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For seven seasons, Max Greenfield starred alongside Zooey Deschanel within the beloved comedy New Lady, serving up a scene-stealing efficiency because the self-proclaimed women’ man Schmidt. The fan-favorite collection ran from 2011 to 2018 and famously adopted a mismatched group of L.A. roommates as they tried to navigate life of their late 20s and early 30s, coping with highs and lows of their private {and professional} lives.

Greenfield continued his string of small-screen successes that very same yr when he started showing in The Neighborhood, a sitcom that options the extra abilities of Cedric the Entertainer, Beth Behrs, and Tichina Arnold. The sitcom follows a white Michigan household as they transfer right into a predominantly Black Los Angeles neighborhood, with amusing hijinks naturally ensuing. Greenfield’s chemistry with Cedric has helped the present turn into an underrated hit, and now could be the right likelihood for New Lady followers to binge-watch the entertaining comedy.

‘The Neighborhood’ Is a Enjoyable Fish-out-of-Water Sitcom

After flying excessive off the large reputation of New Lady, Max Greenfield set his sights on tackling yet one more hilarious collection by headlining the 2018 sitcom The Neighborhood. The Emmy-nominated star seems as Dave Johnson, often known as the “nicest man within the Midwest,” who, alongside along with his spouse Gemma (Beth Behrs) and son Grover, heads to working-class suburbia in Pasadena.

The Johnsons transfer in subsequent door to Calvin Butler (Cedric the Entertainer), an auto restore store proprietor who’s extraordinarily opinionated and cautious of any newcomers and believes Dave and his household will solely upset the tradition locally. Calvin’s gracious spouse Tina (Tichina Arnold) is way extra welcoming to the brand new couple, {and professional} battle negotiator Dave units out to win Calvin over in hopes of not solely turning into associates but additionally placing down everlasting roots.

Not solely has the sitcom turn into Greenfield’s second extraordinarily profitable comedy, nevertheless it additionally marked the TV return of Cedric the Entertainer, who had beforehand starred in reveals like The Soul Man for 5 seasons and The Final O.G. reverse Tracy Morgan. Greenfield had additionally memorably performed Leo D’Amato in Veronica Mars and appeared in Ugly Betty, Greek, and Elevating the Bar earlier than nabbing the position of Schmidt in New Lady in 2009, a career-defining character and efficiency that led to him venturing into extra sitcom territory with The Neighborhood.

Greenfield & Cedric Make Healthful TV Magic

Within the lighthearted sitcom, the pleasant chemistry between Greenfield and Cedric instantly hooked viewers as Dave earnestly got down to put on down Calvin and ingratiate himself along with his cussed neighbor, regardless of his entertaining objections. The Johnsons really feel like fish out of water after relocating from their small Midwest city to the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles, the place Gemma landed her dream job because the principal at a non-public college. The plucky couple stay undeterred relating to embracing their new environment and turning into associates with the Butlers.

Followers of Greenfield know all too effectively that the humorous man is understood for stealing the present along with his delightfully hilarious on-screen antics, and he greater than held his personal alongside comedic legend Cedric, with the duo making some critical TV magic. Although critics have been initially unimpressed by The Neighborhood and deemed the writing lackluster and the characters one-dimensional, audiences completely loved the easy-viewing sitcom and felt it was a good-natured comedy that provided a much-needed half-hour escape from actual life.

The collection at the moment holds a 74% Popcornmeter rating and a 6.7 IMDb ranking from customers, defying the primary season’s lowly 24% Rotten Tomatoes rating from critics and occurring to ship stable scores and turning into an underrated TV gem. The general fan consensus on the favored aggregator web site is that The Neighborhood expects nothing from its viewers and solely desires to maintain them entertained and laughing, with many praising the endearing camaraderie between the characters, who’re depicted as real looking, on a regular basis folks somebody may very well stumble upon on the road.

The Neighborhood has seven seasons below its belt and has been renewed for an eighth and last installment, which is slated to premiere through the 2025–26 tv season. The comedy was put by way of fairly the ringer behind the scenes, because it struggles to outlive each the 2023 writers’ strikes and COVID, in addition to artistic shake-ups with a revolving door of government producers. In an interview with Us Weekly in Could 2025, Greenfield expressed his gratitude for the sitcom incomes a correct final season, calling it “such an exquisite present” earlier than including:

“And the flexibility to say goodbye in the way in which that all of us wish to, it’s nice. So I am actually excited to have a enjoyable final season the place everyone is aware of what the destiny of the present is and have an excellent time with the people who I’ve already had such an excellent time with for the final seven-plus years.”

Stream The Neighborhood on Paramount+.