Hey Monie!

{{Infobox television

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| genre = {{Ubl|

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| creator = Dorothea Gillim

| voices = Angela V. Shelton
Frances Callier

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 3

| num_episodes = 25

| executive_producer =

| producer = Soup2Nuts

| camera =

| runtime = 11 minutes

| network = Oxygen
BET

| first_aired = {{Start date|2003|3|4}}

| last_aired = {{End date|2003|4|15}}

}}

Hey Monie! is an American animated sitcom produced by Soup2Nuts. It features heavily improvised dialogue by the Second City cast,{{Cite book |last=Lotz |first=Amanda D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZZdAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hey,+monie%22&pg=PA67 |title=REDESIGNING WOMEN: Television after the Network Era |date=2010-10-01 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-09176-6 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Seham |first=Amy E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=onsUEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hey,+monie%22&pg=PT329 |title=Whose Improv Is It Anyway?: Beyond Second City |date=2009-10-20 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-4968-0202-6 |language=en}} similarly to Soup2Nuts animated sitcom Home Movies.

Its creator and executive producer was Dorothea Gillim, creator of WordGirl, who also produced animated series Curious George, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, Molly of Denali, and Time Warp Trio.{{Cite web |title=GBH Announces Expansion of GBH Kids |url=https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/press/gbh-announces-expansion-of-gbh-kids |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=www.wgbh.org |archive-date=2022-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911211631/https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/press/gbh-announces-expansion-of-gbh-kids |url-status=dead }}

The show began as 5-minute shorts that were part of Oxygen's animation series X-Chromosome.{{Cite web |title=Remembering the Black Friendship of "Hey Monie!" |url=https://floodmagazine.com/49904/remembering-the-black-friendship-of-hey-monie/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=FLOOD |language=en}} It achieved 11-minute episodes Hey Monie! aired on BET and, afterward, on Oxygen in 2003.{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=David |title=The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538103739 |page=282}}{{Cite web |last=Gularte |first=Alejandra |date=2022-05-16 |title=Daria Spinoff Jodie Announced As Film, Cast Includes Pamela Adlon and Kal Penn |url=https://www.vulture.com/2022/05/daria-spinoff-jodie-movie.html |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=Vulture |language=en-us |archive-date=2022-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911211622/https://www.vulture.com/2022/05/daria-spinoff-jodie-movie.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Fearn-Banks |first=Kathleen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1Pe45NhU08C&dq=%22hey,+monie%22&pg=PA190 |title=The A to Z of African-American Television |date=2009-08-04 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6348-4 |language=en}} It was BET's first in-house animated series; BET stated that it followed "the tradition of entertaining and satirical animated programming like The Simpsons, The Critic, and Daria."

In 2003, Seattle PI described the series as "smart, and at times wickedly funny."{{Cite web |last=MCFARLAND |first=MELANIE |date=2003-05-30 |title=These aren't your kids' cartoon shows |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/article/These-aren-t-your-kids-cartoon-shows-1115856.php |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=seattlepi.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911214319/https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/article/These-aren-t-your-kids-cartoon-shows-1115856.php |url-status=live }}

It was the only adult animated series to feature a Black woman as its protagonist until Oh My God... Yes! A Series of Extremely Relatable Circumstances which started airing on Adult Swim in 2025.{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Jamie |date=2024-06-13 |title=Adult Swim Unveils Series Orders for 'Oh My God, Yes!,' 'Ha Ha You Clowns' and Season 3 of 'Smiling Friends' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/smiling-friends-oh-my-god-yes-ha-ha-you-clowns-1236036199/ |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613125555/https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/smiling-friends-oh-my-god-yes-ha-ha-you-clowns-1236036199/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|last=Milligan|first=Mercedes|date=February 6, 2025|title=Trailer: 'Oh My God... Yes!' Takes Adult Swim Viewers to a Wild Future L.A. in March|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2025/02/trailer-oh-my-god-yes-takes-adult-swim-viewers-to-a-wild-future-l-a-in-march/|access-date=February 6, 2025|website=Animation Magazine}}

Plot

Simone a.k.a. "Monie" (Angela V. Shelton), is a publicist at a PR agency in Chicago. She lives in an apartment building with her best friend, Yvette (Frances Callier). The show chronicles her life living as a single career woman in the big city.{{Cite book |last=Shapiro |first=Mitchell E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3UwxekfBf4C&dq=%22hey,+monie%22&pg=PA36 |title=Cable Television Prime Time Programming, 1990-2010 |date=2014-01-10 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9258-9 |language=en}}

Cast

The series protagonists are voiced by the improv comedy Frangela duo, who are real-life best friends.

Angela V. Shelton as Monie
Frances Callier as Yvette
Melissa Bardin Galsky as Robin
Dean Edwards
Sam Seder
H. Jon Benjamin as a self-defense instructor
Brendan Small as Chad
Oprah Winfrey as herself

Legacy

Hey Monie! was not released on DVD; this may explain its multiple half-hour lost episodes. This also may explain why Hey Monie! did not amass a fandom as numerous as that of Home Movies; creator Brendon Small has attributed Home Movies' DVD release "for its increased popularity and cult following."

A 2004 SFGate article lamented the previous year's cancellation of Hey Monie!, as the show positively impacted diversity on television.{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=Suzanne C. |date=2004-06-02 |title=Coming soon to the small screen: less diversity |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Coming-soon-to-the-small-screen-less-diversity-2770630.php |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}} That year, the show was recommended in self-help book Beautylicious!{{Cite book |last=Raines |first=Jenyne M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=meaMDQAAQBAJ&q=hey,+monie |title=Beautylicious!: The Black Girl's Guide to the Fabulous Life |date=2004 |publisher=Harlem Moon/Broadway Books |isbn=978-0-7679-1110-8 |language=en}}

In 2006, television scholar Amanda D. Lotz praised the show's cast for bringing "an authentic feel to the show's language and dialogue."{{Cite book |last=Lotz |first=Amanda D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZZdAAAAQBAJ |title=REDESIGNING WOMEN: Television after the Network Era |date=2010-10-01 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-09176-6 |language=en}}

In 2016, Bustle described the show as a feminist cartoon "way before its time and gone way too soon."{{Cite web |title=11 Female Cartoon Characters Who Need A Modern Feminist Revival |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/147096-11-female-cartoon-characters-who-need-a-modern-feminist-revival |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=Bustle |date=15 March 2016 |language=en}} That year, the show was listed in Vibe's "Forgotten Laughs: 9 Black Shows You Missed Out On."{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Desire |date=2016-04-01 |title=Forgotten Laughs: Here Are 9 Black Shows You Missed Out On |url=https://www.vibe.com/lists/forgotten-black-sitcoms/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=VIBE.com |language=en-US}}

In 2018, Flood Magazine interviewed show creators and stars about the show, although series creator Gillim "was astonished that she was contacted for an interview for this piece, based on how little updated information about the show is available online." Once it was cancelled, Shelton and Callier stated "the show's momentum halted when executives got involved, hiring a white writer—without consulting either of them—to pen the final episodes." These episodes are now lost due to a lack of DVD release.

In 2019, Tuca & Bertie creator Lisa Hanawalt mentioned the show while compiling a list of adult animated shows created by women.{{Cite magazine |last=Ellis |first=Emma Grey |title=Netflix's Animated 'Tuca & Bertie' Is the Tits |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/netflix-animated-tuca-and-bertie-is-the-tits/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/lisadraws/status/1122960153639133184 |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=Twitter |language=en}}