Anthony Anderson Talks ‘Trippin’ With Mama Doris, ‘Kings of BBQ’, and Building Businesses With Friends & Family (VIDEO)
It’s been a long time since Anthony Anderson made his television debut on an episode of L.L. Cool J‘s In The House.
Since then, Anderson has become a Hollywood staple, with television credits ranging from Law & Order, The Shield, and black-ish, to films such as Life, Barbershop, and Hustle & Flow. He’s also become a boss behind the scenes, creating projects with E!, NBC, ABC, and A&E, to name a few.
When speaking with TV Insider, Anderson let us in on how he’s been able to coincide these opportunities to build businesses with his mother, Doris Hancox Bowman, and longtime friend and comedy legend Cedric The Entertainer.
“Me being in the position that I’m in, giving her the opportunity to co-host on game shows with me–we had a great game show called To Tell The Truth that was on for seven years–only showcased the relationship that my mother and I had,” he said, “and that spilled over into other aspects of the business.” He then explained how a fish out of water show with his mom, Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris, enticed E!.
Although they got them to pay for the trip and pay him and his mother to go to Europe, he said, “I think my mother enjoyed getting the check than she enjoyed traveling to these places for six weeks for free.”
It’s apparent where Anderson gets his business acumen.
The answer was simple when it came to creating a show for his and Cedric’s new AE Barbecue line.
“What better way than to see this idea through than to have a reality show about best friends starting a business,” he told TV Insider.
And although he’s partnering with A&E to inspire up-and-coming entrepreneurs, it is still a symbiotic relationship between himself, Ced, and the network.
“We’ve formed this partnership where it’s equal in what it means for the network and what it means for our business. It means great ratings for the network, but for our business, we’re driving people to AC Barbecue. It becomes an hour-long commercial for us for people to watch and get them invested. Not only in what we’re doing on the business side as entrepreneurs but the product that we’re releasing to the public. I couldn’t think of a better partnership and a better way to get a business off the grounds than to have an hour-long commercial every week on a network.”
Speaking of business, Anderson was also excited to talk about his second partnership with Charmin, this for their new toilet paper, which he dubs “square-ish,” a partnership we noted coincided with his ABC show black-ish and BBQ endeavors because, well, TP will matter after all that food!
Check out the interview in full in the video above.
Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris, Season 1, E!
Kings of Barbecue, Season 1, A&E
