Tahj Mowry confirmed a Smart Guy reboot is in early development.
"There’s been lots of Zoom meetings and talks about this, so we do have the ball rolling on it," Mowry told Entertainment Tonight. "It's just a matter of time and timing, but we do have the possible home for it. We do have a writer, and I feel like I came up with a really fresh take on how we can bring that back with the whole cast and something that is fresh and new. But also something that the diehard fans will still get that nostalgic aspect of it as well."
Created by Danny Kallis, Smart Guy centered on T.J. Henderson (Mowry), a 10-year old academic prodigy who jumps from the fourth grade to the tenth grade, attending high school with his overachieving sister Yvette (Essence Atkins), underachieving brother Marcus (Jason Weaver) and Marcus' BFF Mo (Omar Gooding). The sitcom aired on The WB for three seasons from 1997-1999 before airing on the Disney Channel in syndication. It was nominated for a handful of awards, with Mowry landing a nod for his performance at the 1999 NAACP Image Awards.
Mowry said the hope is "you will see the whole cast" in the Smart Guy reboot, including John Marshall Jones (For All Mankind) as T.J. and his siblings' widowed father Floyd. "But we're not at that stage yet where we're checking everyone's schedule. We're still in the pre-phases. So that will come. But if all goes according to plan, everyone will be in it."
According to Mowry, the Smart Guy reboot will find T.J. "just as he was in the original, a fish out of water. He was sort of exploring a new world for himself. You'll find him in that same situation, but somewhere else. So I'll just say that." He also teased that T.J. will be engaging in more adult activities, playfully adding "You'll be able to see him, maybe, have a tequila on the rocks."
In the meantime, Mowry is gearing up to make his directing debut based on an original screenplay he wrote. He described the project as a horror film that takes place in "the psychological, supernatural world. It's going to make you think... It's a blend of Get Out and Skeleton Key and that's all I'll say about that."
The original Smart Guy series is streaming on Disney+.
Source: Entertainment Tonight