Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 1992, to August 30, 1997, starring Mark Curry and Holly Robinson. The show took place in Curry's hometown of Oakland, California.[2][3] The series chronicles Mark Cooper (Curry), an NBA player-turned-substitute teacher/gym coach (and later basketball coach), and his roommate (later girlfriend, then fiancée) Vanessa (Robinson).[4]

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
GenreSitcom
Created byJeff Franklin[1]
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme
  • "Hangin' with My Man", performed by Dawnn Lewis & Holly Robinson Peete with En Vogue (season 1)
  • "Soul Man", performed by Howard Hewett (season 2)
  • "Cooper, Cooper", performed by Sherwood Ball, Carmen Carter and Oren Waters (seasons 3–5)
Composers
  • Jesse Frederick & Bennett Salvay (season 1)
  • Steve Tyrell (season 2)
  • Gary Boren
  • Steven Chesne (seasons 3–5; alternating)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes101 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Jeff Franklin (season 1, eps. 1–3 & 10)
  • Danny Kallis (season 1, eps. 3–22)
  • Cheryl Gard (season 2)
  • William Bickley & Michael Warren (seasons 3–5)
  • Barry O'Brien & Cheryl Alu (season 4)
  • David Chambers (season 5)
Camera setupVideotape; Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 22, 1992 (1992-09-22) –
August 30, 1997 (1997-08-30)

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television, having been produced by Lorimar Television for the first season before being absorbed, and also became produced by Bickley-Warren Productions by the third season. The show originally aired on Tuesdays in prime time after sister series Full House, also created by Jeff Franklin and set in the San Francisco Bay Area. The show found its niche as an addition to the TGIF Friday night lineup on ABC, and was part of the lineup from September 1993 to May 1996 (spanning the show's second, third and fourth seasons before moving to Saturdays for its fifth and final season).

Cast

Main
  • Mark Cooper (Mark Curry) – (Season one stated) former Golden State Warriors Basketball player turned high school teacher and PE teacher for Oakbridge High School; later became interim head coach for the Oakbridge boys' basketball team, but was originally passed over for permanent coach after being offered the job by P.J. Moore in season 3; later begins dating (and then almost immediately engaged to) roommate Vanessa Russell by the end of season four, though there are hints in season one that he is interested in her
  • Vanessa Russell (Holly Robinson Peete) – Mark's roommate, who originally worked for the firm Toplyn and Toplyn, and then worked various odd jobs after quitting Toplyn, before settling on working as an Emergency Medical Technician (which she would later be laid off from), was the daughter of rich parents who later cut her off from her trust fund due to her extravagant spending; would later date Mark (after he successfully conspired to break up her latest relationship due to his jealousies over her boyfriend) and then be engaged to him by the end of season four
  • Robin Dumars (Dawnn Lewis) – Mark's best friend since childhood who comes up with the idea to have Mark move in with her and Vanessa in order to pay the rent; worked as a music teacher and often moonlighted as a tutor to neighborhood kids (Season 1)
  • Pamela Jane "P.J." Moore (Nell Carter) – Principal of Oakbridge High during seasons two and three, who was Mark's sister's best friend and his babysitter as a young kid; though it seemed to Mark that P.J. was tough on him, it was revealed later in season three that she was tough on him because she saw the potential in him to be a great teacher (Seasons 2–3)
  • Geneva Lee (Sandra Quarterman) – Mark's cousin from Georgia, who (with her daughter Nicole) moves in with Mark and Vanessa; seemed out of place in California in early episodes; worked as a music teacher and then principal at Oakbridge High (Seasons 2–5)
  • Nicole Lee (Raven-Symoné) – Mark's precocious preteen cousin, whom Mark thinks of as practically a daughter; develops a friendship with next-door neighbor Tyler Foster (Seasons 2–5)
  • Earvin Rodman (Omar Gooding) – One of Mark's students and player on the Oakbridge Penguins boys' basketball team; was not a stellar student, but managed to graduate high school; was briefly married to his high school sweetheart; worked as a security guard after graduating high school (Seasons 4–5; recurring Seasons 1–3)
  • Tyler Foster (Marquise Wilson) – Mark's next-door neighbor, whom Mark saw as an annoyance in the first two seasons and saw as a son in later episodes; was best friends with Nicole Lee after she is introduced; he had a crush on Vanessa, which was referred to several times, but also was briefly infatuated with Geneva (Seasons 2–5; recurring Season 1)

Recurring
  • Coach Ricketts (Roger E. Mosley) – Coach of the Oakbridge Penguins boys' basketball team; once served in the Army (Season 1)
  • Issac (George Lemore) – One of Mark's students in his P.E. class (Seasons 1–2)
  • Andre Bailis (Christopher Carter) – One of Mark's students and player on the Oakbridge Penguins boys' basketball team (Seasons 1–2)
  • Thaddeus White (Dominic Hoffman) – Vanessa's boyfriend in season two, who Mark disliked (Season 2)
  • Bennie (Don Cheadle) – One of Mark's friends, who was not very bright; had a crush on Vanessa (Season 2; appeared in one Season 3 episode portrayed by Ruben Paul)
  • Chet Corley (Ron Canada) Was briefly named head coach of Oakbridge High boys' basketball team after Mark forfeits the position due to not returning P.J.'s calls about the offer; he leaves to coach a college team and names Mark as his replacement (Season 3)
  • Eric Thompson (Kristoff St. John) – A doctor, who Vanessa dated during season three but briefly broke up with after finding out he worked at a free clinic, though would get back together with after realizing that her materialism should not get in the way; would later be engaged to Vanessa and the two would move to New Guinea, but Vanessa would break off their engagement and return to Oakland (Season 3; guest star in Season 4)
  • Steve Warner (Steve White) – One of Mark's friends, who Mark was roommates with in college; worked as a sportswriter for a local newspaper (Season 3)
  • Ken Anderson (Kevin Jackson) – Geneva's first long-term serious boyfriend since her divorce; was a member of the Army Reserve, but also had a penchant for baking; would propose to Geneva in season five, but both ultimately decided to slow things down (Seasons 3–4; guest star in Season 5)
  • Miss Simpson (Lorraine Fields) – Worked as one of the teachers at Oakbridge High (Seasons 3–4)
  • Mr. Morley (Kelly Perine) – Worked as one of the teachers at Oakbridge High (Season 4)
  • Miss Cosgrove (Gloria Gifford) – Worked as one of the teachers at Oakbridge High (Season 4)
  • Lydell (Lewis Dix) – One of Mark's friends; would later marry his girlfriend Florence after only 13 weeks of dating (Seasons 4–5)
  • Young Coach Ricketts (Peter Brost) – As seen in one of Coach Ricketts many Army flashbacks (Season 1)

The pilot episode was filmed on the same set used by the Seavers in the sitcom Growing Pains.[5]

Main cast, from Season 2 (l–r): Quarterman, Symoné, Curry, Robinson Peete, Wilson

Episodes
Main article: List of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankRating
First airedLast aired
122September 22, 1992 (1992-09-22)May 18, 1993 (1993-05-18)1614.6
(Tied with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Jackie Thomas Show)
222September 24, 1993 (1993-09-24)May 20, 1994 (1994-05-20)3811.92
322September 23, 1994 (1994-09-23)May 12, 1995 (1995-05-12)4111.2
422September 15, 1995 (1995-09-15)May 10, 1996 (1996-05-10)619.3
513June 21, 1997 (1997-06-21)August 30, 1997 (1997-08-30)——
Broadcast History
[6]
  • September 1992–July 1993, ABC Tuesday 8:30–9:00
  • August 1993–September 1993, ABC Friday 8:30–9:00
  • September 1993–March 1994, ABC Friday 9:30–10:00
  • May 1994–August 1996, ABC Friday 9:30–10:00
  • September 1996–August 1997, ABC Sunday 8:59–9:59
  • August 1997, ABC Saturday 9:30–10:01

Syndication

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper went into off-network broadcast syndication (via Telepictures Distribution and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution) in the fall of 1996, where it lasted until the fall of 2000 (airing until the fall of 1999 in some markets). From July 2008 to January 2009 it aired on ION Television as part of the network's Laugh Attack hour of American sitcoms, initially running from 5-6PM/ET, then moved an hour later (switching time slots with The Steve Harvey Show).

The series has also aired on cable network TNN from 2000–2002, on Nickelodeon’s teen-oriented television programming block, TEENick from 2001 to 2003, on TV One from 2007 to 2008, and on BET from 2004 to 2014. The sitcom was picked up by Nick at Nite on January 13, 2014 during the 6:00AM–7:00AM morning line-up), and that same year it returned to the Nick Jr. Channel as part of the block, NickMom. when it was aired from October 15, 2014 to April 11, 2015

On September 29, 2017, Hulu acquired the streaming rights to Hangin' with Mr. Cooper along with fellow Warner Bros. TV properties Family Matters, Full House, Perfect Strangers and Step by Step in addition to Disney-ABC TV properties Boy Meets World, Dinosaurs and Home Improvement.[7]

On November 1, 2021, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper began streaming on HBO Max after its streaming rights expired from Hulu.[8]

Home media

On August 2, 2016, Warner Bros. released Hangin' with Mr. Cooper- The Complete First Season on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection burn-on-demand service.[9] The second season was released on March 5, 2019, via WBShop.com.[10]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 22 August 2, 2016
The Complete Second Season 22 March 5, 2019
The Complete Third Season 22 January 21, 2020

References
  1. Braxton, Greg (October 4, 1992). "African-Americans are increasingly welcome in prime time, but some observers say the new shows fail to rise above stereotypes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 29, 2010. (subscription required)
  2. King, Susan (July 12, 1996). "Q & A with MARK CURRY". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 29, 2010. (subscription required)
  3. Rosenberg, Howard (September 22, 1992). "'Mr. Cooper': A Comedy That Seems Familiar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 29, 2010. (subscription required)
  4. "BBC - Comedy Guide - Hangin' with Mr Cooper". Archived from the original on 2004-11-03.
  5. Obias, Rudie (May 15, 2017). "10 TV shows that recycled their sets". Mental Floss. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  6. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 577. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  7. Hatchett, Keisha (September 29, 2017). "This Is Not a Drill: Boy Meets World Is Now On Hulu". TVGuide.com. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  8. Pedersen, Erik (November 1, 2021). "HBO Max Acquires Season 2 Of 'David Makes Man', Five '90s-Era WBTV Sitcoms". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  9. Lambert, David (July 22, 2016). "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper - 'The Complete 1st Season' is Coming to DVD at Last!". TV Shows on DVD. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016.
  10. "The Complete 2nd Season' is Coming to DVD". WBShop.com. Warner Bros Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
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