“The Kingfish” is a T.V. series pilot about three high-school friends in Philadelphia and their Saturday adventures. It is not what it appears to be and is unpredictable, leading to unexpected outcomes. It does not contain the usual themes of violence, sex, drugs, profanity, and a “One last big score” plot.

Kingfish is thought-provoking and different.  I thought that I could figure out the plots of most shows and, at times, could finish the lines. It was great to experience new perspectives and be challenged to think in new ways.  

Take a moment and get to know the creator and Executive Producer of The King Fish, Tab Edwards. 

Shelly Shell:  Can you tell us about the concept behind “The Kingfish”?

Tab Edwards:  The concept of this adventure-comedy is that every Saturday, three smart-but-cool high-school teenage friends, Bobby, Flip, and X, venture into different parts of inner-city Philadelphia on a quest for something enjoyable. Along the way, they are confronted with a series of sticky situations and threatening challenges that they must use their cleverness and savvy to escape. The difference here is that their adventures do NOT involve sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, guns, or even profanity, while still being engaging and funny. Not every show about Black teens in the inner-city has to be triflin’ to be interesting.

Shelly Shell:  What inspired you to write this series, Tab?

Tab Edwards: Frankly, my son and his two schoolmates. They are all aspiring actors, and–as you and I know all too well, Shelley, from our days in the music business–new artists have to have their work seen or heard. So, I decided to put together a short, 5-minute promo clip featuring the guys acting that they could use for promotion. That promo clip eventually turned into a whole TV series idea; The Kingfish.

Shelly Shell:  Kingfish features an all-Philly cast. Will the entire series be filmed in Philly and feature a Philly cast? 

Tab Edwards:  Yes, the entire series will be filmed in Philly. However, the cast will consist mainly of Philly folks and people from New Jersey and the surrounding Philly area if they are best for a specific role. I tried to assemble an all-Philly cast, but some of the best talents came from New Jersey. The challenge we had when casting “Kingfish” was that we could not find people! I was shocked.

Shelly Shell:  How would you describe the main character in “The Kingfish”?

Tab Edwards: Actually, there is not one main character, but three main characters: Flip (played by Britt Starghill), Bobby (Taylor Myrick), and X (Xavier Edwards). Flip is a genius, but he is not a goofy nerd; he’s just a typical teenager who happens to be super bright. Bobby is the mature, level-headed, suave guy, and X is the guy who is dialed into the latest trends, styles, sneaker culture, and gaming. All three characters are very smart but also cool.

Shelly Shell:  What can audiences expect from this new series in terms of tone and style?

Tab Edwards:  The series is written to let viewers have good clean fun without all the cringy stereotypes. It’s an opportunity for young people to see positive representations of themselves in a group of characters–including the female actors–that they would want to hang out with. Plus, it is a show that grownups will also enjoy; feedback so far has been great, with nearly every adult saying how it was refreshing to sit through an urban show that didn’t feed into our community’s most unfortunate stereotypes. While many shows do an excellent job of incorporating the sad realities of inner-city life into imaginative storytelling, we chose to present a different side of the story.

Shelly Shell:  Can you talk about the casting process for this series and what you were looking for in each role?

Tab Edwards:  Uggh! We were looking for actors with real-life personalities like the characters we wanted them to play. We started with people we know–primarily non-actors–to fill many roles. We couldn’t fill all key roles, so we placed an actor call on the entertainment website Back Stage. We received about 400 applications for the role of “Cupcake,” 200 for the role of “Bobby,” and about 40 for the role of “Kingfish.” We narrowed the list down, auditioned three ladies and four guys, and were able to cast for “Bobby,” “Lucy” (played by McKayla McKelvie), “Kingfish” (Ronald Shaer), “Penny” (Ariel Sole. Her part in the show is based on real-life. It’s funny), and the most challenging role to cast, “Cupcake” (Jordan Webber). She was perfect for the role. Then, Ital Tha Ruffian agreed to make an appearance, and Omar Long and Keron Morton jumped in days before filming to save us. Thank you!

Shelly Shell:  How does “The Kingfish” stand out from other shows in the same genre?

Tab Edwards: No sex or sexual innuendo, no drugs, no twerking (Black folks love twerking on TV, don’t we?), no weed, no guns, no actual profanity, no violence, and no gender-based stereotypes. 

Shelly Shell:  What were some of the challenges you faced while writing and producing “The Kingfish”?

Tab Edwards:  The writing part was pretty easy, probably because I’ve written 13 books and hundreds of songs over the years. Here’s a bit of song trivia: I wrote, produced, and recorded the first two songs Grammy Award-winning singer Jazmine Sullivan ever recorded. Check out YouTube. As for the challenges in producing the show, there were a few major ones. I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say that I learned what to look out for with the next episode. Thanks to Joshua Black, who produced the opening credits scene and helped improve the project.

Shelly Shell:  Can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming storylines or plot twists in the series?

Tab Edwards: Come on, Shell! I can’t give away any of the twists. However, in Episode 2, we learn a lot more about each character; the guys go on another North Philly adventure, get into a sticky situation and somehow figure out how to wiggle their way out of it. That’s all I can say without giving away the many surprises and twists. But here’s some news: The next episode will be a 1-hour show as opposed to the half-hour duration like Episode 1.

Shelly Shell:  What message do you hope to convey to audiences through “The Kingfish”?

Tab Edwards: First, that shows can still be good without being negative. Also, teenagers can still be cool, popular, attractive, street-smart, and have fun while being good students.

 Shelly Shell:  Does the show address current social and political issues?

Tab Edwards:  People might not pick up on this–although one reviewer surprisingly did–but in Episode 1, we comment on social issues in the community without explicitly doing so. So, yes, we will offer social commentary in some form. Political? Stay tuned.

Shelly Shell:  How does the musical score contribute to the atmosphere of “The Kingfish”?

Tab Edwards:  As a former music guy (I used to own Kixx Records), the music and score were almost as important to me as the story because I believe the music should support the story’s mood. The music and underlying score were either songs by Kixx Records’ artists (Ital Tha Ruffian, RuggedNess, Black Key, Prophet, and Josephine Sincere ) or music we created specifically for the show. I also wanted to do things differently. For example, during the big chase scene, we do not use that traditional, lame dun-dun-dun-dun chase music. Instead, we used the instrumental track from Josephine’s song “Jane” as the chase music. Much cooler! That song, by the way, which features Ruggedness (rapping!) and Drk Stackz (who plays the bodyguard in the film), was also featured in an episode of an MTV TV series “Made.”

Shelly Shell:  What do you have in store for the future series of “The Kingfish”?

Tab Edwards:  Ha, ha! Who knows? But I can say that it will be fun, different, and full of surprises.

https://www.kingfishshow.com/#THESHOW