Funny is coming full-throttle to TV One on April 4.
The husband-and-wife team of David and Tamela Mann have a new show that features their family and a lot of hilarious, yet real-life, shenanigans.
“I won’t be the only father out there that deal with his daughter’s dating and who goes off a little,” said David Mann, 50.
Mann’s co-star and wife of nearly 30 years, Tamela Mann, said she and her husband are best friends and the comedy their fans have witnessed over the years doesn’t just happen on screen.
“We both support each other 100 percent, we’re best friends besides being lovers,” said Tamela Mann, 50. “You tell your best friend everything and it flows for us and we do have issues like everyone else but we just handle them without cutting each other’s throats and going for the gusto.”
The Manns, along with daughters Porcia and Tia, joined executive producer Roger Bobb and TV One’s director of original programming and production, Lamar Chase, on a media conference call Tuesday to discuss the new show, “The Manns,” which premieres in the Tuesday 8 p.m. time slot.
“For the network, what an addition this is and we’re super excited to have the Mann’s part of our family and what their family represents,” Chase said. “This show is really strong on funny moments and then there are the relatable moments that our viewers will grab hold on. We’re just really happy to have them as part of the family and the viewers are in store for a lot because I literally laugh out loud each time.”
The relationship with the Manns go way back to “Meet the Browns,” Bobb said, noting the authenticity of the new show.
“We’re doing a sitcom but the funniest stuff happens when the cameras are not rolling, so we have to show who the Manns really are and not David playing Tamela’s father,” he said about the Tyler Perry films that featured the couple.
The network has billed the one-hour show, which they call a docu-series that features the Manns and their children, as a new chapter for the family that gives viewers a glimpse into drama, intrigue, faith and laughter.
The show also promises to delve into some traditional and controversial family matters like dating and facing fears. It not only features the David and Tamela Mann, but their four grown children, eight grandchildren and their friends and others.
Tamela Mann said there’s always a debate, competition and simply something going on in the Mann household.
“And we’re always eating,” David Mann said.
A contemporary gospel singer, Tamela Mann, sang as a child in her church choir. Her professional singing career began in the 1990s, when she joined Kirk Franklin & the Family’s gospel organization, eventually spotlighted on several tracks, according to a Billboard Magazine biography.
The experience led to an acting career, as well as successful solo recordings acknowledged through numerous Dove, Stellar and Grammy award nominations. After she left Franklin’s organization, Mann’s acting career began with a role in David E. Talbert’s gospel musical “He Say, She Say, But What Does God Say?”
She moved on to play the character of Cora Simmons in several Tyler Perry stage, film, and television projects, including “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “Meet the Browns,” which developed into a television series that featured her and her husband.
With awards for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series, David Mann has starred in plays such “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” “Madea’s Family Reunion” and many more. He’s also a gospel singer and standup comedian.
“As usual, you can expect the unexpected with this show,” David Mann said. “There’s a bunch of craziness, some hilarious stuff happening this season. One of the episodes, we face our fears and let’s just say that everybody didn’t do too good … mainly meaning Tam.”
To which his witty wife shot back, “You mean, you.”
“As we present our whole family, we’ve been having a fantastic time putting it together,” Tamela Mann said. “We take everything a step higher,” she said.
Finally, David Mann promised, “some in the family are jokers but as you get deeper into the season there are moments that’ll have you crying and there are moments that will have you crying laughing.”
“There’s always some type of competition in the Manns’ household,” he said. “We can make a competition out of anything and this season you’ll see things that turn out to be competition that shouldn’t be competition.”
“The Manns” premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 on TV One.
