Average Joe’s Deon Cole on Breaking Bad Comparisons: BET+ Series Is ‘A Unique Thing’ — Plus, Grade the Premiere!
There’s nothing mundane about the dark dramedy Average Joe, which stars Deon Cole (black-ish, The Harder They Fall) as a good guy straying from the straight and narrow.
In the first two episodes — which are now streaming on BET+; new episodes will be released weekly — the wildly entertaining series wastes no time in turning the titular plumber’s life upside down.
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After learning that his father lived a double life and stole millions from some shady people just before he died, Joe was attacked by several of these dangerous associates looking for the lost funds and was forced to kill in self-defense. Now it’s a race against time to uncover the whole truth about his dad and find the missing money before the others come for him.
With the series centered on a regular guy who is pulled into the criminal world under strenuous circumstances, the comparisons to Breaking Bad are inevitable. But as Cole points out, this isn’t a show about the Black Walter White.
“That’s what people do. They compare everything,” the actor tells TVLine. “But every situation is different… The way we’re doing it, even though it might have a storyline that might be the same as other stuff that they compare it to… It’s us with the money, so it makes it a unique thing.”
Cole built his career in comedy, appearing in Barbershop, Angie Tribeca, and the late-night talk show Conan. He also served as a writer on The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien, Def Comedy Jam and several awards shows (including the 2014 MTV Movie Awards and the 2022 Soul Train Awards). The actor jumped at the chance to dive into drama with the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall, appearing opposite heavy hitters Idris Elba and Regina King. Playing the double-crossing outlaw Wiley Escoe opened the door for Average Joe, which Cole says was an opportunity to do something different.
“I don’t want to be just a comedic actor. I want to be an actor,” Cole explains. “I would limit myself if I always stuck to one thing. So acting was always something that I wanted to branch out and really just… show that I can do different sides. Since The Harder They Fall, I was given that opportunity to show that… and now I think people believe like, ‘OK, yeah. He could pull this off.”
The BET+ series marks Cole’s first time in a leading dramatic role, and it’s an experience he doesn’t take for granted.
“It taught me that when you’re the lead of a show, nothing else matters, and I didn’t realize that at the time.” he shares. “I still was trying to do stand-up and DJ and write and produce and tour, and they were like, ‘Nah. If you’re doing this, you’re doing this,’ and I had to learn how to let go in order to really focus on this.”
Having appeared in notable ensembles — like Barbershop, which starred Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Michael Ealy and Anthony Anderson — Cole is happy to step back and let his Average Joe co-stars shine in their comedic moments.
“I’ve been a part of some major ensembles with some major players. I always came in, did some funny stuff, rocked it and left,” Cole says. “This was one where I could sit back and everybody else can be funny… and I can be the straight man, and still be funny, but pick and choose my battles when it comes to that.”
As for the rest of the season, Cole teases an even more chaotic journey ahead. “It’s crazy how it goes off the rails,” he previews.
“The last episode is going to have people talking. Like, it’s going to blow people’s minds,” he adds. “All of them are insane, but the last episode is going to flip your head back.”
Give Average Joe’s first two episodes a grade in our poll, and then share your thoughts in the comments.
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