Black Twitter Is Not Done Shaming Netflix’s Animated ‘Good Times’ Reboot

There’s been no shortage of controversy surrounding Netflix’s animated “Good Times: Black Again” reboot. The trailer was met with a decidedly negative reaction from Black Twitter. People took issue with the offensive stereotypes portrayed in the first footage. Original series stars John Amos and BernNadette Stanis noted that it would be hard for any show to match the cultural impact of the classic comedy.

With all 10 episodes hitting the streaming service on April 12, viewers finally got a look at the full vision of the reboot and it seems like many opinions haven’t changed. In fact, they might be worse.

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Journalist Candice Frederick wrote on X that the show “feels like it resulted from an AI search of ‘stereotypical Black shit.’ I could only get through two episodes — time I can never get back.”

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Viewers seem particularly offended by the Evans family’s youngest child, drug-dealing baby Dalvin.

One user noted that his portrayal is especially egregious, as he represents the original Evans’ youngest son, posting on X, “I just realized the drug dealing baby on that new ‘Good Times’ monstrosity is supposed to be Michael. Michael of all people. The pro black militant, smart, headstrong, died for his beliefs and his community Michael Evans???”

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Another person commented on how Dalvin’s presentation is just inappropriate, writing on X, “Yo that #GoodTimes cartoon is f****n awful. There are ways to lean into our more innocuous stereotypes and still be funny, but a f****n baby doing a bump of baby formula and starting to tweak is not one of those things.”

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A huge point of contention is that the series uses the name “Good Times” but doesn’t honor the spirit of the original series, with one person writing on X, “I’m back but the original #GoodTimes was about a poor Black family fighting against the statistics. They were keeping their family and their morals intact despite their environment. This goes so far against that that they really should have called it literally anything else.”

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One of the rare pieces of good news to come out of this show is fan favorite Tisha Campbell as Delphine. One user expressed their excitement about the legend’s appearance, writing on X, “@TishaCampbell playing Delphine wasn’t what I thought I needed. But this scene right here between her and Beverly played by @YNB had me hollering.”

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Series star Yvette Nicole Brown, who voices matriarch Beverly Evans, has relentlessly defended the show since the backlash began. She’s maintained that once audiences viewed all 10 episodes, they would understand what the creative team was going for with the reboot.

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“Folks are taking the FULL ride and enjoying it. #GoodTimes indeed,” Brown wrote on X. “Those who watch all TEN episodes are realizing that we are coming for the SYSTEMS, not US. #TheMoreYouKnow”

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Here’s the thing: As awful as this show looks, Netflix is getting what it wants with all this discourse. People are talking about the reboot, and some of them will watch it out of curiosity. As the old show business saying goes, “It doesn’t matter what they’re saying, as long as they’re spelling your name right.”

If you’re one of those curious people who wants to check out the animated reboot, “Good Times” is now available on Netflix.