Damon Wayans Jr. Wants Keenen’s Blessing to Do an ‘In Living Color’ Revival

Damon Wayans Jr. says that he’d have to get his uncle’s approval before helming a revival of the iconic sketch show In Living Color — I guess his dad’s more of an “ask for forgiveness, not permission” kind of patriarch.

Of all the iconic, influential, beloved and short-lived comedy shows of the 1990s, few have an IMDb page nearly as impressive as that of Keenen Ivory Wayans’ In Living Color. Previously unknown names like Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey and Jennifer Lopez found screen time on Saturday Night Live’s hipper, edgier and less homogeneously white little brother. And, of course, when Wayans got his big break, he brought his family with him.

During a recent appearance on CBS Mornings, New Girl star Damon Wayans Jr. was asked about his family’s first big hit, saying of the suggestion that he might lead a reboot of the show, “I would love that. Honestly, I think the world needs to laugh, like really hard.” Funny how nobody ever responds like that when anyone asks if there should be a Scary Movie 6.

According to Wayans Jr., he originally wanted to be an animator before opening a letter addressed to his father that he thought was sent to himself. When Wayans Jr. opened the parcel and saw a paycheck with a phone number next to the dollar sign, his entire trajectory suddenly changed. After that, Wayans Jr. decided to follow in his father’s footsteps — now he wants to copy his dad’s first big break, too.

“I would welcome it — with Keenen’s blessing, of course,” Wayans Jr. said of the possibility that he could head his generation’s installment of In Living Color. Wayans Jr. said of his uncle, father and sister, “I feel like they’ve (re)visited it a couple of times, but it never actually landed,” adding, “I think, if I were to take the helm, maybe (it would work).”

“It would have to be done right, and I feel like we would need the equivalents, we’d need, like the equivalent of Jim Carrey, Tommy Davidson, Jamie Foxx and David Alan Grier,” Wayans Jr. postulated. 

If he has any trouble filling out the the rest of his roster, he can always just do what his uncle did and hire his entire family.