'Black-ish' Star Anthony Anderson on Emmys 'Trifecta' and Season 3
Yes, it's an honor just to be nominated for an Emmy, as the saying goes. But Anthony Anderson unabashedly admits he wants to walk out of that ceremony with one of those winged trophies in his hand.
Not only has Anderson scored his second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, as an executive producer of his sitcom, "Black-ish," he's also got a special stake in the show's nomination as Outstanding Comedy Series, and his on-screen partner Tracee Ellis Ross is also in contention for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
As Anderson tells Moviefone, he's looking for big victories on Emmy night. But win or lose, the on-screen Johnson family is going to Disney World in Season 3.
Moviefone: You've been in the business a long time. What does the Emmy mean to you in general? And what did your nomination mean for this particular role in this particular show?
Anthony Anderson: The nomination meant that what we were doing has struck a chord with America, with the viewing public, and it resonates with them. For us to be as authentic as we are, and as truthful with the stories that we tell, and then have that resonate with the audience that's watching, it shows us that we're on the right path, we're pushing the envelope where we need to push it, we're addressing issues that we need to address.
But more importantly, we're having fun and just telling universal stories that everybody can identify with. And for us to be recognized as a show, and for me individually, and Tracee individually to be recognized, is just a cherry on top for that.
Are you looking forward to a big celebration that night?
Oh, of course I am! I'd be lying to you if I wasn't. Yeah, we're looking to hit a trifecta. We're looking to hit a trifecta when the Emmys hit September 18th. That's our hope, that's our plan. We're not looking for anything less than that.
What are you excited for the audience to get to see in Season 3? What can you tease out as far as some of the fun setups you guys are going to explore?
You know, we're still breaking stories, so we don't know where we're going to go. We're going to deal ... the pregnancy is going to be an underlying theme, it's not like this is going to be "the pregnancy year" -- we're just dealing with that.
But our first episode back: Johnson family vacation! We're going to Disney World, just to experience something that I never got to experience as a kid. What's crazy: my mother in real life found out that we're going to film at Disneyland, and she's like, "Baby, I want to go." I said, "Why, Mom?" She said, "That's on my bucket list." I was like, "Disney World is on your bucket list?" She's like, "Yeah." I was like, "Mom, I'm 45 years old. You've never taken me to Disney World. If it's on your bucket list, don't you think it was on mine as well?"
So Dre gets to take his family there and they get to have the total VIP experience at an epic park like that, and just the hilarity that ensues once the witching hour ticks, and VIP service is over and we're thrown back into gen pop. So that's what I can tell you. Everything else is still being thought out.
Do you think you'll do another homage show? Like what you did with "Good Times," another classic TV show that meant a lot to you guys?
You know, if it's authentic, and if it's the right thing to do at the right time, I mean, we're not looking for that. We're not looking to, "Oh, which show can we pay homage to next?" There was some synergy there and it just led us to that place. And that's how we deal with the show. We don't sit back and say, "What are we going to talk about this season?" We talk about our families and we talk about the experiences that we've had, and that's how this whole thing started with Kenya and I.
The first season you saw, that was both of our families up there. Everything that you saw from the pilot to the very last episode is everything that we went through and dealt with as parents. Being first generation successful, being the only African American families in our neighborhoods, respectively, having our children in private school, and my son -- not only was he the only chocolate drop in his class, he was the only chocolate drop in his grade for more than three years. So everything you saw up there that first season was pulled directly from my life, and that's what we do. Wherever those stories lead us, that's where we go.
What's been the giveback for you at this point in the journey with the show? What's coming back your way?
I don't even look at it like that. I've been blessed, the show has been blessed, and I've been a part of some amazing things, film-atically and on the small screen. So there's been no get-back other than we're just doing quality work, and this is all I've ever done, and this is all we've ever done individually, and now we're coming together collectively to show what we can do as our dream team. This is our dream team. That's what it's about. Just putting up 60 points individually every night, and coming home with a victory by 40.
"Black-ish" Season 3 premieres September 21st on ABC.