Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
A few weeks ago, TV One reported that the 1988 cult classic Coming to America will be releasing the long-anticipated sequel, Coming 2 America, this December on Amazon Prime. When The Grio asked if Eriq La Salle would be reprising his role alongside Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and many others, the 58-year-old said no. But the reason behind his answer is a bit more complex than what he leads on.
Although La Salle is largely known as Dr. Peter Benton from the 15-season medical drama series ER, he has focused the majority of his attention on executive producing and directing NBC’s hit shows Law & Order SVU and Chicago P.D. Nonetheless, to the NAACP Image Award Winner, he mentioned to the “visibly disappointed” group that he’s “a little busy.”
“Straight to the point. I knew where you were going with it. I’m a little busy right now…with this show,” he said.
However, if you’re familiar with Dick Wolf‘s series franchises like Law & Order and Chicago, then it’s clear that this is a bigger accomplishment and larger task than he’s leading on — especially with the yearly crossover episodes.
“I get nervous about having responsibility. I think our responsibility is to write entertaining TV that people watch,” La Salle shared. How we try to do that is by writing honest TV, and I think in trying to be honest to what is going on in Chicago in 2019, you find yourself in these really interesting and sensitive topical areas,” he said. “If you do that truthfully you’ve got something that is exciting and entertaining even if people disagree or get upset. Hopefully, people get upset. You’re really not doing your job if a certain part of the fan base isn’t shocked or outraged or upset.”
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