@WesleyJonathan of #TheSoulMan exclusive meet & greet hosted by @BlackandMarried

 To kick off the Wednesday night premiere of The Soul Man I will be joining a Twitter Viewing Party with hosts @BlackandMarried on Twitter Weds June 19th from 10:30pm to 11:30pm! Join us and tweet along as The Soul Man premieres at 11pm. on TV Land. Follow @TheSoulManTV and Follow me at @KiaMorganSmith and @TheCincomom

Click HERE for more party details on BlackandMarriedWithKids.com

This is part of a compensated campaign with TV Land. All opinions are my own.

The Soul Man is back for a second season and even with some tweaks to the original cast and storyline, it’s still a funny family comedy filled with familiar story lines like dealing with grown needy siblings.

Wesley Jonathan (@WesleyJonathan), who plays a grown sibling in need of a place to stay in an upcoming Season 2 episode, met with bloggers during an exclusive meet and greet at the W Hotel in Atlanta, hosted by Lamar and Ronnie Tyler of BlackandMarriedWithKids.com. (@BlackandMarried)

And I viewed a sneak peek of that upcoming episode of The Soul Man starring comedian Cedric the Entertainer, my favorite sassy sister-in-my-head Niecy Nash and Wesley Jonathan who plays Boyce’s carefree younger brother, “Stamps” who thinks buying a pair of $1,500 sneakers is more of a priority than trying to get his life and living situation in order. I have two younger siblings in their 20’s so I can certainly relate to this dynamic.

Wesley was approachable, genuine and easy on the eyes.

Me and Wesley Jonathan. Very nice and down to earth

Wesley discussed why the show has changed direction a bit. Remember those church scenes with a host of extras and the choir pumping and people spilling out into the pews? Well casting for scenes like that is very expensive, Wesley said. So TV Land has scaled back and the show will focus more of the intimate relationship between Boyce “The Voice” Ballentine (played by Cedric) and his wife Lolli Ballentine (played by Niecy Nash) and their family which include Stamps and John Beasley as Barton Moses Ballentine – Boyce’s and Stamps’ father, a retired minister.

Wesley with Lamar and Ronnie Tyler of Black and Married with Kids

And Boyce’s daughter Lyric, played by Jazz Raycole won’t return. Jazz has been written out of the show but in the show they say she’s “away at school.” Wesley said in short that Jazz’s role wasn’t established enough in Season one to survive the round 2 budget cuts.

“They could have actually delved into a lot of fun things between him and her, a preacher’s daughter and all that stuff, but I guess they wanted to go into another direction.” Wesley explained.

As a mom of five, I think it would have been nice to keep Lyric on and write in some father/daughter story-lines especially since strong black father/daughter roles on TV are extinct. (But I guess there are always the Cosby show re-runs.)

Wesley said he believes the show is a lot funnier in this second season and during taping he could see the show shaping up to highlight the love between Boyce and Lollie, which is not seen on TV too often. Wesley said this season it’s all about black love and showing the dynamic relationship between Boyce and Lollie. And in a world where reality shows rule, I’m happy to see this type of show flourish.Wesley said that Cedric has a lot of say in the direction of the show and he’s committed to shining a positive light on this black relationship. This is the first original series on the TV Land network and is a spin-off of the hit show Hot in Cleveland.

In the premiere episode, Boyce tries to help his younger brother Stamps, who gets kicked out of his dad’s house, by allowing him to stay at his home for a bit. But Stamps’ aggravating ways and lack of direction drives Boyce and Lollie to the brink. Wesley is hilarious and thanks to a few shirtless segments, he’s enjoyable to see in this role too.

ABOUT THE SHOW

While Ballentine’s cavalier ways as an R&B crooner clash with the congregation at first, the singer-turned-reverend rediscovers himself through church and family. The Soul Man‘s effervescent attitude and playful plotlines make the new comedy worth a watch.