Wayne Brady is a consummate entertainer. From his recent starring role in “The Wiz,” to hosting “Let’s Make a Deal,” to “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” he’s done it all. Now he’s welcoming fans into his private life with the new Freeform reality series, “Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.”
The show follows Wayne as he navigates his journey to coming out as pansexual. He is supported by his modern blended family, which includes his ex-wife/business partner Mandie Taketa, their 21-year-old daughter Maile Brady, Mandie’s partner Jason Fordham and their 3-year-old son.
Reality shows aren’t actually real most of the time, but for Brady this project became extremely personal, as he was in the “throes of depression” when the cameras rolled.
“I’m glad that we also caught that on tape,” he told People. “And I was so in the throes of this darkness, this whole thing, that the only way that I felt that I could show up was I needed to be needed. I’ve got to work.”
As fantastic as he is on stage, Brady couldn’t balance his work personality with his true self, and it was weighing on him.
“I can walk on stage and be charming and affable and make you laugh and look in the camera and do my thing,” he said. “But the fact that that guy, and I even say it in the show, ‘I could make millions of people happy, but I would go home, and I feel like a piece of shit, and I couldn’t do that anymore.’”
Having cameras follow him on his “mental health journey” to acceptance wasn’t easy, but the comedian feels like he came out of the experience stronger.
“I hope that in any project I do [from] this point on is affected positively because I was able to be honest,” Brady said.
“Wayne Brady: The Family Remix” premieres Wednesday, July 24 at 10 p.m. on Freeform and is available to stream on Hulu the next day.