Marlon Wayans is pulling back the curtain on some little-known Hollywood history—and y’all, The Wayans Bros. almost never made it to our screens.

Appearing on Baby, This is Keke Palmer podcast, Marlon revealed that NBC, the network initially considering the sitcom, wasn’t sold on the cultural seasoning brought by the late, legendary John Witherspoon. The execs reportedly thought his portrayal of the hilarious and lovable “Pops” was “too ghetto.”

📺 “It’s John Witherspoon Or It’s Not”

“We didn’t make it to NBC,” Marlon shared. “We did a table reading, and they thought ‘Pops’ was too ghetto. And they wanted us to have a different father…like a Danny Glover type, and we was like, ‘No.’”

Marlon said both he and his brother Shawn stood their ground, making it clear Witherspoon wasn’t just a character—he was the soul of the show. “It’s the flavor of the show,” Marlon explained. “We was like, ‘It’s John Witherspoon or it’s not.’ … We ain’t going to do the show. And they was like, ‘Well, negro, you’re not doing the show.’”

But fate had other plans. As NBC closed the door, the WB network was just starting up—and saw the magic in the original vision. “We was like, ‘Wait, hold on, Danny Glover, you say?’ But then the WB was starting, and it was like, ‘I think that’s a great combination.’ So, everything is God.”

Marlon summed it up perfectly: “It’s not about the doors that close; it’s the ones that open up.”