The PJs is an American adult stop motion-animated black sitcom created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore, and Steve Tompkins for Fox. Murphy also starred in the series, and it was produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer for Imagine Television, The Murphy Company, Will Vinton Studios, Touchstone Television in its first two seasons (thus marking the show as Disney's first adult animated series), and Warner Bros. Television in its third and final season. The original run of the series debuted on Fox on January 10, 1999. On January 12, the second episode aired in its regular Tuesday night time slot, following King of the Hill. The series was moved to The WB for its third season and the series ended on May 20, 2001. The series portrays life in an urban public housing project. The show's title is an abbreviation for "the projects", referring to the show's public housing highrise.
Contents
Production and release
43 episodes aired during the show's run of 2 years and 4 months. Each took over 2 months to produce, owing to the laborious stop-motion process.
While co-creator Eddie Murphy is credited as the voice of Thurgood Stubbs on every episode, actor Phil Morris says that in some episodes, he provided the voice of Thurgood; according to Morris, Murphy did not want to show up on some days to record the voice of Thurgood Stubbs, so the producers hired Morris to record Thurgood's lines, where he worked in a separate booth from the other actors, allowing the producers to replace Morris' recordings with Murphy's voice in case Murphy decided he wanted to record his dialogue.
After two seasons on Fox, the show moved to The WB in 2000. Its high budget and declining ratings led to its cancellation in 2001; the final 2 episodes remained unaired until 2003. The show aired in syndication for a time on Trio, Fuse, MTV2, and Adult Swim. As of 2020, the series is no longer syndicated by other television networks, but is occasionally shown on the ad-supported video on demand service Pluto TV, specifically on the service's Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud! Network and the entire series is available for viewing on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock.
The PJs won 3 Emmy Awards and one Annie Award during its run. Quincy Jones' son QD3, along with George Clinton, produced the theme music for the show.
Characters
Thurgood Orenthal Stubbs (also known as The Super or simply Super) (voiced by Eddie Murphy in most episodes, Phil Morris in later episodes, understudied by Mark Moseley) – The superintendent of the Hilton-Jacobs projects and the main protagonist. Although he means well, Thurgood is short-tempered, impatient, not very bright, and has a variety of health issues. He wears a white short-sleeved shirt, blue overalls, and brown shoes. He also has salt and pepper hair worn in a tall style akin to Don King. Thurgood originally had a black afro, but an accident on his wedding day transformed his hairstyle to its current state. Thurgood is terrified of black rats as revealed in "Fear of a Black Rat". Much of the show's humor is derived from Thurgood's unwillingness to repair the dilapidated projects or deal with the many frustrations of leading a community of the urban poor. Despite his laughably poor education, he is shown to be kind and a natural leader when the situation calls for it. His diet is another source of humor, as he prefers fried foods, red meat, and Forties, which is the likely cause of his big belly and other health issues he complains of such as angina. Thurgood throughout the series has used a variety of interjections in reference to African-American icons. Such interjections are "What on Eartha Kitt?", or "Mother Marion Barry!". Thurgood also makes a background appearance in The Simpsons episode "Missionary: Impossible" as a telethon volunteer along with characters of other Fox TV shows, as well as on a manhole cover in the Futurama episodes, "I Second That Emotion" and "The Luck of the Fryish". In response, The PJs episode "Cliffhangin' with Mr. Super" featured Futurama character Philip J. Fry on a missing person poster on a milk carton.
Muriel Stubbs (née Warren) (voiced by Loretta Devine) – Thurgood's loving wife and the show's voice of reason. She wears a pink sweatsuit with the word "Paris" on it (which she got on a trip to Paris with Don King) and pastel pink shoes. Muriel has a sister named Bebe Ho who is married to another tenant. Muriel and Bebe were likely raised in Alabama during the era of school desegregation, as evidenced by Muriel's having met her state's governor when she attended an all-white high school. However, Muriel attests that the only reason she got to meet the governor was because he was blocking the school door.
Florence Normandie Avery (Mrs. Avery) (voiced by Ja'net Dubois) – A grouchy senior citizen who bullies Thurgood throughout the series. She, like the other tenants, hates him with a passion because he never fixes her run-down apartment. A retired con artist, Mrs. Avery often tells random and inappropriate stories of her past as a grifter. She has numerous ailments and has had multiple strokes. Florence keeps a loaded shotgun with her named "Mrs. Jones", which she used to shoot Thurgood, the garbage man, the mailman, and a helicopter as well as using it as a general threat to get her way. It was later revealed she had not become impaired by the fall in the elevator shaft, but was lonely and seeking companionship.
Locations
Thurgood and Muriel's Apartment – A below street-level apartment near the front of the building.
Front of the Building and Courtyard – Most outdoor scenes take place here. Thurgood and Sanchez occasionally play chess at the table in the corner of the courtyard.
Boiler Room – The room where Thurgood comes to plan ideas or relax with a Forty and his collection of Jet magazines. It was briefly a beauty salon for Muriel and Bebe in "Weave's Have a Dream". In one episode, it also features a nuclear reactor that powers the projects.
The Roof – A variety of events and activities take place here, including the community garden (as seen in "Haiti Sings The Blues") and a gumbo cookoff in "Operation Gumbo Drop”.
Street Corner – This is where Thurgood usually meets Tarnell and gets the items he's after.
HUD Building – This is where Thurgood comes to get equipment for the building. The front sign features a number of cynical HUD "slogans" that change in each episode.
Porno Theater – An old dilapidated movie theater located near the Projects. Thurgood bought it with the intention to fix it up but accidentally bought a dirty movie on opening night.
Hilton Jacobs Penthouse – In season 1, episode 6, Thurgood discovers a penthouse in the building.
Home media
Lionsgate Home Entertainment (under license from Disney) has released all 3 seasons on DVD in Region 1.
Syndication
The series has aired reruns on Adult Swim, Fuse, MTV2, and TV One. Episodes are available on demand for streaming on several apps and websites in the United States including on the LOL! Network and Plex.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the show's first season holds an approval rating of 50% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.
