How Matthew A. Cherry and the ‘Mixed-ish’ Team Brought the ‘Cop Talk’ to Network TV
Danielle Turchiano Senior Features Editor, TVThe day after Matthew A. Cherry won the Oscar for animated short film, he stepped onto the set of ABC’s “Mixed-ish” to direct the pivotal first season episode “Bad Boys,” which featured themes of abuse of power and saw parents Alicia (Tika Sumpter) and Paul (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) discussing racial profiling with their young son (Ethan William Childress).Although Cherry hadn’t slept the night before beginning production (as he was celebrating his win), he had prepped for a week with the series’ director of photography Troy Smith, a rarity in the ever-moving machine of TV, because the show just happened to be on hiatus.