Cedric Yarbrough is a very funny man. You might recognize his robust voice from animated series like Netflix’s BoJack Horseman, where he played Officer Meow Meow Fuzzyface, or neighbor Tom DuBois on The Boondocks. Or you might recognize his face as Vic from The Goldbergs or when he played Deputy Jones on the wildly funny Reno 911!. During an interview on CNET’s new podcast I’m So Obsessed, Yarbrough talked about returning to Deputy Jones 11 years after the show had first wrapped by filming new 8-minute mini-episodes of Reno 911 for the streaming service Quibi.
“With Quibi, you trim the fat a little bit and you just get right to the funny,” said Yarbrough. “Right to the funny morning briefing. Right to the funny joke that’s going to happen. And, right to the weird ending. So the show [Reno 911!] might be a little funnier this time.”
We recorded our interview at the beginning of April well before George Floyd died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes. Nationwide protests against against racial discrimination and senseless violence have erupted in the weeks since. Yarbrough, who grew up in Minneapolis, donated $10,000 to the family of George Floyd along with the rest of the cast of Reno 911!.
In our conversation, Yarbrough discusses everything from what it’s like filming on Quibi’s unique horizontal and vertical dual-camera setup and performing at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center with his improvised stage show The Black Version to being obsessed with the Netflix series Ozark and musician Bill Withers, who died March 30.
Listen to my entire conversation with Yarbrough and subscribe to I’m So Obsessed on your favorite podcast app. In each episode we catch up with an artist, actor or creator to learn about their work, career and current obsession.