KevOnStage Posts Hilarious Videos On Social Media. He Hopes His Sitcom Can Take Off, Too.

The internet has birthed some of the greatest stars of a generation, such as Issa Rae and Quinta Brunson . Now comedian and creator KevOnStage is taking his knack for hilarious viral videos on social media to his own sitcom, Churchy.

Earlier this year, KevOnStage, whose real name is Kevin Fredericks , premiered his sitcom Churchy on BET+. It is produced by the SpringHill Company and KevOnStage Studios. The series follows Corey Carr Jr., who departs from his fathers church after being bypassed as the new leader and heads to Lubbock, Texas, to be pastor of a new ministry. Carr quickly finds out creating your own ministry in a remote city isnt as easy as expected. Filled with laughs and shenanigans, this feel-good comedy captures the essence of community, faith and everyday life with heartwarming sincerity, leaving audiences uplifted and eagerly anticipating each episode.

In an interview with HuffPost, the comedian discusses Churchy, hard conversations with his sons, how he spoke too soon about a possible opportunity with Issa Rae and taking a leap of faith.

In the pilot episode, Coreys heart was set on leading the second church his father established, only to be passed up for his dads spiritual son. Have you ever experienced being passed up for something in a similar manner?

Yeah. One time I had auditioned for a role on Issa Raes Insecure, and I misread the email, thinking the part was already mine. I realized they had actually wanted me to come in and audition for the role. I was at work at the time with my friends, and we were all young and Black at the job where I found myself talking a lot of trash. Later that evening, I was showing my wife the email, and then I read the bottom of it where I saw I needed to audition. I went to the audition and didnt get it. I had to take that embarrassment in front of my work friends [laughs]. When I watched the show, I saw why I didnt get it: The character was Issas characters age on the show, like a dating partner who was supposed to be between 25-26, and I looked every bit of 37 years old. I spoke a bit too soon, so that was one of my Corey Carr moments. 

Have you seen Issa Rae afterwards and brought that up to her and laughed about it? 

I havent brought that up to her, but we see each other in passing at times; we dap each other up, and I tell her shes the most amazing Black person on earth. One day, well sit on a yacht in Malibu and well wax poetically on the good ole days, and Ill bring it up. I appreciate her for even reaching out to me. 

The Clubhouse moment on Churchy was golden; integrating social media into the series is fantastic considering its pivotal role in your success. How did you master social media?

Thats a great question. I think just being active on them is really helpful and also knowing that certain humor and not only certain humor, certain formats, are better for certain platforms, right? TikTok switched video from horizontal to vertical because before that you could do horizontal. Due to TikToks success, Instagrams vertical video is more prominent, Facebook and Instagram have reels, etc., so Ive switched over to vertical videos predominantly. You also need to understand what trends will pop on certain platforms. 

In dedicating the first season of Churchy to your late brother, Jason Fredericks, did his life or experiences influence any of the storylines in any significant manner? Were you able to workshop any of your comedy material with him?

Absolutely. His life and my life were mirrored. Churchy is loosely based on our home church in El Paso. We worked very closely, hand in hand, with this. He read scripts, he pitched ideas hes a producer on the show for that reason. He was one of the first people to tell me I have to hire traditional actors if you want the show to go where you want it to go, with other friends of mine echoing that sentiment. I dedicate this show to him and all of the future seasons because it was something that we worked on together. I know hes very proud of me and fighting for me on the other side.

Theres a scene in the series where Corey talks to a young adolescent about masturbation. As a parent, understanding theres talk you may not want to have but need to have is vital. Whats a conversation youre dreading or have dreaded having with your children? 

Churchy is more reflective of my time as a youth pastor, so I would say its the other way around. A lot of times, teens dont want to hear from their parents, but theyll hear from somebody else who is their parents age with the same advice. As a youth pastor, that was often my place, giving people good advice for their kids. Its my responsibility as a man to teach my boys about sex and about consent. I have to inform them about that. What I dread talking to them about is being a Black man in America and how theyre perceived. Those are the conversations that I wish I didnt have to have. My youngest son, his resting face isnt a pleasant smiling face, and hes just very nonchalant. I gotta let him know he cant walk around with a hoodie and a scowl on because youre gonna look intimidating, and this is when he was much smaller. Hes now bigger and stronger. I told my oldest son, like, hey man, you are Black first everywhere you go, so if you gotta go to the bathroom at a gas station, make sure to buy something first or try to go to a hotel. Things like that to try to prevent them from being in areas where they might be in danger. When it comes to Trayvon Martins unfortunate passing and Tamir Rices unfortunate passing I have to take those stories and prepare my children for how the world sees them. Thats probably the thing I dislike the most about parenting, is the truth about being a Black man in America, and, unfortunate as it is, I would do my boys a disservice if I didnt prepare them for how the world will see them and treat them. 

Which particular theme or storyline in Churchy are you most pleased to have included, and can you share any discussions or updates regarding renewal for a second season?

The overarching thing that Season 1 was about, Corey fighting to prove his father wrong. And I think a lot of times that requires charting your own path. If we get a Season 2, what I would love to deal with, and this is what the initial idea for Churchy was about, is if your church doesnt have any new people, the ideas never change. A lot of times people dont realize the world is passing them by because nobodys in there challenging them. If youre not on the internet, if youre not talking to new people, youre often not being challenged in your thoughts. Ive been challenged, and a lot of thoughts have been changed by people younger than me. My cousin taught me stuff, and shes 10 years younger than I am. So I think that also applies to the church and thats [what Id like to explore] if given Season 2.

Going viral is a part of any creatives job, in hopes to reach the masses and keep their name in the conversation, or pose questions for a wider audience. Do you remember the first time you went viral, what was it for and what was going through your head?  

It was the first two videos I did with The Playmakers. We did a skit, Stuff Black Church Girls Say and Stuff Black Parents Say. This time, you could only post videos on YouTube, and it went crazy on there with people sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. That happened in early 2012, and I was thinking how crazy this moment was, comparing it to hearing your song for the first time on the radio. It felt amazing, but I had to go to work the next day, and where I was working at the time, I made it a point that nobody knew who I was there because I had been fired previously for talking about my dreams of wanting to be a famous comedian. So I wasnt making that mistake again. 

What was it like to take a leap of faith after getting let go from that job? Any tips you can share to people who fear taking that risk? I ask because a former boss of mine had let me go because he felt my heart wasnt in it as much as he wanted. 

One thing Ive learned is everybody will not be happy for you whether its your employer, a family member or people online. What I believe is your path is your path and what God has for you is for you what is necessary will happen. Even with my getting fired from my job at the moment that happened, I felt like this was the worst thing that could happen to me because how am I going to feed my kids or pay my mortgage? In retrospect, it was important for me for it to happen because it pushed me to where I needed to go. 

Make sure you know your purpose, stay true to your purpose, and I wouldnt advise throwing your dream in everyones face because sometimes people will trip. The boss who said that to you and let you go couldve been giving a projection or a misinterpretation of you, because as long as youre doing your job, it doesnt matter what you do outside of work. 

From stand-up, your own series, to commercials with Spectrum and a late-night talk show called Friday Night Vibes with Nina Parker, how does it feel to see all your wishes come true? And how has Nina Parker helped you grow as a host?

Its been amazing having a lot of wins in a row after having a lot of years without many wins. 

It feels fulfilling, and Im grateful for this moment theres a lot of stuff I still want to accomplish. And I hope that Im given an opportunity to do everything thats in my dreams. As far as [Nina Parker] goes, I cant speak highly enough about her. Shes such an amazing co-host but also so giving, as shes a huge coach for me on TV. Its my first TV hosting opportunity, and she made me feel so comfortable on set, especially my first day. It felt like when you go to high school and youre a freshman, she was the cool senior who was like, you can sit with us [laughs].  

Youre known for openly discussing trending topics and issues. Whats a pressing topic on your mind that youd like to address?

Im all about Black people and our opportunities I think right now, in our industry at least, weve seen a wealth of our shows get canceled. Its not just our shows, but it seems like that sometimes. So for me, its just about making sure that we have representation in spaces, making sure that our ideas are properly credited. Its always about creating opportunities for people who look like me; obviously in this business, racism is a big deal in Hollywood, but nepotism is equally as difficult, and thats done often without malice. People just look out for people that are in their community, and a lot of times in these spaces, theres not a lot of Black people who are making those decisions.

Im grateful that a lot of my opportunities the majority of them have been [from] a Black person looking out for me. Ive been qualified to do the job, but people have been saying my name in rooms that Im not in, so I feel its my duty and responsibility to always continue creating those opportunities for others and saying other peoples names in rooms that theyre not in so that theyll get opportunities that Im receiving. 

Churchy is streaming on BET+