Are You A True Legend? Meet the Creator of Legends of Chamberlain Heights on Comedy Central
Oh my -- you're in for a treat SA readers. I had a chance to chat with Comedy Central's Legends of Chamberlain Heights creator Josiah Johnson. In addition to creating and writing for the show, Johnson also voices two of the three main characters of this animated sitcom -- take notice now, because his name may become household over the next few years. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram (@KingJosiah54), because he's funny as hell.
1. How did you come up with the idea for Legends?
The idea for Legends is based on Quinn and my experiences as benchwarmers on the UCLA basketball team in the early 2000s. Despite sitting on the end of the bench, we always made sure that we were the life of the party and strived to become Legends during our time on campus. One of the mottos that we lived by during our college basketball days is, "you don't have to be a star to shine." In college, we used the term "Legend" frequently to refer to our circle of friends, and it became a term of endearment amongst our crew. We joined forces with Mike Clements, Brad Ableson and Michael Starrbury to create the show, and decided to focus on high school basketball instead of college to make it more relatable to the demo we are trying to reach.
2. How would you describe the comedy for the show? What differentiates you from other animated shows?
The comedy for the show is no holds barred. We pride ourselves on giving no fucks and being equal opportunity offenders, whilst also taking a satirical approach to pop culture and things going on in the urban community. What differentiates Legends from other animated shows is that our show is geared towards the urban community and those that are wavy. One of the hashtags that we promote on our twitter account is #BlackAnimatedShowsMatter and we aim to follow in the footsteps of shows like Boondocks and Black Dynamite by using comedy to provide social commentary on a variety of issues.
3. What is your proudest moment about working on the show?
The proudest moment working on the show was getting a Season 2 pickup faster than any other show in the history of Comedy Central. To know that Comedy Central believes in our show and has that much faith in us, is an honor that we don't take lightly. As a result we continue to make our next move our best move and keep raising the bar and getting our flares out.
4. What is your favorite episode?
My favorite episode from Season 1 is "Tupaquia," which was written by executive producer Carl Jones (Boondocks, Black Dynamite) the episode is by far our most controversial of the season, featuring a stripper with a fat booty that just so happens to look like Tupac. We are all big Tupac fans on the show and we knew this episode would ruffle some feathers, but even diehard Pac fans can't deny that the episode was funnier than a mug.
5. When can we look forward to more Legends? And where can we follow you on social media?
More Legends is coming soon. We are currently finishing up Season 2 and waiting for Comedy Central to give us an official air date, but we are ready to take it to the concrete and start mashing for some more of these rations. I'm currently managing the Legends official Twitter and IG accounts @LegendsofCH, and if you can also follow me on Twitter and IG @KingJosiah54.
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Season 1 posted impressive numbers, stay tuned for more Season 2 Legends coming this fall.
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