TV Land has handed a fourth-season renewal to comedy “The Soul Man,” starring Cedric The Entertainer and Niecy Nash – thanks to its robust African American viewership.
The order is for 12 episodes, matching the series’ freshman season after a 10-episode second cycle and an 8-episode third, reports Deadline.com.
The key to its renewal was the show’s strong showing among black viewers, notes Deadline. Despite a dip in Season 3, the “Hot In Cleveland” spinoff still has averaged a potent 3.19 rating among African-American Women 25-54 and a 2.65 rating with African-American Adults 25-54 in its first three seasons, a triple-digit gain over the channel’s prime average.
With the renewal of “Soul Man,” set to debut in 2015, the “Hot In Cleveland” franchise solidifies its position as TV Land’s cornerstone for original multi-camera sitcoms.
The series follows R&B superstar-turned-minister Reverend Boyce “The Voice” Ballentine (Cedric) after he relocated from Las Vegas to St. Louis with his wife Lolli (Nash). While learning to adjust to their new humble life, they have plenty of obstacles in their way, including Boyce’s brother Stamps (Jonathan), who only just moved out at the end of last season.
“Soul Man” is executive produced by Cedric and creator Suzanne Martin, along with Eric C. Rhone and Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills Prods. For the past two seasons, the series was executive produced and run by Ric Swartzlander. It is unclear if he will return.
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