August 26, 1996 (1996-08-26) – May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22)
Malcolm & Eddie is an American sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. This series starred Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin in the lead roles. The program was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions in association with TriStar Television in its first three seasons and by Columbia TriStar Television in its final season.
Synopsis
Malcolm McGee (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) is a responsible and sensible twenty something who ends up sharing an apartment and a business venture with relentlessly enthusiastic tow truck owner Eddie Sherman (Eddie Griffin) in Kansas City, Missouri (which is Eddie Griffin's hometown). A fast talker with outlandish frenetic energy, Eddie's charming naiveté always seems to get the two into hot water. But no matter what the situation, these opposites always end up bailing each other out.
When the guys unexpectedly became recipients of a considerable sum of money, Malcolm and Eddie decided to buy not only the old Irish pub below their apartment, but the entire building, including Eddie's garage, as an investment. As new bar owners, the guys gave the place a face lift by turning it into a sports bar and renaming it McGee's. There, they hang out with local regulars, including Tim (Jaime Cardriche), a gentle giant working as a nurse, and Nicolette (Karen Malina White), the motor-mouth police academy cadet with a love-crazed obsession for Eddie. As Malcolm manages McGee's and Eddie tries to bolster his fledgling one-man/one-truck towing operation into a fleet, success for these two could be as simple as staying out of trouble.
Malcolm practices for his sports commentator audition at the local radio station, earnestly recording play-by-play onto a demonstration tape while watching the basketball game... until Eddie accidentally blows up the television set. Insistent on helping his roommate replace it, Eddie wheedles Malcolm into attending a free "personal wealth seminar" where each participant is promised either a free TV or a set of steak knives.
When Eddie's beloved tow truck Broncula breaks down, he must raise money to repair "her," so he secures a wild array of odd jobs which quickly wear away at Malcolm's quality of life.
Aspiring sportscaster Malcolm finally gets a chance to be on the air at the radio station but instead of calling the plays, he's given a dee-jay's graveyard shift. Surprisingly, Eddie ends up as the only one who can get his exhausted roommate through the long nights.
Eddie annoys Malcolm when he deviates from their established system of picking their joint weekly lottery ticket numbers and instead chooses what Malcolm considers a dumb mix 5,10,15,20,25 and 30. Malcolm forgives Eddie's indiscretion when all six numbers come up, making them instant millionaires...or so they think... Unfortunately for the mismatched roommates, for the first time in Missouri state history, there is more than one winner of the Instant Millionaire game - many more. When the money is divided up, Malcolm and Eddie are able to redecorate their apartment just in time to impress Bridget, a young attorney, and her roommate Nicolette, a parking enforcement officer, who moves in across the hall. Strongly attached to Bridget, Malcolm is summarily spurned when she makes it clear she's dating NBA Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire. Realizing he's at a crossroads in life, Malcolm decides to buy the bar from Kelly. Eddie uses his half of the money to convert the tow truck gar.
Malcolm prepares for the grand reopening of Kelly's sports bar and Eddie arranges to bring in the live entertainment for the event. He also uses his connections to book TAFKAP (The Artist Formerly Known As Prince). But when engine trouble derails the Artist's arrival, Eddie steps in to keep the show alive.
When a beautiful woman arrives at the bar Malcolm is quick to ask her for a date but unbeknownst to him, she's Eddie's younger sister. When the truth is told, the roommates makes an agreement that Malcolm will keep the evening platonic, but an overprotective Eddie makes it clear that big brother is watching.
Eddie becomes a member of the Little Buddies Association just to get a date with one of its attractive female volunteers. When Malcolm accidentally reveals his roommates ulterior motives to his little brother, Troy, the mischievous eight-year-old sets out to wreak havoc at Kelly's bar.
Malcolm's plan for rededicating his bar from old name Kelly's, to its new name McGee's, goes amiss when the signs are misspelled, McGoo's. Meanwhile, a crazed bomb-toting football fan takes over Malcolm's crowded bar to protect the rumored move by Kansas City Chiefs to Los Angeles, and the bar gets city-wide news coverage under the name McGoo's instead of McGee's.
Malcolm tries to settle his grandparents' quarrel after Malcolm's grandfather gets kicked out of the house and moves in with Malcolm & Eddie. Nicolette gets a new roommate named Regina, who has eyes for Eddie, but Nicolette remains determined to continue pursuing him.
While Malcolm is away with Lydia, Malcolm leaves Eddie in charge of running the bar for a day. Eddie gets the idea that he should transform the bar into an exotic dance club, but doesn't count on the law being there and wanting to shut down the club.
Holly passes Malcolm off as her boyfriend when her parents come for a visit. But all goes awry when Malcolm is caught in a compromising situation. Eddie seems oddly attracted to a psycho chick. And Tim meets Danielle for the first time, and its love at first sight.
The club puts on a 70's promotion and everybody dresses up in 70's attire, and grooves to the funk. Eddie gets into the spirit of the 70's, so much so that he remains there even after the promotion is over. When Nicolette arranges for him to get a city contract fixing parking scooters, Eddie's priorities become confused, & business & friendships begins to suffer. Eddie finally admits he's a Funk-aholic.
When the guys decide to film a TV commercial for the bar, to attract new costumers, they are inadvertently a big success...as a gay bar. Finally, the guys decide to dress the part.
Tim is forlorn over his breakup with Danielle. He writes her a love letter to express his deepest feelings for her, but hands it to Malcolm to pass to her. But when Tim's letter falls into the wrong hands, everyone who reads it becomes entangled in romantic misunderstandings, thinking that the letter was intended for them.
An unlikely romance blossoms between the guys and their girls, during an employee camping retreat in the woods. After being stranded in the woods overnight, Nicolette finally gets Eddie to surrender to her ample womanly charms. Meanwhile, Holly shares bodily warmth with Malcolm, and learns a new respect for him.
A rival towing company owner runs Eddie out of business, then gets Eddie to work for him. But Eddie decides to turn the tables on his unscrupulous boss and get his business back.
Eddie luck seems to take a turn for the worse, each time Malcolm's luck takes a turn for the better, leaving Eddie battered & beaten. Malcolm meets a girl who believes is the "perfect" girl, until Eddie tells him that he's already been there, done that! Meanwhile Nicolette is exberant about taking the exam for the Police Academy.
24
2
"Roofless People"
Mark Cendrowski
Story by : Jerry Perzigian Teleplay by : Barry Vigon & Tom Walla
Malcolm's banker convinces him to hire an arsonist daughter as a waitress to have his loan for a new roof approved. Meanwhile Eddie sweet talks Nicolette into continuing their secret love affair, to keep things spicy.
When their customers opt to go to a competing bar down the block, Malcolm decides to turn McGee's into a gambling establishment and save himself from bankruptcy.
Nicolette wants to make her relationship with Eddie a public one, while Eddie continues to want them to meet in secret. Nicolette is asked to the policemen's ball by another man, and feeling rejected by Eddie, she decides to go. Eddie gets jealous and tries to stand up for his woman, but he falls far short. Malcolm unwittingly buys stolen lobsters for the club's catering of the policemen's ball, and Simone does a fantastic job of making them a hit.
After Malcolm and Eddie each make suggestions to the other about the ways to improve each other's business, they decide to make a bet, which leads the guys to switch places and run each other's business for a week.
Simone tries to win Malcolm's heart through his stomach with some special chocolate cookies, but once Malcolm tastes them, he only wants to use them to go into the cookies business with. Meanwhile, McGinley tries to lure Simone away from Malcolm, to work in his bar.
31
9
"Dream Racer"
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Story by : Eddie Griffin & Kara Saun Teleplay by : Barry Vigon & Tom Walla
Nicolette enlists Malcolm and Eddie to help her shy beau find the words to propose. So the guys devise a plan to help Stanley gain some confidence by encouraging him to become a lady's man. As his confidence grows, the plan begins to backfire, with disastrous results for Nicolette.
It comes as a shock to Malcolm and Eddie when they learn that their old pal, Nelson Carter, is getting married. After all, there was a better chance for the Pope to get married before Nelson ever decided to settle down. But on the day of Nelson's wedding and after a wild night at his bachelor party the two begin considering settling down themselves.
Malcolm, his sister Maura, Eddie, and his mother Sheila are preparing a surprise party for Malcolm's father Marcus. Maura and Sheila start arguing over what they believe Marcus' favorite cake, but things really start heating up when Eddie's Grandpa, Aunt Ruby, Uncle Lud, and Cousin Doyle make an unexpected entrance.
Everybody thinks Eddie's pal Rusty is crazy. During his career as a NASCAR driver, Rusty had one too many racing accidents that have left him short of a few lug nuts. His presence at Eddie's garage and Malcolm's bar has been good for business, though. However, Nicolette discovers that Rusty is really an alias and that he's a lot crazier than anybody originally thought....
Malcolm's dreams to renovate McGee's into a 1930s jazz club is in full swing when he discovers that the contractor he hired to build his bar turns out to be an old Navy buddy of Eddie's. Since he and Eddie did not get along in the Navy, the contractor leaves the job until Eddie gives him an apology, leaving Malcolm without a bar.
Needing Tim's help in getting a tattoo removed, Malcolm agrees to date Tim's feisty sister & really turns on the charm to soften her stoney heart. But Tim may not be too happy about the results. He threatens Malcolm that he should not hurt his little sister, or else! Now Malcolm must find a way out of this relationship, but he must be extremely careful.
Malcolm's car bites the dust, so Eddie talks Malcolm into buying a car from a police auction. Much to their surprise, the car contains a secret load of cash hidden inside. Things begin to heat up when tough guys show up interested in getting the car back.
45
23
"Kansas City Split"
John Tracy
Story by : Russell Marcus Teleplay by : Cheryl Alu & Jerry Perzigian
Malcolm's life changes after meeting a spiritual counselor, falls in love with her and decides to sell his bar. His wedding plans dissolve after she decides she's really in love with someone else. Meanwhile, Eddie decides to take an executive job in Pittsburgh.
In a flash-back, after being jilted by Mira, Malcolm & Eddie meet each other for the first time at Eddie's wedding. Malcolm consoles a jilted Eddie after his bride-to-be-lift him standing at the altar, by relating his own disastrous trip to the altar.
After discovering that Eddie spent all his money on electric gadgets and has no money left to reinvest in their new business venture, Malcolm and Eddie join forces to find a way to re-open Malcolm's former bar as the new Fifty/Fifty club.
Business partners Malcolm and Eddie open a jazz club with Malcolm's money. And after Malcolm throws it up in Eddie's face and wants to make all the decisions, Eddie looks for ways to raise his share of the money.
The guys pull elaborate Halloween pranks on each other at the club's annual Halloween costume party. But then things really begin to heat up when the guys meet 2 aspiring fashion models in the adjoining motel room.
Malcolm and Eddie each meet the girl of their dreams. Malcolm's girl is sweet & demure and likes to cook for him. Eddie's girl is a "straight-up hood rat" that likes to drink 40 ounce bottles of bear. The men eventually find out that their dream girls are one and the same, as she is someone who takes the concept of "I'm Every Woman" to the extreme.
Non-church goers Malcolm and Eddie accidentally volunteer to teach Sunday school while visiting at Nicolette's church and find that they have a knack for public speaking.
Malcolm & Eddie's business is booming at the club, so they decide to expand the club to increase business even further. However the building owner jas just recently rented out an empty space next door, and now the new tenant, who is opening a dance studio, will have to move for the guys to expand the club.
Malcolm's estranged brother comes to town, igniting old tensions, but reviving old family ties. Meanwhile, Nicolette takes a job in a bowling alley, and tries to get along with unruly customers.
Nicolette walsk out on Malcolm at the bar, when an unruly customer gives her a hard time and Malcolm doesn't stand up for her, and takes advantage of her friendship. Nicolette finally teaches Malcolm a lesson about what friendship is supposed to be. Meanwhile Leonard bares his soul to an attractive customer who he has a crush on, but gets rejected.
57
12
"Father of the Bribe"
Gary Menteer
Story by : Torian Hughes & Stephen Langford Teleplay by : Meg DeLoatch & Trisha Baker
The father of Malcolm's new girlfriend offers him a bribe to stop seeing his daughter, Ashley. Hawkins has seen Malcolm in action, and knows he chases women a lot, so he is not pleased to see him date his beloved daughter. So he threatens not to renew the club's lease unless Malcolm stops seeing Ashley.
58
13
"Paint Misbehavin'"
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Story by : Torian Hughes & Stephen Langford Teleplay by : Meg DeLoatch & Trisha Baker
Its Nicolette's 30th birthday, and the gang decides to have a surprise birthday celebration for her. But the thought of turning 30 without ever having a baby is too much for her to handle. So Nicolette asks Malcolm to father a child for her, and to do it via artificial insemination.
Eddie seeks justice on a televised court show "Citizen's Court" after Malcolm allows his hats to be stolen from his car, while taking then to the cleaners. Malcolm had left the windows down and the car unlocked.
Malcolm and Eddie receive tickets and an all-expense-paid trip to New York to appear on a panel for a sports fanatic show, on the Jerry Stein show. So the guys show up for the taping dressed in weird sports-fan attire, but are unaware that they are actually on a talk show about devil worshipers. They can't understand why the audience is jeering and booing them, until the rest of the panelists come out on the stage.
The stage of the Fifty-Fifty club goes on strike and Malcolm and Eddie refuse to budge on their labor negotiations. But chaos soon ensues in the club, forcing the guys to give in to their worker's demands.
As the profits from the 50/50 club begin to grow larger and larger, Malcolm and Eddie clash over whose money-making strategy is best. Malcolm believes in investing his money in the stock market, while Eddie believes in betting on horse races.
Ashley catches Malcolm kissing Olivia. After their breakup, Malcolm gets into a funk and Eddie goes to extraordinary lengths (and heights) to pull him out of it. Eddie tries taking Malcolm on a hot-air balloon ride.
Dexter returns and asks Eddie for another loan it seems he's been evicted from his apartment yet again. Heeding Malcolm's advice, Eddie doesn't give him the loan but takes a stand to help Dexter back on his feet. However, the situation changes once Dexter gets coffee spilled on his lap at the club.
The guys deal with a new rival for business, a beautiful buxom woman who opens a dance club down the street from the Fifty-Fifty Club, by holding a bogus contest to attract new customers. The trouble comes when the guys decide to fight fire with fire, and a rig bogus contest of their own, but was disastrous results.
Deciding they need a company car, Malcolm buys a lemon, which Eddie quickly replaces with a fully-loaded, high-priced SUV. Their drastically opposing views about spending money threaten to divide the two best friends until they agree to try a little role reversal to better understand how the other one thinks. Meanwhile, Nicolette, Leonard, and Doug are on their best behavior, hoping to win "Employee of the Week" and the bonus that comes with it.
73
6
"The Tapawingo Witch Project"
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Story by : Torian Hughes & Meg DeLoatch Teleplay by : Stephen Langford & Trish Baker
Hoping to duplicate the incredible success of the movie "The Blair Witch Project," Malcolm recruits Nicolette, Leonard, Doug, and a very reluctant Eddie to help him make a similar film the documentary, a series of frightening events spook the novice filmmakers, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.
Nicolette's desire for a meaningful relationship inspires her to try celibacy and inspires the others a challenge to see who can abstain from giving in to their sexual desires the longest. As the gang slowly gives in to the temptation one by one, everyone is surprised at who the final winner is.
Malcolm and Eddie are thrilled when the Kansas City Chief's star running back visits the Fifty/Fifty Club and gives them free tickets to his next game. But after Eddie accidentally gives the famed football player a concussion that costs the Chiefs the game, Malcolm and Eddie becomes Public Enemies number one and two.
While vacationing in Las Vegas with Malcolm and his new girlfriend, Eddie can't resist the lure of the crap table. But when his lucky streak turns unlucky to the tune of $50,000, he has no way to pay his debt, until a wealthy female offers to cover his losses on one condition that she gets to sleep with Malcolm in return.
Malcolm, Eddie, Nicolette, Leonard, and Doug head to North Carolina to spend the holiday with Malcolm's Uncle Buddy. But panic sets in when they reach his uncle's empty house and discover the town has been evacuated because of an oncoming hurricane, and now they're caught right in the middle of it.
78
11
"Sneaky, Thieving, Double-Crossing Dates from Hell"
After Leonard's date publicly humiliates him at the Fifty/Fifty Club, Malcolm and Nicolette try to cheer him up by sharing their "worst date" stories. But nothing can top Eddie's date that night when he's lured by a woman named "Sinful Sally" to her apartment, unaware that she plans to broadcast their rendezvous live over the internet.
In a Groundhog Day-esque series of events, Eddie agrees (and forgets) to buy Malcolm's lottery ticket and has to face the consequences again and again and again when the numbers hit.
With Malcolm found asleep, robbers break into the apartment and steal all the furniture and strip the house of all its contents. They hire an interior designer to redo the apartment but find out she not only has an eye for style but a taste for a con game.
Eager to make her club Kansas City's most popular nightspot, Malcolm, and Eddie's chef rival, Mia, makes Eddie an incredible offer he may not be able to refuse. Meanwhile, Nicolette enters a short story contest, transporting the gang back in time to the 1920s when two rival nightclub owners resorted to far more villainous tactics to be number one.
82
15
"The Best Men"
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Story by : Trish Baker & Stephen Langford Teleplay by : Meg DeLoatch & Torian Hughes
When Eddie's cousin Dexter decides to get married, he asks Eddie to be his best man and Malcolm to be his "man of honor." But Dexter's promise to his fiancée that they'll be no strippers at the bachelor party is broken when an unaware Malcolm hires a sexy stripper, and then has to bring the two lovebirds back together when the wedding is called off.
83
16
"Swooped"
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Story by : Torian Hughes & Meg DeLoatch Teleplay by : Stephen Langford & Trish Baker
When Hawkins dies suddenly of a heart attack, his daughter Ashley is surprised to learn that she can only inherit his 10 million dollars is on one condition that she marry Eddie within 30 days. But Eddie soon discovers that saying "I do" to wealth and marriage may devastate Malcolm, who has taken drastic measures to try and forget about the feelings he still has for Ashley.
Malcolm and Eddie try to outdo the rave review for Mia's nightclub by convincing her DJ boyfriend to do a live broadcast from the Fifty-Fifty Club. But when she sees how successful the broadcast is, Mia resorts to an outrageous lie about Malcolm to turn things back in hr favor.
When Malcolm's Uncle Buddy dies, Malcolm is entrusted with his ashes to scatter in the Missouri River. But when Eddie mistakenly uses the urn for a vase, Uncle Buddy winds up in a very different place than expected, and Eddie has to go outrageous extremes to keep Malcolm from finding out about the final resting place of his dearly departed uncle.
Things are going well for Malcolm and Eddie with their new girlfriends that Malcolm invites Helena to move in with him, and Eddie tries to double his fun by moving in with the twins that he's dating. But the romance quickly fades when Malcolm realizes what a slob Helena is, and the twins drive Eddie nuts fighting for his attention.
For Malcolm's thirtieth birthday, Eddie surprises him with a chance to watch an upcoming baseball game from the sportscaster's booth. But the biggest surprise comes when Eddie creates a clever diversion allowing Malcolm to fulfill his lifelong career fantasy and serve as a commentator for the game, with disastrous results.
A newly-confident Dexter visits the guys with his pregnant wife in tow, only for her to go into labor just as a long streak of bad luck events take place in their lives.
After finding out that the success of the Fifty/Fifty Club has driven its competing club, Club Misdemeanor, out of business, an accident damages the club forcing Malcolm and Eddie to try and find financing to reopen the club. To make matters worse, Mia, former owner of Club Misdemeanor becomes their new landlord. So to keep the club from being closed down, the guys decide to take on a third partner.
Jerry Dunn and Stephanie Marra (For episode "Bullets Over Kansas City")
Home release
On April 21, 2009, Shout! Factory released the first season of Malcolm & Eddie on DVD in Region 1.[87]
DVD Name
Ep #
Release Date
Season One
22
April 14, 2009
Syndication
Repeats of Malcolm & Eddie aired in local syndication in the early 2000s, and on cable's BET in early-mid 2008; recently, it has begun to air on BET's derivative network, Centric. In the UK, it aired on the British Channel, Trouble, 7mate in Australia & on MTV2 in the United States on July 1, 2011. The series has also aired on FamilyNet on September 1, 2014.[88]
Since February 2017, Fuse is currently airing reruns of the show. As of 2018, repeats of the sitcom are being aired. As of 2019, selected seasons are available to view for free on Crackle with the season selection changing by yearly quarters.[89] In 2019, Malcolm & Eddie began airing on StarzEncore and all episodes are available on demand via multiple streaming and cable platforms.
References
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 4, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 11, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 18, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. September 25, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. October 2, 1996. p. 3D.
^Graham, Jefferson (October 9, 1996). "Baseball on NBC helps CBS". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
^DeRosa, Robin (October 23, 1996). "Fox gets major league boost to No. 3". Life. USA Today. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 6, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 13, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 20, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 27, 1996. p. 3D.
^"Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. December 4, 1996. p. 3D.
