Malcolm & Eddie (1996-2000) – TV Review

TV Review • Malcolm & Eddie was part of the UPN Monday lineup that we all grew up watching. It was one of the many black shows that made UPN what it was in the 90’s. Eddie Sherman & Malcom McGee were the true definition of day & night when it came to personalities. Malcolm was the ladies man & Eddie was crazy & always doing impersonations with the acrobatics bringing the comedy.

For Malcolm – Jamal Warner & Eddie Griffin to have had such great chemistry on screen, the audience wouldn’t have known there was tension between the two according to Malcolm in an interview he did with Archive of American Television. Malcolm also felt the producers of the show were “pandering to black stereotypes.” He stuck it out in hopes to getting the show syndicated after it’s 100th episode but they were cancelled 12 episodes short of that goal. Well, I guess a reunion special will be out of the picture unless things have changed between the two.

The show had some very funny characters outside of Eddie. Tim was one of my favorites, a big guy with an even bigger heart. I love that his character was all about reading books & being very articulate. He was a big teddy bear that was all about peace…until you messed with his food. The jokes Eddie bounced off of him were always funny. Eddie’s theatric comedy really showed his true talent as a comedian. One of my favorite Eddie moments is the episode where he came out as Prince. It was 10x funnier because he had Prince’s mannerism down, all the way to the lip quiver. 

Karen White aka Nicolette was another favorite of mine. She loved Eddie from the moment she laid eyes on him. It took her awhile to wear him down but once she did, it was hard to keep it a secret. Even Eddie was shocked that after their one night together he actually started to feel something but he wanted to keep it under wraps. Once he saw Nicolette with someone else, that jealousy really kicked in. They were cute together, Nicolette kept Eddie on his toes so you never knew what she was going to say.

Although Malcolm & Eddie’s success was based around a lottery win, it was still good to see black men having successful businesses. Regardless that they aren’t brought up when it comes to 90’s shows that often, I consider them one of the first shows that catapulted the black audience for UPN. We all know UPN would not have been what it was without the contribution from their black sitcoms.