The Boondocks reboot scrapped at HBO Max as producers contemplate next steps

HBO Max's reboot of the irreverent animated series The Boondocks, which was announced in 2019 with a planned two seasons and a TV special, is no longer moving forward at the streamer.

Sony Pictures Television, which was to produce the new series, is currently discussing next steps, sources tell EW. Geekset Podcast host Young Deuces first broke the news in an interview with original Boondocks actor Cedric Yarbrough.

Based on Aaron McGruder's satirical comic strip, The Boondocks centers on a Black family — self-proclaimed "civil rights legend" Robert "Granddad" Freeman and his two rambunctious grandsons, Huey and Riley — adjusting to life in the predominantly white suburb of Woodcrest. The comic first came to the small screen in 2005, and the revival was billed as a "complete re-imagining" for "the modern era."

The new story would have seen the Freemans clashing with the tyrannical Uncle Ruckus and his neofascist regime. McGruder, an executive producer on three of the original show's four seasons, was announced as part of the creative team for the reboot.

It was not immediately clear why HBO Max scrapped the reboot, a project that had some ups and downs.

The new series previously drew criticism online after statements from J.D. Witherspoon, a voice actor and the son of John Witherspoon, who voiced Granddad on the original Boondocks. (Regina King voiced Huey and Riley.)

J.D. said in a pair of YouTube videos that the reboot was planning to use deepfake technology to replicate his father's voice rather than hire a new actor. (John died shortly after the reboot was announced.) J.D., who does a solid impression of his father, also said he auditioned to voice Granddad on the reboot but was ultimately passed over.

Yarbrough, who voiced Tom Dubois and various other characters on The Boondocks, told the Geekset podcast that the revival had been axed. "Maybe one day we'll be able to revisit it, but if we don't, then that's what that is," he said. "I wish the show is coming back."

The original Boondocks series is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

Related content:

• HBO Max has already picked up The Boondocks reboot for two seasons and a special
• The Boondocks reboot in the works with original series creator