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Hey Monie!

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Hey Monie!
Genre
Created byDorothea Gillim
Voices ofAngela V. Shelton
Frances Callier
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes25
Production
ProducerSoup2Nuts
Running time11 minutes
Original release
NetworkOxygen
BET
ReleaseMarch 4 (2003-03-04) –
April 15, 2003 (2003-04-15)

Hey Monie! is an American animated sitcom produced by Soup2Nuts. It features heavily improvised dialogue by the Second City cast,[1][2] similarly to Soup2Nuts animated sitcom Home Movies.

Its creator and executive producer was Dorothea Gillim, creator of WordGirl, who also produced animated series Curious George, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, Molly of Denali, and Time Warp Trio.[3]

The show began as 5-minute shorts that were part of Oxygen's animation series X-Chromosome.[4] It achieved 11-minute episodes Hey Monie! aired on BET and, afterward, on Oxygen in 2003.[5][6][7] It was BET's first in-house animated series; BET stated that it followed "the tradition of entertaining and satirical animated programming like The Simpsons, The Critic, and Daria."[4]

In 2003, Seattle PI described the series as "smart, and at times wickedly funny."[8]

It was the only adult animated series to feature a Black woman as its protagonist until Oh My God... Yes! A Series of Extremely Relatable Circumstances which started airing on Adult Swim in 2025.[6][9][10]

Plot

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Simone a.k.a. "Monie" (Angela V. Shelton), is a publicist at a PR agency in Chicago. She lives in an apartment building with her best friend, Yvette (Frances Callier). The show chronicles her life living as a single career woman in the big city.[11]

Cast

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The series protagonists are voiced by the improv comedy Frangela duo, who are real-life best friends.[1]

Legacy

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Hey Monie! was not released on DVD; this may explain its multiple half-hour lost episodes. This also may explain why Hey Monie! did not amass a fandom as numerous as that of Home Movies; creator Brendon Small has attributed Home Movies' DVD release "for its increased popularity and cult following."[4]

A 2004 SFGate article lamented the previous year's cancellation of Hey Monie!, as the show positively impacted diversity on television.[12] That year, the show was recommended in self-help book Beautylicious![13]

In 2006, television scholar Amanda D. Lotz praised the show's cast for bringing "an authentic feel to the show's language and dialogue."[14]

In 2016, Bustle described the show as a feminist cartoon "way before its time and gone way too soon."[15] That year, the show was listed in Vibe's "Forgotten Laughs: 9 Black Shows You Missed Out On."[16]

In 2018, Flood Magazine interviewed show creators and stars about the show, although series creator Gillim "was astonished that she was contacted for an interview for this piece, based on how little updated information about the show is available online."[4] Once it was cancelled, Shelton and Callier stated "the show's momentum halted when executives got involved, hiring a white writer—without consulting either of them—to pen the final episodes." These episodes are now lost due to a lack of DVD release.

In 2019, Tuca & Bertie creator Lisa Hanawalt mentioned the show while compiling a list of adult animated shows created by women.[17][18]

See also

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  • Kimboo, a Franco-Ivorian animated television series that aired on BET 12 years prior (1989), featuring an Ivorian boy as its protagonist
  • Insecure, a comparable 2016 TV series with an African-American woman as its protagonist
  • O'Grady, a teen-oriented animated sitcom also by Soup2Nuts

References

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  1. ^ a b Lotz, Amanda D. (October 1, 2010). REDESIGNING WOMEN: Television after the Network Era. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-09176-6.
  2. ^ Seham, Amy E. (October 20, 2009). Whose Improv Is It Anyway?: Beyond Second City. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-4968-0202-6.
  3. ^ "GBH Announces Expansion of GBH Kids". www.wgbh.org. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "Remembering the Black Friendship of "Hey Monie!"". FLOOD. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  5. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 282. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  6. ^ a b Gularte, Alejandra (May 16, 2022). "Daria Spinoff Jodie Announced As Film, Cast Includes Pamela Adlon and Kal Penn". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  7. ^ Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (August 4, 2009). The A to Z of African-American Television. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6348-4.
  8. ^ MCFARLAND, MELANIE (May 30, 2003). "These aren't your kids' cartoon shows". seattlepi.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  9. ^ Lang, Jamie (June 13, 2024). "Adult Swim Unveils Series Orders for 'Oh My God, Yes!,' 'Ha Ha You Clowns' and Season 3 of 'Smiling Friends' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (February 6, 2025). "Trailer: 'Oh My God... Yes!' Takes Adult Swim Viewers to a Wild Future L.A. in March". Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  11. ^ Shapiro, Mitchell E. (January 10, 2014). Cable Television Prime Time Programming, 1990-2010. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9258-9.
  12. ^ Ryan, Suzanne C. (June 2, 2004). "Coming soon to the small screen: less diversity". SFGATE. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  13. ^ Raines, Jenyne M. (2004). Beautylicious!: The Black Girl's Guide to the Fabulous Life. Harlem Moon/Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-1110-8.
  14. ^ Lotz, Amanda D. (October 1, 2010). REDESIGNING WOMEN: Television after the Network Era. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-09176-6.
  15. ^ "11 Female Cartoon Characters Who Need A Modern Feminist Revival". Bustle. March 15, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Thompson, Desire (April 1, 2016). "Forgotten Laughs: Here Are 9 Black Shows You Missed Out On". VIBE.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Ellis, Emma Grey. "Netflix's Animated 'Tuca & Bertie' Is the Tits". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  18. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/lisadraws/status/1122960153639133184. Retrieved September 11, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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