In November 2005 the Cartoon Network debuted The Boondocks during its late-night Adult Swim programming and gave us a glimpse into the fictitious Freeman family, who had just moved from the South Side of Chicago to the mostly white, made-up suburb of Woodcrest. In the premiere, viewers heard 10-year-old Huey Freeman proclaim that "Jesus was black, Ronald Reagan was the devil and the government is lying about 9/11."
They got to see the penis of Robert Jebediah Freeman—aka Granddad—during an in-home, butt-naked infomercial workout, and they were treated to a stirring rendition of Uncle Ruckus' "Don't Trust Those New Niggers Over There!"
The show was edgy and racy and all the adjectives that can describe supremely well-done black satire. And then, after only three seasons and 45 episodes, it was gone. Fans took to the Internet wondering if the controversial cartoon had been canceled. There was speculation about the creator Aaron McGruder's schedule and how long it took to craft each episode. There was speculation about the liberal use of the word "nigger," and Tyler Perry's alleged anger over his depiction in the "Pause" episode in season 3, as reasons for its sudden disappearance.
There had been no activity on the official Boondocks Facebook page since last year after a failed attempt at a Kickstarter campaign to fund a movie centered on Uncle Ruckus.
Then, on March 14, an all-black background with a white silhouette of Huey Freeman and the date "4.21.14" appeared on the page. At the very top of the posting was a lyric from the theme song by rapper Asheru: "I am the stone that the builder refused … "
It was the perfect amount of cryptic flair to get fans hyped for a show that last aired almost four years ago.
Except it doesn't look like The Boondocks creator and Executive Producer McGruder has anything to do with whatever is coming on 4.21.14, and while there is nothing on The Boondocks website or Facebook page to confirm this, a posting by McGruder on a different Facebook page for his new offering, Black Jesus (a live-action take on Jesus as a black man living in Compton, Calif.), may point to this.
On March 16 McGruder launched the Black Jesus Facebook page. Later that same day he wrote, "Just found out someone has hijacked THE BOONDOCKS Facebook page. This was done without my permission and I have absolutely no control over the content being posted as of Friday, March 14."
The posting was signed "AM" to confirm that he had, in fact, written it.
Here is where it gets interesting: Normally when a Facebook page is "hijacked," the hijacker will write asinine postings on the wall, but nothing on this page seems out of place. Everything written on the page is about a new season debuting on April 21. The Facebook page and The Boondocks trailer on the Adult Swim network all have the same official airdate.
Another posting appeared on the Black Jesus Facebook page on March 17, still claiming that McGruder has no involvement with the release-date announcements appearing on the Boondocks page: "Hey guys. Still don't have control over my Boondocks Facebook page. Nothing on there is coming from me. Will have Black Jesus pray for these people. AM"
Calls made to Adult Swim and Sony, which own the television and film rights to The Boondocks, were not returned.
So the mystery remains for now. Stay tuned.