Rickey Smiley, Leslie Jones, Tichina Arnold, Ed McMahon, MC Lyte, Mr. Cheeks, Lil Flip, Mack 10, DJ Quik, Ken Lawson and Pastor Troy.
By Kelvin “Six~Four” Cowans
Before Michael Jordan was the face of the NBA there was Dr. J. Before the TV sitcom Friends gave viewers 236 Episodes, so iconic that they are now prefixed as “the one about” there was the show called Living Single, yes, based around a group of friends indeed. Before its MTV birth in July of 2005 and now 20 seasons of “Wild N’ Out” with Nick Cannon there was “The Way We Do It” and Andre’ Barnwell. On a recent call with the proud 1986 Howard University graduate, Mr. Barnwell, now in Pasadena California, has a calm demeanor and a passionate yet measured speech that held not even an ounce of bitterness. Certainly, the world of entertainment might have never been reminded of his creativity to produce a heavy-laden Black culture production way back in the year 2000. Why, because he’s easily humility first and only OK with sharing some facts and foundations of his television career with a slight focus on “The Way We Do It.” However, history demands that the readers of this article will also have to be OK with concluding that “The Way We Do It” could possibly been used as an influential blueprint for something younger, bigger, and greater, just a few years later.
Kelvin Cowans: Five years before Nick Cannon’s “Wild N’ Out” premiered on MTV there was Andre’ Barnwell’s “The Way We Do It” on BET. In Burbank California, way back in the year 2000 you created this ground-breaking sketch comedy show. What was your goal?
Andre’ Barnwell: I created the show in 2000 but we started shooting it in 2001. I wanted to create a sketch show that could work in a cable environment where production budgets are much smaller than what broadcast networks provide. Like most comedy viewers I was excited watching “In Living Color” or “Mad TV” and “Saturday Night Live.” But still I was prepared for my opportunity having worn quite a few hats at BET as the Budget Director, VP of Finance & Programming West Coast , VP of Development, Executive Producer of Comic View and BET Live, which was our late-night talk show hosted by former NBA Champion John Salley.
K.C.: What was the blueprint for the vision you had for this show?
Andre’ Barnwell: My approach was to use stand-up comedians, non-dancers, and celebrity guests familiar to our audience. “The Way We Do It” was in production at the same time it was announced that BET was being acquired by Viacom so I knew I wouldn’t have much time to present my vision. I ended up having two seasons of the show and producing 36 episodes. My first season, the very talented comedian and now actor, radio personality Rickey Smiley was our host. We also had Leslie Jones, who was able to show her amazing sketching skills. She later went on to be a member of Saturday Night Live. In my second season, I would not only direct the shows but wanted to change the format slightly to be a prototype of how to do a sketch comedy show on cable TV with limited budgets and yet appeal to a wider audience.
K.C.: So how did that develop?
Andre’ Barnwell: In Season 2, I selected an all-star group of very funny up and coming stand-up comedians to be the core of the talent. Stand-up comedians are quick-witted, can change on the fly, write their own material and because they perform on the road, they know what’s funny to an audience in real time. Also, instead of having female dancers I wanted to present a diverse group of women who were not only beautiful and talented but wanted to develop their hosting skills. So, they would host the show and introduce the individual sketches. We had tons of celebrity guests such as MC Lyte, Mr. Cheeks, DJ Quik, Tha Eastsidaz, Mack 10, Pastor Troy, Slum Village and Lil’ Flip. They had musical backgrounds and were looking to show their acting skills to Hollywood for consideration in future TV or Film roles.
K.C.: Those are household names in the black culture. MC Lyte for one has been honored all year long as we celebrate Hip-Hop at 50 and salute to that. Back then, after 2 seasons of “The Way We Do It” at BET, where did your talents take you?
Andre’ Barnwell: After BET, I went on to be a producer on Steve Harvey’s Big Time on the WB and produced on Kel Mitchell and Fredro Starr’s syndicated dance show Dance 360 for Paramount. One job led to another and even until this day I continue to take on freelance producing jobs that I have a passion for like finance producing Byron Allen’s HBCUGO network which show case Black College Football in their first season. As a Howard University graduate, I wanted to support the many talented students that attend HBCU’s.
K.C.: Exposure is everything and that brings me back to Nick Cannon’s “Wild N’ Out.” Do you think that he may have been influenced by your show at all? Take for instance P. Diddy; we couldn’t have labeled him the remix king back in the 1990’s had he not had artist original mix to begin with.
Andre’ Barnwell: Well recently, I put my sketch show on my YouTube channel (The Way We Do It TV) and fans began comparing my show with “Wild N’ Out” and noticing the similarities. I don’t know if Nick was inspired by my show or not. I’ve never met Nick but that would be a cool conversation to have as he is very talented in his own right. I can clearly say that as a former BET executive it was no secret that MTV paid close attention to what we were doing at BET because we were on the pulse of how young people were moving in the entertainment spaces. And hey, look at Saturday Night Live, they are celebrating its 49th year and I think my format for sketch comedy will work again now, especially when networks are very conscious about their budgets but want formats that can work in a streaming industry.
K.C.: What’s next for you?
Andre’ Barnwell: I have recently set my eyes on tackling my childhood passion of directing horror movies like Jordan Peele does. The only difference is I love monsters in horror films so if you can picture a monster that’s half human and half crawdad fish then you’re halfway in my mind of the story. I have written my own original script titled CRAWGAROU set in the Louisiana swamps. It’s good.
Footnotes, Per Google:
1985/1986 -Viacom purchased MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon for $685 Million
1994- Nickelodeon, Nick Cannon became the youngest writer in TV History at the age of 17 as a staff writer for Nickelodeon’s Sketch Comedy series “All That.”
2000/2001- BET, Andre’ Barnwell launched “The Way We Do It” which ran for 2 Seasons, 36 Episodes
2000- Viacom purchased BET for roughly 3 billion
2002- Nickelodeon, Nick Cannon directed and starred in The Nick Cannon Show, 2 Seasons, 27 Episodes, show had low ratings and was canceled in February 2003
2005- MTV, Nick Cannon launched improv series “Wild N’ Out.”
2023- View Andre’ Barnwell’s YouTube channel (The Way We Do It TV)
Andre’ Barnwell can be reached at sawtheelephant@yahoo.com
Kelvin Cowans can be reached at
(kelvincowans@hotmail.com or Instagram @sixfour901)
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