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Method & Red aired from June until September 2004 on Fox.

Nottingham Estates , an affluent gated community in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City was not prepared for its newest residents. Method Man and Redman ( who played themselves) were two highly successful black rap-artists who had just moved into the almost lily-white community along with Method Man's no-nonsense mother Dorothea (Anna Marie Horsford), a New Jersey Turnpike toll booth operator. Although Dorothea made every effort to keep the boys under control, many of the residents of Nottingham Estates found it hard to deal with the jive-talking rappers and their colorful friends and relatives with their noisy SUVs and wild parties. This was particularly true of Nancy Blaford ( Beth Littleford), the real estate agent who was desperate to get them evicted-without success. Skyler ( David Henrie), her young son , was infatuated with the guys and her bank vice-president husband , Bill ( Peter Jacobson), found nothing serious to complain about. Meth was actually a naive pussycat who adored his mother while Red, the smart one, was intent on their getting involved with the community to gain acceptance, for example, by handing out fruitcakes to the white folks . 'Lil Bit and Dupree ( Lahmard Tate, Jeremiah Birkett) were their frequently seen buddies.

A Review from The New York Times

By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Published: June 16, 2004

METHOD & RED
Fox, tonight at 9:30, Eastern and Pacific times; 8:30, Central time

A major lift comes at the end of tonight's lineup on Fox. It's ''Method & Red,'' a gleeful comedy of race mixing in an overpriced New Jersey suburb.

The sitcom, which stars Method Man and Redman, the rap tycoons and B-movie comedians, is sharply written and confidently sentimental, grounded in a cheering vision of Americans as united by a willingness to work hard and a love of our mothers.

It's also funny and not stingy with jokes, unlike most sitcoms, which mete out the punch lines in slow waltz time. Every set here -- from Method's and Red's new McChateau, to the tollbooth where Method's mother, Dorothea (Anna Marie Horsford), insists on working because Jesus also had a job -- is also tricked out with details that provide bonus laughs. In the mansion plasma televisions showing basketball appear on nearly surface; there's one on the fridge and one inside it. An exchange between Method Man and Beth Littleford, as a neighbor, exemplifies the show's exuberance, and its right-on comic deflations.

''Yo! It's neighbor lady. Hi, neighbor lady!''

''My name is Nancy.''

''Yeah, like I'm going to remember that.''

David Henrie, as Nancy's rap-happy 12-year-old son, and Peter Jacobson as her husband, Bill, round out the grand cast. The actors have found an easy comic rapport, as if they'd all been in repertory for years, or had grown up on the same block.

A Review from Entertainment Weekly

TV Review
Method & Red

B-By Ken Tucker

Real-life pals and hip-hoppers Redman and the Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man are starring in a Fox half hour, this one a scripted sitcom called Method & Red. The premise is that these buddies buy a big house in a New Jersey suburban white enclave; they're kept somewhat in line by Method's mom (the marvelous Anna Maria Horsford, of the '80s sitcom ''Amen'' as well as movies like the terrific ''Friday''), but they throw parties that rattle their neighbors' china.

You can tell this series was probably sold on the strength of the way it plays into the common Hollywood notion that nothing is funnier than seeing uptight white people either scared of or trying to act like black people. (The Steve Martin-Queen Latifah goof ''Bringing Down the House'' is the trend's apotheosis.) ''The Daily Show'''s whip-smart Beth Littleford is squirmily good playing a nervous ''neighbor lady,'' as Meth refers to her. ''My name is Nancy,'' she says testily. ''Yeah, like I'm gonna remember that,'' replies Method genially.

Indeed, geniality is what makes this show a charmer. Yes, it skirts pernicious cliches about rappers as booty-hunting sybarites. The best compliment I can give ''Method & Red'' is that its funniest lines sound improvised, as when Meth says fondly to a young white boy after chiding him for complaining about his mom, ''Get on outta here with your big stop-sign head.''

A Review of Method & Red

Jun 15 2004 9:42 PM EDT

Only Thing Meth, Red Dislike About 'Method & Red': The

Rappers' new sitcom debuts Wednesday night on FOX.
By Corey Moss

In the spirit of "Method & Red," FOX should consider having Method Man write the synopsis each week. His description of the general premise certainly sells the show.

"We move into a gated community and turn that son of a bitch on its head," he said recently. "But hey, it's Method Man and Redman — what do you expect, dawg?"

Unlike Eve, who plays a character named Shelly on her namesake sitcom, Method Man and Redman actually play themselves in their new show, which debuts Wednesday (June 16) at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. "I like to say it's a reality show based in a sitcom world," Meth said.

Judging by countless episodes of "Cribs," the premise is one that has likely been lived out by many of the ghetto-raised rappers whose riches brought them to new neighborhoods. The difference in "Method & Red" is that the duo don't buy the house to show off their bling, but to fulfill a promise Meth made to his mom. Oh, and that mother — played by Anna Maria Horsford (who played Redman's mom in "How High") — moves in with them.

Meth's mom provides some of the laughs, like when she declares a "skank-free zone" in the house, but most come from the wacky neighbors, beginning with realtor Nancy (played by Beth Littleford, formerly of "The Daily Show"), who is determined to evict the rappers. In the first episode, Meth and Red pass out fruitcakes in an effort to win her and the others over.

"The truth is not just white people got money these days," Meth said, noting that the best humor in the show comes from how differently he and Redman spend their money. "I'mma go buy me some rims as opposed to some stock options. And I keep my money under the mattress, not in no bank."

Similar to "Soul Plane," which also starred Method Man, "Method & Red" has drawn criticism for relying heavily on racial stereotypes. And that baffles the rapper.

"They're there to be laughed at," he said. "The more people make big issues out of stereotypes, the more [the stereotypes] are gonna have that heat behind them, but when you take that away from it and learn to laugh at these things, it takes away from it."

Method Man and Redman do have one complaint about their sitcom, however.

"We don't like the title," Meth said. "We wish we could have had it named something else, but you know, the politics."

Perhaps Variety has coined a better title: "The Beverly Homeboys."

An Article from Entertainment Weekly
Published on June 21, 2004

In the News
Seeing Red
Method Man criticizes his Fox show. The rapper-actor says that ''Method & Red'' isn't ''ghetto'' enough

By Brian Hiatt

The new Fox show ''Method & Red'' has gotten a negative review -- from one of its own costars. Method Man told the Los Angeles Times that the show isn't what he expected. ''This is frustrating for me,'' he told the newspaper. ''I'm trying to keep this show ghetto, and there's a way for it to be both ghetto and intelligent,'' he said. ''But it's not going that way.'' He also criticized the use of a laugh track, and said that the show tries too hard to pander to Middle America. Fox executives declined to respond to Method Man's comments, according to the Times.

The show, which costars rapper Redman, debuted respectably last week, scoring around 8 million viewers. EW's Ken Tucker praised the show's ''geniality,'' and the ''Daily Show'''s Beth Littleford's performance as an uptight neighbor. But he warned that it ''skirts pernicious cliches about rappers as booty-hunting sybarites.''

For the Official Site of Method Man go to http://www.method-man.com/