On Monday (21 / 04 / 14) after a four-year hiatus, The Boondocks returned to Adult Swim. Aaron McGruder, the creator of the cartoon series, announced weeks ago that he wasn’t involved in what will be the final season. Add to the fact that his name, including his “created by” and “executive producer” credits, were missing from the episode, and we can pretty much assume he wasn’t joking.
Season 4 opened with a “ripped from the headlines” ode to Chris Brown, with Michael B. Jordan as “Pretty Boy Flizzy,” a singer whose reputation includes robbery and beating up his girlfriend “Christianna” on stage at the Grammys. There was even a public apology thrown in for good measure: “I let my fans down. Without you, I wouldn’t even have an R&B girlfriend to beat.”
Similar to McGruder’s famous takes of R. Kelly’s sex trial and Tyler Perry gay rumors in two of the show’s most popular episodes (“ The Trial of R. Kelly” and “Pause”), “Pretty Boy Flizzy” is meant to create controversy and conversation.
In case you were wondering, Aaron McGruder released the following statement regarding his absence from 4th Season stating:
“As the world now knows, The Boondocks will be returning for a fourth season, but I will not be returning with it. I’d like to extend my gratitude to Sony and Adult Swim for three great seasons. I created The Boondocks two decades ago in college, did the daily comic for six years, and was showrunner on the animated series for the first three seasons. The Boondocks pretty much represents my life’s work to this point. Huey, Riley, and Granddad are not just property to me. They are my fictional blood relatives. Nothing is more painful than to leave them behind.
To quote a great white man,
“Hollywood is a business”.
And to quote another great white man, “Don’t hold grudges”.
What has never been lost on me is the enormous responsibility that came with The Boondocks – particularly the television show and it’s relatively young audience. It was important to offend, but equally important to offend for the right reasons. For three seasons I personally navigated this show through the minefields of controversy. It was not perfect. And it definitely was not quick. But it was always done with a keen sense of duty, history, culture, and love. Anything less would have been simply unacceptable. As for me, I’m finally putting a life of controversy and troublemaking behind me with my upcoming Adult Swim show, BLACK JESUS.
AM”
Is The New Season of Boondocks worth the wait? Check out the first episode below.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEASON 4 – EPISODE 1 OF BOONDOCKS