Harvey Closes the Book on Sitcom

After six years, school is finally out for Steve Harvey.

And he couldn’t feel prouder.

“I’m walking away on my own terms,” the actor-comedian said last week, before Sunday’s final episode of “The Steve Harvey Show,” the WB network comedy set at an inner-city high school.

“We lasted six years, we’re doing well in syndication and I know this is the best half-hour [series] that the WB has ever had.”

The program, featuring Harvey as a former 1970s R&B; singer who moves from music teacher to vice principal, helped establish Harvey as a comedy force to be reckoned with.

It was his decision to end the show after six years--once there were enough reruns to play on local TV stations--while it still possessed a small but loyal audience (about 3 million viewers per week), saying he wanted to pursue other projects.

In addition to starring on the show, Harvey also became a top-rated local radio personality on KBBT-FM (100.3) the Beat, and drew praise for “The Original Kings of Comedy” concert tour and related documentary from filmmaker Spike Lee. He’s also earned several NAACP Image Awards, including last year’s entertainer of the year honor.

Still, Harvey said it is the series that has had the most impact on his career.

“The show put me in people’s houses, which was very important,” he said. “I grew from being just a stand-up to being on this great show. It really had a profound effect.”

However, Harvey also exits the TV scene with mixed feelings, saying there are aspects of the business of television that he is ready to leave behind.

“I won’t miss getting notes from the network, or the long hours of taping and rehearsal,” he said, adding that he wished the network would have had more trust in his vision. (The WB is part-owned by Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times.)

“This show was never from the Steve Harvey point of view, which I thought the show was supposed to be,” Harvey said. “There are so many issues I would have like to have tackled, such as teen pregnancy or drugs.

“But they didn’t want to do that. They felt it would be too heavy for a comedy. They said, ‘The numbers are great, let’s not mess with it.’ I disagree. You can make anything funny.”

Harvey said he was also distressed that the WB “moved our show to a different night each season. Still, people found it. In hindsight, the network did what they had to do. It’s water over the dam now. I’m all about positive.”

Network executives said several of the WB’s African American comedies, including Harvey’s show, were moved en masse to different nights as a programming strategy and pointed out that Harvey was able to tackle serious issues, such as the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry.

Brad Turell, a spokesman for the Turner Broadcasting networks, said the WB is currently looking for another strong African American personality “that can be the center of a show.” In addition to Harvey’s show, the network’s other remaining sitcom with African American leads, “For Your Love,” will also end its run this year.

Harvey said he will greatly miss working with the show’s creator and executive producer, Winifred Hervey, executive producer and director Stan Lathan and a cast that included Wendy Raquel Robinson, Terri J. Vaughn and Cedric “The Entertainer,” who played coach Cedric Robinson.

Hervey added that the show brought “a bit of sophistication” to the genre of African American sitcoms, which have been criticized in the past for being too stereotypical or cartoonish.

“All the characters had a lot of dignity, even though they approached things differently,” she said. “There were no weak people on the show. And I felt all the actors did really good work.”

The show marks Harvey’s second TV project, and he remains bitter about the fate of his first project, ABC’s “Me and the Boys.” The 1994 series cast Harvey as a widower raising three young sons. Despite the fact that it was the network’s highest-rated new show (it benefited from being sandwiched between “Full House” and “Roseanne”), it was not renewed for a second season.

“That was simply an injustice,” Harvey said with a noticeable edge. “How do you explain that? It would have been a great show. ‘Me and the Boys’ is the only show I would come back to television to do.”

Still, Harvey has plenty of other projects on his plate.

Syndication of his radio show to other cities is on the horizon. Urban Works Entertainment has just released a DVD of his stand-up act. He also has a music compilation album featuring Carl Thomas, Angie Stone and other R&B; artists.

“There’s plenty to do, and it’s all good,” Harvey said.

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“The Steve Harvey Show” finale airs Sunday night at 7:30 on the WB. The network has rated it TV-PG-D (may be unsuitable for young children, with an advisory for suggestive dialogue).