Are We There Yet? (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series takes place in a continuity different from the films Are We There Yet? and Are We Done Yet?, focusing on the blended Kingston-Persons family of Portland, Oregon. Nick Persons (Terry Crews) and Suzanne Kingston-Persons (Essence Atkins) have been married for six months; Nick, a former athlete, has sold his sports-memorabilia shop and works in information technology. He struggles to bond with Suzanne's children: Lindsey (Teala Dunn), a teen attached to her cellphone, and Kevin (Coy Stewart), a tech-savvy boy with asthma. The kids' father, Frank Kingston (Charlie Murphy), is Suzanne's ex-husband with a new family. Nick's mother, Marilyn (Telma Hopkins), disapproves of the marriage and her new role as grandmother. Suzanne's brother Terrence (Ice Cube), a former military man who works as a security consultant, periodically checks in to ensure Nick treats Suzanne well.

Reader's Guide

Are We There Yet? (TV series) is significant as the third installment of the Are We There Yet? franchise, adapting the film's characters into a sitcom format with a recast main cast—only Ice Cube returns from the films, in a recurring role. The show draws humor from everyday family situations, similar to the sequel Are We Done Yet? rather than the original film. Produced on a schedule allowing three episodes per week, it was filmed at the Connecticut Film Center in Stamford and distributed by Debmar-Mercury. The series ended after three seasons on March 1, 2013, and remains a notable example of a film-to-television spin-off with a blended-family premise.

Did You Know?

• Terry Crews replaced Ice Cube as Nick Persons in the series.
• The only cast member from the films to appear is Ice Cube, who plays Terrence, Suzanne's brother.
• TBS greenlit the series in June 2009 for a 10-episode order with an option to extend to 90 episodes.

The Blended Family at the Center

Set in Seattle, the series follows the Kingston-Persons household as it navigates the messy, humorous reality of a newly formed blended family. Nick Persons, a former athlete who has traded his sports-memorabilia shop for a desk job in information technology and sports commentary, has been married to Suzanne Kingston-Persons for just six months. Suzanne, a detail-oriented event planner with a creative streak and a playful wit, is still adjusting to her new husband while juggling her career and two children. Their stepchildren—fifteen-year-old Lindsey, who is perpetually glued to her phone and prefers hanging with friends over family time, and Kevin, a precocious soccer and tech enthusiast who suffers from asthma—bring their own brand of teenage and pre-teen chaos. The comedy springs almost entirely from the small, relatable frictions of daily domestic life: sibling blackmail, a mother-in-law who resents her new role, and a stepfather still searching for his footing. Though the show borrows its title and character names from the 2005 movie, it operates in its own separate continuity, telling a story closer in spirit to the sequel Are We Done Yet? than to the original.

A Fresh Cast for a Familiar Story

The television adaptation made a deliberate choice to recast nearly every principal role, swapping the film's original performers for a new ensemble. Terry Crews stepped into the shoes of Nick Persons, the character Ice Cube had played in the 2005 movie, bringing his own physical comedy and warm demeanor to the ex-athlete turned IT worker. Essence Atkins took over the role of Suzanne from Nia Long, infusing the event planner with a modern, career-driven energy and a childlike sense of humor. The two stepchildren also got new faces: Coy Stewart replaced Philip Daniel Bolden as the tech-obsessed, soccer-loving Kevin, while Teala Dunn assumed the role of the phone-dependent teenager Lindsey from Aleisha Allen. Christian Finnegan filled the lovable-rogue slot of Martin, the single best friend who runs a sports-themed bar and restaurant, replacing Jay Mohr. Even the estranged father Frank Kingston received a new actor in Charlie Murphy, who replaced Sean Millington. This wholesale recasting allowed the writers to reimagine the family dynamics from the ground up while keeping the recognizable names and basic relationships intact.

Franchise Position and Production

Are We There Yet? the television series occupies a unique spot as the third and final entry in the franchise that began with the 2005 feature film. Airing on TBS from June 2, 2010, through March 1, 2013, the sitcom ran for three seasons before concluding its run. The production team included a heavyweight slate of executive producers: Ice Cube, who had originated the Nick character on screen, alongside Ali LeRoi, Matt Alvarez, Vince Totino, and Joe Roth. Although the show shares its title and core character names with the original movie, the writers positioned the narrative in an entirely separate continuity, meaning events from either the 2005 film or its sequel Are We Done Yet? do not carry over. In terms of tone and storyline, the series leans more closely toward the sequel's premise than the original's. The show's three-season arc on a cable network gave it a slightly different creative latitude than a network broadcast sitcom, allowing the family comedy to explore its blended-family premise with a consistent, character-driven approach across its run.

Supporting Characters and Running Gags

Beyond the core family, the show populated its world with a colorful orbit of recurring and supporting characters who drove much of the humor. Ice Cube returned to the franchise in a new capacity as Terrence, Suzanne's secretive Black Ops brother, who periodically materializes to remind Nick to treat his sister right—sometimes with veiled threats. His signature bit involves pointing at something, asking "What's that?" and vanishing before the person can look back, punctuated by a door slamming shut. Martin, Nick's best friend and owner of a sports-themed bar called Martin, serves as a lovable single guy navigating dating and occasionally mediating between Nick and Suzanne. Gigi, Suzanne's assistant and closest friend, is the party-loving voice of reason who talks Suzanne out of blaming Nick. On the kids' side, Troy, Kevin's sharp-witted best friend with a deep appreciation for African American culture, and Kelly, Lindsey's best friend, round out the young social circles. Frank, the estranged biological father, makes recurring attempts to reconnect with his children despite the family's lingering distrust.

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