Mixing it up with laugh-out-loud comedy, youthful appeal and a likable namesake lead, The Steve Harvey Show crackles with high school hijinks and teacher entanglements in a hip urban setting. The series’ successes as a multiple NAACP Image Award winner and as one of The WB’s hit flagship series underscore its enduring longevity, immense popularity and far-reaching influence.
In the series, former R&B star Steve Hightower gives up his wild times for school ties, becoming an inner-city Chicago music teacher – and eventually a vice principal – with a ragtag bunch of classroom charges. Headlining the Hi-Tops soul group – who opened for the likes of Gladys Knight and the Pips – Hightower’s touring career never quite hit the high note he expected. Down on his luck, and totally out of money, he decides to let go of his carefree lifestyle and pin down a “real” job.
With an assist from his longtime friend and eventual roommate, the gym coach with the insatiable appetite Cedric Robinson, Steve enrolls in a new type of performing and makes a classroom at Washington High School his stage. Initially grappling with the students’ penchant for baggy clothes, bad attitudes and baffling slang, Steve soon realizes that a compassionate spin will help him tone down his shock and contend with the kids’ problems… be they hard knocks or humorous woes.
During the series’ six-season run, The Steve Harvey Show won 13 NAACP Image Awards for the show as well as stars Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and Terri J. Vaughn.
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