Damon Wayans Jr. reveals how he convinced his dad to appear on Happy Together

Damon Wayanses, unite!

On Monday’s episode of Happy Together, Damon Wayans Jr.’s character, Jake, gets a visit from his dad — and thankfully when it came to casting, the star of the CBS sitcom knew a guy.

“I had my agent call his agent, and after some contentious negotiating, I made the personal call and went, ‘Hey, man, you’re my dad,’” Wayans Jr. jokes of his dad, Lethal Weapon star Damon Wayans, being cast in the role. “For some reason, people think my dad is funny and want to see him. And they’re like, ‘Let’s pull the old dad card and get him on a sitcom.’ It’s an easy reach.”

It’s also an easy fit. Not only are they father and son, but they’ve acted together numerous times, most recently on the younger Wayans’ previous comedy, Happy Endings.

“We have fun together,” he tells EW. “It’s like getting paid to hang out. Because in real life all we do is constantly try to make each other laugh. It’s pretty great to act with one of your best friends.”

The duo are also best friends on Happy Together, but when Mike (Wayans Sr.) comes to visit, Jake realizes that their relationship might not be what it seems. “The episode essentially is their relationship,” Wayans Jr. says. “My character doesn’t know that their relationship is pretty surface, and through a series of events he realizes that his dad is holding this big secret from him. It’s actually a great episode, because I know there are a lot of people out there, especially dudes, that live on the surface with their relationships, they don’t really talk to each other about deep things. So this like an exercise in opening up.”

Speaking of exercises, considering how often they’ve portrayed father and son, on screen and off, EW was curious about Wayans Jr.’s dad rankings. “Real dad is my favorite,” he reveals. “Then Jake and Mike, and then Brad and — I don’t know what my dad’s character’s name was on Happy Endings, so he’s third. Wow, I don’t remember my dad’s name [Laughs].”

Above, watch an exclusive clip of Jake and Mike discussing LeBron James leaving Cleveland for Los Angeles, which might be a tad related to Jake’s mom, a.k.a. LaMom, having left his dad.

Happy Together airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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