By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, February 8, 2016
During a shoot in a cute Inman Park home for TV One's new show "Here We Go Again," Wendy Raquel Robinson's character Loretta is a pistol - gleefully getting in her daughter Maddy's face about a date she's about to have.
"My love life is a personal matter," protests Maddy, played by LeToya Luckett.
"Who said anything about love?" Loretta exclaims. "I'm talking about sex! You can tell mommy all about it! Is it going to be at your place or his?"
After about five takes, a light goes out and has to be replaced. To kill time, a pumped up Robinson does modified push ups, then gets up to sip what is presumably orange juice from a wine glass.
The show debuts Tuesday, February 9 at 8 p.m.
In the comedy, Robinson plays a successful real estate agent who wants to stay young and acts it, too. Both Loretta and the more uptight Maddy had children at age 16. Maddy's own fun-loving daughter Shante (newcomer Kyndall Ferguson) is about to turn 16 and Maddy is paranoid Shante will follow in their footsteps.
But in a twist, Maddy in the opening episode (which aired in preview form after the NAACP Image Awards last Friday) hooks up with her ex, Shante's dad and gets pregnant. In story-telling land, that's irony.
Robinson is thrilled to find a new character that channels her wacky energy but is fundamentally different from Tasha Mack on "The Game."
"I feel like God dropped this down," said Robinson, about the role coming after "The Game" ended its nine-season run last year. "Everything worked itself out. We were thrust into this situation! Everything just flowed right after another. It was kismet!"
Robinson loved the fact she was able to close out "The Game" properlyl and give Tasha closure. "We got to wrap it up in a wonderful bow," she said. "It opened up the door to enter some fresh shoes. I want to develop someone totally different. She's educated. She's a realtor, a whole different world. She's more sexually liberated."
Maddy is a 32-year-old lawyer who overcame the challenges of being an over-protective single mom.
"The thing I love about the show is it's a different story line I haven't seen before," said Luckett, who was an original member of Destiny's Child. "It's not judging teenage pregnancy. This shows that no matter your circumstances, you can move forward and fulfill your dreams. Maddy didn't let her pregnancy stop her from being who she wanted to be. She beat the odds."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Luckett said playing the more buttoned-up character can be a challenge in a comedy. "I try to keep my cool while not missing my beats," she said. "I rely more on dry, sarcastic wit to get laughs."
The show's upbeat spirit is a complement to another Atlanta-based show "Born Again Virgin," which returns for its second season at 8:30 p.m. right after the official debut of "Here We Go Again" at 8 p.m.
Both Robinson and Luckett are no strangers to Atlanta. Robinson spent several seasons in Atlanta shooting "The Game." Luckett owned a home here for 14 years and shot VH1's "Single Ladies" here for one season in 2013. (Centric picked up season four of "Single Ladies," moved production to Toronto, then cancelled it.)
For TV One, which is now run by former Atlanta-based Turner and Up! executive Brad Siegel, this show is a continuation of an effort to draw more black women to the network. It just launched a new brand identity: "Represent."
TV PREVIEW
"Here We Go Again," 8 p.m. Tuesdays, starting Feb. 9, 2016, TV One
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