. McGruder not only served as
Executive Producer and lead writer, but he also voices “young” Grandad during
flashback scenes.
In the past,
The Boondocks has ruffled feathers for their content. In season one’s episode Return of King played with the idea of
the late Dr. Martin Luther King and what his opinion of modern day
politics and race relations would be if he were still alive. Season two, took
some hard shots at the BET network with episodes like Hunger Strike and TheUncle Ruckus Reality Show. These episodes were banned from airing on Adult
Swim and were only made available on the season’s DVD set. The show’s casual
use of the n-word ruffles many feathers as well.
McGruder
released a statement giving fans some insight as to why he has no
involvement in this upcoming season. Included in this statement is a bit of
McGruder vagueness and humor that fans have grown to know and love. He also
teases that he is in fact working on a brand new Adult Swim show entitled Black
Jesus.
Does a creative work lose its integrity when the original creator
is no longer a part of the project? The challenge Adult Swim and The
Boondocks writers have now is how to keep the fan base that has stayed loyal
since its conception. The type of show that they produce takes years to write,
draw, voice and direct. Not many shows can withstand a four year hiatus and
come back with the success The Boondocks has been able to. The reason this show
is so successful is because the fans are not only loyal to the show, but the
show's creator. Fans have expressed concern that the show will be different
without McGruder. Personally, I think it's impossible for him to have NO
involvement in this show's production. I also think that McGruder's longtime
associate producers and writers Carl Jones and Rodney Barnes are more
than capable of maintaining the integrity of the show. However, I am
curious and will be watching with a more critical and skeptical eye. My
assumption is super fans of this show will be doing the same.
The trailer for the first episode doesn’t give too much details on
the content of the entire season. So we will have to watch, wait and see.
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