Government Cheese (TV series)

Government Cheese is an historical surrealist comedy drama television series created by Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr and starring David Oyelowo, Simone Missick, Bokeem Woodbine, Adam Beach, and Sunita Mani. Set in 1969, the series follows the Chambers family, an African American family living in the San Fernando Valley, and the chaos that arises after burglar-turned-inventor Hampton Chambers returns from prison. Government Cheese premiered on April 16, 2025, on Apple TV+.^[2]

Government Cheese
Genre	Comedy drama
Created by	Paul Hunter Aeysha Carr
Starring	David Oyelowo Simone Missick Jahi Di'Allo Watson Evan Ellison Bokeem Woodbine
Theme music composer	Pharrell Williams
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Paul Hunter Aeysha Carr David Oyelowo Jessica Oyelowo Charles D. King Ali Brown Ahmadou Seck Jelani Johnson Marta Fernandez
Cinematography	Matthew J. Lloyd[1]
Production companies	Street Carr Productions Yoruba Saxon Ventureland MACRO Television Studios Apple Studios
Original release
Network	Apple TV+
Release	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16) – present

Premise

In 1969, Hampton Chambers, a convicted burglar, is released from prison and returns to his home in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, where he reunites with his family and tries to start over with a second chance by inventing the "Bit Magician", a self-sharpening power drill. However, the unconventional structure of the Chambers family formed in his absence, moments from his past, run-ins with shady and dangerous figures, and even instances of seeming divine intervention complicate matters.

Cast

Main

• David Oyelowo as Hampton Chambers
• Simone Missick as Astoria Chambers
• Jahi Di'Allo Watson as Harrison Chambers
• Evan Ellison as Einstein Chambers
• Bokeem Woodbine as Bootsy

Guest

• Jeremy Bobb as Manny Brinks
• Louis Cancelmi as Jean-Guy Prevost
• Julien Heron as Patrice Prevost
• Christopher Redman
• Djilali Rez-Kallah as Claude Prevost
• Louis Ferreira
• John Ortiz
• Adam Beach as Rudy
• Sunita Mani as Edith
• Stephen Schneider as Ronald

Episodes

No.	Title [3]	Directed by	Written by [4]	Original release date [3]
1	"The Gospel of Kenny Sharp"	Paul Hunter	Paul Hunter & Aeysha Carr	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16)
2	"Trial and Error"	Paul Hunter	Paul Hunter & Aeysha Carr	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16)
3	"Two Doors"	Colin Bucksey	Paul Hunter & Aeysha Carr	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16)
4	"A Long Road Home"	Colin Bucksey	Hugh Moore	April 16, 2025 (2025-04-16)
5	"Father Facts, Figures, and Failures"	Paul Hunter	Wes Brown	April 23, 2025 (2025-04-23)
6	"Parable of Drawing in the Net"	Paul Hunter	Migizi Pensoneau	April 30, 2025 (2025-04-30)
7	"The Woman on the Roof"	Stacie Passon	Katherine Kearns & Cece Burke	May 7, 2025 (2025-05-07)
8	"An Evening with Abraham Cohen"	Stacie Passon	Katherine Kearns	May 14, 2025 (2025-05-14)
9	"R&D"	Sylvain White	Wes Brown & Hugh Moore	May 21, 2025 (2025-05-21)
10	"St. Hampton"	Sylvain White	Paul Hunter & Aeysha Carr and Migizi Pensoneau	May 28, 2025 (2025-05-28)

Production

It was announced in June 2022 that Apple TV+ was nearing a deal to order the series, which would see David Oyelowo star in and executive produce.^[5] The deal for the series was closed by December 2023, when Oyelowo and his production company Yoruba Saxon signed a first-look deal with Apple,^[6] and Simone Missick would be cast.^[7] In April 2024, Bokeem Woodbine, Adam Beach and Sunita Mani would be among additional castings announced.^[8][9]

Filming began in May 2024 under the working title Bonneville in Los Angeles.^[10]

Reception

The series holds a 71% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Peculiar and peppy, Government Cheese has some holes but gets by on the strength of its nutty writing and a collection of tangy performances."^[11] On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 63/100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[12]