Season Review: Lil Kev Season One

Kevin Hart has been pitching a Lil Kev animated series as far back as 2018 when he teamed up with Lionsgate for a pilot presentation for FOX. Seven years later, we get to finally see the fruits of that labor, but was it worth the wait? Read on to find out.

Right off the bat, Li Kev does feel like a series that could’ve fit right in with the likes of Family Guy and The Simpsons on FOX. Created from the mind of actor, stand-up comedian, and executive producer, Kevin Hart, “Lil Kev” is set in 1993 North Philadelphia. The adult animated series follows 12-year-old Kevin Hart, whose wild imagination and unshakable optimism constantly collide with his neighborhood’s harsh realities. At the same time, his no-nonsense mother Nancy(voiced by Wanda Sykes) juggles night shifts as an E.R. nurse while waging a one-woman war to keep Kev on track – no easy feat with his mischievous older brother Robert(Deon Cole) blazing all the wrong trails, his trainwreck father Henry’s (Gerald Johnson) outrageous attempts to win Nancy back, and his ex-con uncle Richard Jr.’s questionable life advice.

LIL KEV takes a humorous, satirical, and sometimes politically subversive approach to real-life issues going on in the Black community, with no subject off limits and a number of phenomenal guest stars like  Jamar Neighbors, Cree Summer, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams, Affion Crockett, Jess Hilarious and more to assist in helping bring the city to life.

Everyone in the cast is pretty damn solid with my MVP awards being handed out to Gerald Johnson, Wanda Sykes, Deon Cole, and Kevin Hart because everyone says it with their chest with in depth character growth and hilarious dialogue that fans of Kevin Hart’s comedy specials (specifically his earlier ones) are going to not only love but appreciate.

If you’re going to put together an animated sitcom like this, you get the best in the biz and there are a number of fantastic producers here that are doing what they can to bring this show to it’s creative peak. Matthew Claybrooks and Michael Price serve as both EPs and showrunners with the latter being a real “get” for the show because Mike not only is an Emmy-winning producer for The Simpsons but he co-created for five seasons F is For Family with Bill Burr, so right away you get a guy who has experience in working with one of the best stand-up comics in the world in helping bring his youth upbringing into an animated setting and that shows here. Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico also executive produce for ShadowMachine who led the animation for the series with Musa Booker as the supervising director and from an aesthetic point-of-view Lil Kev comes off quite a bit similar to the likes of other black-produced animated sitcoms that have been popping up as of late including Good Times: Black Again with grittier streets and a loving but strict household.

The series runs for 10 half-hour episodes and for a series that’s streaming I wouldn’t say there’s anything truly compelling in terms of storylines that keep you locked in for the series’ run but Lil Kev does feature a good amount of character growth for a lot of the principle cast including Lil Kev himself who sets up a potential second season on a cliffhanger.

Will the series get a second season? With as good of a cast and producers that we have as part of the series I truly hope so. The show is crass but with heart, Lil Kev navigates his rocky upbringing with humor, hustle, and is surrounded by unforgettable characters that eventually lead him to become the Kevin Hart we know today. But, with the lack of any promotional efforts from the cast, crew, and network I’m not seeing a lot of people rooting for this one to win which is sad because the series is more than solid and I’d like to see more.

LIL Kev is streaming on BET+ with all ten episodes now available.