Anthony Anderson talks tackling current events on "Black-ish"
When Anthony Anderson isn't starring on "Black-ish" or hosting "To Tell the Truth," he finds interesting ways to fill his time.
Last week, that included helping Charmin unveil a new mobile, on-demand bathroom, which Anderson brought to New York to show off. He admitted to CBS News that he wouldn't have minded having one during his days in NYC.
Are you excited about getting to work on a new season of "Black-ish"?
I am, I am. The dynamics of the family is about to change. We have one leaving the nest and we have a newborn that we're dealing with all at the same time, so it'll be interesting to see what stories lie ahead for us. Yara Shahidi is going to be heading up her own show, which we're all excited about. She's such a talented young lady that, you know, it's a well deserved promotion.
The show has done a great job of tackling social issues and current events in a way that sitcoms usually shy away from. How do you see that continuing?
We're going to continue to do what we do. We don't pull headlines from the newspapers or the news or whatnot and go, "Oh, this is topical and timely. Let's do this." We tell stories that are organic to this family. We're authentic in the way that we approach these stories and truthful in the way that we tell them. But if there's something that we feel organically works for the family and whatever it is that they're going through, we definitely let people talk about it. I think doing it the way that we do it -- authentically, truthfully, organically -- is what makes our show resonate with an audience worldwide. We deal with universal stories and universal things that we all can identify with. It just so happens to be told from the perspective of this black family, but it's everything that we go through.
How is the mobile bathroom treating you?
You know what? It's treating me fine. I thought it was an ingenious idea. Living in New York for the three years that I did filming "Law and Order," we shot on these streets and when I had to go it wasn't always convenient for me to get back to the comfort of my trailer. I had to duck into coffee shops, little diners, bodegas, and they weren't always the most sanitary or cleanest of places, so to have something like this is pretty amazing.
Have you tried it yourself yet?
Not yet, not yet. But it's a huge space, and it also has a lounge-sitting area, and a 46-inch screen flat screen in the bathroom, a functioning sink with hot and cold water. I don't see a fireplace, but there are logs in here to burn, and it smells delicious. Oh, and they also have a speaker in here so you can Bluetooth your favorite tunes while you're relaxing and doing whatever it is you're doing in the bathroom.
How long do they expect people to spend in this facility?
I have no idea, but it has all the comforts of home. It even has a telephone in here. I don't know who you're going to call or you're expecting a call from, but there's a rotary telephone in here that actually works -- a rotary telephone. They went old school with it. There's tons of reading material in here. It's air conditioned. It's kind of sexy.
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