Getting older comes with its own set of challenges—and its own wisdom. In 'Big Age', Audible’s latest original, Jenifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Niecy Nash explore that exact idea with humor, warmth, and a touch of mischief.
Centered on Dot (Lewis) and Butch (Cedric the Entertainer), a recently retired couple reluctantly transplanted to the lively Florida senior community of Sunset Gardens, the audio comedy series follows their efforts to navigate new friendships, old flames (aka Ethel played by Nash), and a parade of unforgettable personalities that push their 50‑year marriage and expectations to the limit.
Jenifer Lewis: Kenya Barris, who created ‘Black-ish’ called—and you don't say no to Kenya after a successful eight-year run on network TV. You give him whatever he needs. And Kenya was just great, so I knew this project would be professional. I knew it would be written well, and I knew it would be exciting when he said Niecy Nash and Cedric the Entertainer. So that's what drew me to it. And not only that, but the character Dot is a writer, so I knew she'd be smart—but then I found out in the writing that she's also insecure.
Here's the thing about growing older: The price for that is wisdom. So some people at the Sunset Gardens, they were still babies. Somebody told me a long time ago, adults are just big babies. So you just go with the flow with that because everybody at that home is going through the same thing because we're all aging. So there was a lot of great chemistry between all of us, and even though some people filmed in New York, when Kenya brought the three of us together, it was electrifying.
Niecy Nash: No matter if you're just using your voice or on camera, I believe that in comedy, you have to be fearless. You have to go for the bid, you have to go for the joke. Especially with these two, you've got to live in an improv world because you never know what's going to happen or what they might say, what they might throw your way. So I just think that being fearless, number one, and working with people that you can trust, number two, is a very good formula for comedy.
Cedric the Entertainer: I think you have to use all the tools in your toolbox. You know that you're trying to get people to visualize what's happening here and you're trying to get people's imaginations to come alive—and so I think by being a standup, you often do that. I mean, I can do jokes with just my face and not really ever have to do anything—these are the kind of things you think about [with] great comedians who just use timing and space to tell a story.
I think that I was able to benefit from being in sitcoms where you're doing it in a bigger, more energetic form, and then doing movies where you're driving everything through character and you're trying to let people see who the character is. And then [with] Niecy and Jennifer, we've known each other through our lives and our careers. So there's a trust there. There's an opportunity of knowing that it's somebody who's a friend of yours. If you dive off the page and they do something different, you just can go with it.
Niecy Nash: Girl, when you improv—it's magic. That's why they call it lightning in a bottle. When somebody says something that's off the page and you follow them or you set them up, that is just not something that you can prepare for. And it's hard to remember because you're so present and you didn't have to learn a line. I couldn't tell you exactly something that we improv that was specific, but I can tell you that we did it often and had a good time doing it.
Jenifer Lewis: It's the trusting—you've got three seasoned comedians doing this project and we recorded solo, but there are no mistakes when you're improvising like that. When the chemistry is so electric, we don't even need to be in the same room.
Jenifer Lewis: There is so much warmth in these characters, and there's a thrill in the music; it's undeniable. And I didn't even know they were going to score it. When I walked in and heard that beautiful music underneath our dialogue, I was blown away. I really was because it just solidified it to another level. This was a really special project, one of my favorites, I have to say.
Niecy Nash: I hope that people are entertained, but I hope they hear someone that they know. I hope that we are familiar, like an aunt, an uncle, a grandparent, someone else in their life who is experiencing and seeing their own big age. [Hopefully] there's some connective tissue that we remind them of someone they know.
Cedric the Entertainer: I love the fact that with the humor and the way the characters are set up, and the heart of the story, when you meet them, it’s the idea that your age is what defines you, right? You're older now and we're all ready to settle it down and buy into that. Yet once we get to this living facility, you realize life is happening, people are living, people are going. So I love the idea that people don't have to identify themselves as, oh, I'm this age and I can't do that anymore.
Our characters end up showing so much of connectivity and how one is empowered through that friendship, story, history, love, laughter, doubt—all these things that we have as human beings. That's what I think this is going to be...that kind of emotional touch that people will hopefully be inspired by, as well as realizing that life is always a great opportunity. If you get to wake up to live, then that's the greatest opportunity.
‘Big Age‘ is now available exclusively from Audible.
