Kenya Barris has a brand-new comedy headed straight for our headphones.
The creator of “Black-ish” is launching “Big Age,” a scripted audio comedy with Audible that takes a hilarious look at retirement life, starring a cast of instantly recognizable voices, including Jenifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Niecy Nash-Betts.
“Old people are some of the funniest, most unfiltered people I’ve ever met,” Barris told People magazine while discussing the project.
“We were excited to really lean into that audacity while also flipping the notion of what a retirement community looks like on its head, because that generation is out here living their best lives before it’s over,” he added.
“Big Age” follows the misadventures of recently retired couple Dot (Lewis) and Butch Watts (Cedric the Entertainer) as they begrudgingly settle into Sunset Gardens, a Florida-based senior community that, according to the show’s description, is “anything but relaxing.”
Once there, Dot and Butch find themselves surrounded by a cast of wildly eccentric neighbors who test both their patience—and their five-decade-long marriage. The lineup includes Ethel (Nash-Betts), Butch’s shamelessly flirtatious ex love, along with spiritually overzealous residents, meddling medication-obsessed couples, and the relentlessly competitive Stevenator.
Balancing over-the-top humor with moments of emotional depth, “Big Age” examines what it means to age boldly rather than quietly. At its heart, Barris says, the series is “a story about love, reinvention and second chances,” brought to life by characters who prove that getting older doesn’t mean pressing pause on life.
“Big Age” arrives on Feb. 5 on Audible and is currently available for pre-order.
