Prime Video is officially bringing Barbershop back to the small screen—this time with an all-new ensemble led by Roy Wood Jr. and Jermaine Fowler.
According to Deadline, the streamer has locked in the main lineup for its upcoming comedy series, expanding the world introduced in the MGM film franchise.
Fowler stars as Travis “Trav” Porter, a Chicago native trying to step into the legacy left by his grandfather, one of the original barbers at the legendary Calvin’s. The shop has fresh faces behind the chairs, but the energy inside hasn’t changed: the debates are loud, the jokes hit fast, and the community still treats Calvin’s as a meeting place for everything from relationship drama to neighborhood news.
Wood Jr. plays Robert, a man rebuilding his life after incarceration and finding purpose as a barber. Punkie Johnson joins as Stella, who isn’t sold on Trav’s return and brings a blunt, no-nonsense edge to the shop dynamic.
Brett Gray steps in as Kofi, a vibrant and outspoken barber who keeps the room lively. Rounding out the group is E.J. Bonilla as Fernan, a Bronx transplant who quickly becomes one of Trav’s closest allies.
The series comes from Marshall Todd, who co-wrote the original Barbershop film. He serves as writer and executive producer, joined by co-showrunner Max Searle.
The producing team includes Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley, and Mike Stein for Hartbeat; Bradley Gardner, Cameron Burnett, and Autumn Bailey-Ford for Prominent Productions; and State Street Pictures. Tiffany Brown is on board as co-executive producer for Hartbeat. Amazon MGM Studios produces the series.
The cast brings together talent from across comedy, film, and television. Wood Jr. spent eight years as a correspondent on The Daily Show and recently released his stand-up special Lonely Flowers on Hulu.
Johnson is known for her four-season run on Saturday Night Live, as well as for roles in Love Life, The Chi, and Ghosts.
Gray, recognized for Netflix’s On My Block, recently completed a Broadway run in MJ: The Musical and appears in I’m a Virgo. Bonilla’s résumé includes starring in FX’s The Old Man and roles in films like The Exorcist: Believer and In Our Blood.
The new Barbershop series follows in the footsteps of the long-running franchise, which launched in 2002 and grew to include four films and a previous TV adaptation.