Smart Guy

1 9 9 7 – 1 9 9 9 (USA)
51 x 30 minute episodes

TJ Henderson (Tahj Mowry) is the diminutive ‘Smart Guy’ of the title. He is 10 years old, has an IQ of 180, has skipped several grades and already attends Piedmont High School in Washington DC.

TJ is allergic to shellfish, receives a weekly allowance of $10, and his favourite after school hangout is Dawgburger. He is the equipment manager of the school’s basketball team, reads Sister Girl magazine, and appeared in a Destiny’s Child music video.

His brother Marcus (Jason Weaver) is not as smart as TJ – he writes his book reports by renting the video version of the book and reviewing the movie – and yearns to be a musician (he writes his own songs and plays keyboards).

Sister Yvette (Essence Atkins) is a junior at Piedmont High where she is a member of the student council and a writer for the school newspaper (the Piedmont Times).

She has a job as a salesgirl at Stylo Wear, a clothing store in the mall.

Their widowed father Floyd (John Marshall Jones) runs the Henderson Construction Company and always steps in at just the right time to drive home unsubtle but valuable life lessons about truth and responsibility.

The series was aimed straight at children and families, and though the storytelling was sitcom predictable, young Taj Mowry was a natural scene-stealer.

TJ Henderson
Tahj Mowry
Floyd Henderson
John Marshall Jones
Yvette Henderson
Essence Atkins
Marcus Henderson
Jason Weaver
Morris L ‘Mo’ Tibbs
Omar Gooding