Left to Right: Lamman Rucker (“Greenleaf”, “Why Did I Get Married”) as Mr. Arnold, Rapper Antonio “Big Daddy Kane” Hardy (Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, Dead Heist) as Owen, Onye Eme-Akwari (“Queen of the South”) as Marshall,Blue Kimble (“Monogamy,” “Ruthless”) as Chauncey, and Carlo Mendez (“90210,” “Parks and Recreation”) as Hosea.
A critical topic brought to television: Bad Dad Rehab: Next Session Premieres this Sunday at 8P/7C
Keondra McNight talked about the script that she pitched to TV One in a recent press conference, which is a follow up from the original movie, Bad Dad Rehab. McKnight said the story came out of a place of frustration from her experiences as a single mom, “I wind up telling multiple stories of that, but I didn’t want to do any male bashing, so I wanted to get to the heart of why we have these issues in the black community, and people of color in general; so that was the impetus for it, but it was all love from the beginning, and the first one did very well, and the guys knocked it out of the park,”
Keondra McNight used social media as a reference for telling a multi-layered story based off the accounts of hundreds of women, who had bad experiences with their kids’ fathers in order to address the issues.
“The response from the people is what really amazed me, because the people, they were so moved by everything,” she says. “They had so many stories. There was so much emotional weight that was lifted, and that just felt good as a writer, to really touch people, to really have an effect on how they talk to each other, how they bond with each other, forgiveness, and all those great things so Bad Dad Rehab, for me, has become like a movement, and it’s become something that’s used as a healing tool for us, and really, is my love letter to fathers because we need y’all. We need every single of one of y’all in our lives. We need your involvement. We need your input, and we need your presence so, Bad Dad Rehab to me has become much more than a movie. It’s a cultural timestamp of where we need to come together.”
When McKnight approached TV One with the sequel to Bad Dad Rehab, they were kind and generous because the original story resonated. She says that this movie will do as well as the first because of the new actors, that brought raw stories to life. “It’s going to touch people. It’s going to reach people, and it’s going to spread love.”
The writer agreed that she received mixed reviews but manly great praises with the first story, because viewers thought she was male bashing, and that certainly isn’t the case.
Bad Dad Rehab isn’t a modest reproach. It’s blatant and in your face narration, discussing things that women really talk about daily when dealing with their child’s father, whether it’s a man/role model inside the home or outside. It’s a call to action, where several characters attend therapy in a boot-camp setting, to address their poor parenting choices, that made them bad dads in the first place. The story also shows the upside when you attach therapy to the predicament, and making it okay to seek help, getting to the root of the problem, while igniting a positive and healthier outcome for that situation.
We as a black culture, we decide that counseling is letting folks into our business, who have no right to offer an opinion about our lifestyles, depending on how we (many of us) were raised. But counseling isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the story points out. It hammers down on the what if factor, the what if we did something differently this time around because maybe, we as parents aren’t always right.
Blue Kimble, who’s portraying Chauncey in the movie, says that he’s not a father yet. If he were, he wouldn’t make the questionable decisions that his character made.
“We tap in when we bring our characters to life. Just like, I said [previously], “Mrs. McKnight and the writers gave us that good ammunition to go with-- the script was amazing, but yeah… there were things that particularly, my character… I can’t speak for everyone else; I would assume so as well—just some of the things that I felt I wouldn’t do as a father,” he says when asked if he were frustrated with his character while filming. “Like I said, there is still things you need to bring into reality that would let other people relate to the situation so, yeah, it’s a thing you know? Neglecting the child and putting things before him that my character was doing, those are some of the things I felt like I wouldn’t be able to do it once I do have children, because I haven’t crossed that line yet, which is also another big conversation that we were having amongst ourselves when we were filming and whatnot; and Lammon Rucker’s character playing the therapist, that was a big thing."
‘We’re showing that it’s okay for men to receive therapy, you know what I mean, within our culture, the African American culture, going to therapy is frowned upon. So, that and amongst men, so putting light on that, it’s okay to have feelings and talk about your emotions, and what’s really going on, that it’s going to help you grow. That was a really big thing for my character, and he had to come out of that which you’ll be able to see brought to light when y’all see the movie.”
TV One's highly anticipated film, BAD DAD REHAB: THE NEXT SESSION, premieres this Sunday, June 20 at 8 P.M. ET/7C. Building off of the success of the franchise's first production, Bad Dad Rehab, The film features a brand-new cast that includes legendary rapper Antonio “Big Daddy Kane” Hardy (Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, Dead Heist) as Owen, Lamman Rucker (“Greenleaf”, “Why Did I Get Married”) as Mr. Arnold, Blue Kimble (“Monogamy,” “Ruthless”) as Chauncey, Onyekwere Eme-Akwari (“Queen of the South”) as Marshall, Carlo Mendez (“90210,” “Parks and Recreation”) as Hosea, Chrystale Wilson (“The Rich and the Ruthless”) as Marjory.
BAD DAD REHAB: THE NEXT SESSION follows the new class of Bad Dads hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey who must confront their personal demons affecting their ability to become better dads. The plight of the casts takes the viewers through a host of different experiences that resonate with many families. From befriending children rather than disciplining them to repairing an estranged father-daughter relationship, BAD DAD REHAB: THE NEXT SESSION gives a humorous yet relatable lens into this popular narrative.
Bad Dad Rehab: The Next Session is written by Keronda McKnight, directed by Juwan Lee with casting by George Pierre. The film is produced for TV One by Swirl Films with Eric Tomosunas, Keith Neal, Ron Robinson and James Sepplefrick serving as Executive Producers. For TV One, Jason Ryan is the Executive Producer in Charge of Production, Donyell McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting and Robyn Greene Arrington is Vice President of Original Programming and Production.
For more information about TV One's upcoming programming, including original movies, visit the network's companion website at www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hashtag #BADDADREHAB.