The Boondocks Season 5: Why It Isn’t Happening

The Boondocks fans were devastated to learn that Max (previously HBO Max) ultimately decided not to move forward with its reboot of the beloved animated series. While the streamer announced in 2019 its plans for a two-season, 24-episode order of the satire series from creator Aaron McGruder and Sony Pictures Animation, slated for fall 2020, the show never manifested at all. 

The HBO Max series reportedly would have followed up on “the adventures of self-proclaimed ‘Civil Rights Legend’ Robert ‘Granddad’ Freeman, and his two rambunctious grandsons Huey and Riley,” according to the official description. “The family has recently moved to an idyllic community in suburban Maryland only to see it taken over by the tyrannical Uncle Ruckus and his bizarre neo-fascist regime. Life under Ruckus turns out to be an everyday struggle to survive.” 

In 2022, when Deadline reported that HBO Max would not be moving forward with the project, sources said Sony was evaluating other options for the project, but nothing has been announced or reported as of the end of 2023. The Boondocks revival was first confirmed by Sony Pictures Animation in June 2019, with HBO Max coming forward as the series’ home soon after. The original show, based on a comic strip by McGruder, aired on Adult Swim from 2005 to 2014. McGruder, who earned a Peabody Award for his work on The Boondocks, was planned to return as showrunner and executive producer alongside Norm Aladjem for Mainstay Entertainment as well as Seung Kim and Meghann Collins Robertson.

The Boondocks voice actor Cedric Yarbrough, who played Tom DuBois in the original series, broke the news of the reboot’s demise on the Geekset Podcast in February 2022. “I hate to say this…right now the show is not coming back. We’ve been wanting to do the show and Sony and its…they decided they’re going to pull the plug,” he said on the podcast. “Hopefully one day we’ll be able to revisit it…I wish the show was coming back.” The original voice cast also included Regina King, John Witherspoon, Gary Anthony Williams and Jill Talley.