The Parent 'Hood is a sitcom that aired on The WB from 1995 to 1999.
The show centers around the Petersons, a middle-class black family living in Harlem. Robert (Robert Townsend), the father, is a college professor, while his wife Jerri (Suzzanne Douglas) is a law student. Together, they raise their four children; teenagers Michael (Kenny Blank) and Zaria (Reagan Gomez-Preston), elementary school-aged Nicholas (Curtis Williams), and toddler Cece (Ashli Adams). Also part of the cast was Robert's friend Wendell (Faizon Love). In the final season, the Petersons take in a troubled youth named T.K. (Tyrone Burton).
Not to be confused with Parenthood.
Tropes:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Each of the Peterson children have had their turn with this.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: In "To Kiss or Not to Kiss", Nicholas pretends to be a bad boy when his crush (played by Kyla Pratt) said that he wasn't her type and she likes "roughnecks". In the end, she likes Nicholas for who he is.
- Annoying Younger Sibling:
- Nicholas and Cece are this for Michael and Zaria.
- Robert's brother Kelly is this for him.
- Black and Nerdy: Zaria's classmate, Gordon, is the resident nerd of the show.
- Big Applesauce: The series takes place in Harlem.
- Breakout Character: Nicholas Peterson as his actor was known as one of the biggest child stars at the time.
- Celebrity Star: Many African American celebrities guest starred as themselves.
- Christmas Episode: "The Man Who Canceled Christmas" from Season 2. Robert cancels Christmas because of the kids' greedy attitudes. That night, the kids are visited by elves that resemble Robert and Wendell and get lessons about their greedy desires.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Several characters disappear without explanation during the show's run, including Wendell's mother and, in the final season, Wendell himself. Even Michael disappears in the final season, with a throwaway line that he was attending college.
- Drop-In Character: Wendell, to the extent that Nicholas once claimed that Wendell spent more time at his house then he did.
- Double Standard: Michael is given permission to attend a basketball game, but Zaria is denied a chance to go to a concert. Robert and Jerri realized that they were wrong and allow Zaria to go to the concert, but they follow her.
- Ghost Story: The Taxi Man story in, well, "The Taxi Man". As Wendell explains, a stockbroker was trying in vain to hail a cab, but they wouldn't stop because he was black. Frustrated, the guy jumped in front of a cab, shouting "taxi" three times. Killed in the collision, he comes back as a ghost and will take anyone who says "Taxi Man" three times out for a horrifying ride. While Nicholas is scared to hear this, Robert questions why he's not just going after cab drivers, to which Wendell says the guy isn't thinking straight after his messy death.
- Halloween Episode: "The Taxi Man" from Season 2. Nicholas is scared by the eponymous Ghost Story, so Robert and a just as scared Wendell try to help him. Sick of constantly being pranked, Zaria tries to put a scare into Michael. Jerri struggles to make Cece a costume for trick-or-treating.
- Happily Married: Robert and Jerri are this.
- Imagine Spot: Robert has them Once an Episode.
- Mistaken for Murderer: Kelly thinks the next door neighbor is a murderer.
- Mistaken for Pregnant: In the episode where the kids think Jerri's pregnant.
- N-Word Privileges: One Very Special Episode is essentially an Author Tract about how one shouldn't have this.
- Only Known by Initials: T.K. is only referred to his initials. The only exception is his first episode appearance where he's known as Thomas Kevin Anderson in a courtroom appearance.
- Replacement Goldfish: At first, Robert accuses Jerri of using T.K. as this since Michael left for college.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Michael and Zaria's best friend had this type of relationship.
- Stop Being Stereotypical: In "I'm Otay, You're Otay", Nicholas is given an assignment to portray a notable black figure for Black History Month. Instead of picking someone like Martin Luther King Jr. or Thurgood Marshall, he chooses Buckwheat from The Little Rascals. Robert and Jerri are shocked by this and spend much of the episode trying to make Nick choose someone less offensive. They stop after Nicholas explains that even though Buckwheat's now considered a caricature, he still likes him. Furthermore, in both his presentation and the end credits, it's explained that Buckwheat, among other characters, did help open the door for future black performers.
- Take That!: In one episode, a Straw Loser calling a late night radio show Michael hosts as a part time job (explicitly said to have no listeners) asks if they saw Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that week.
- Teen Pregnancy:
- One of Zaria's friends is denied a full scholarship to college because she has a child.
- In "One Man and a Baby", Michael dates a teen mother.
- Thanksgiving Episode: "The Parade-y Bunch" from Season 3. The family and Wendell set up a spot downtown to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade before getting to dinner later on. Robert and Wendell get conned by card sharks and pick-pocketed; worse, they get arrested when Wendell tries to make his lost money back. Meanwhile, the rest of the family befriend a slightly disturbed but friendly homeless man named Jonathan.
- Troubled, but Cute: T.K. is a streetwise character whose had a rough life and his "bad boy" antics gotten him into trouble numerous times with the Petersons. At the same, he's popular with the ladies and is a good guy at heart behind his rough exterior.
- Very Special Episode: Several, including one about racism.
