# Roc (TV series)

Roc is an American comedy-drama television series created by Stan Daniels that aired on Fox from August 25, 1991, to May 10, 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor, a nurse.

## Live performances

The four principal cast members were all accomplished stage actors, and had become acquainted with each other while appearing in various August Wilson plays on Broadway. After a successful live episode (guest-starring Dutton's then-wife Debbi Morgan) was broadcast in February 1992, the producers and the Fox network agreed to air each episode of the second season as a live performance. A Fox executive reportedly said that Roc "didn't feel live" to audiences because "those actors were so good, they never made a mistake."

## Cast
### Main cast

* Charles S. Dutton – Charles "Roc" Emerson, a garbage man
* Ella Joyce – Eleanor Carter Emerson, a night-shift nurse at Harbor Hospital (Wing C)
* Rocky Carroll – Andrew Joseph "Joey" Emerson Jr., Roc's freeloading, trumpet-playing brother
* Carl Gordon – Andrew Joseph "Pop" Emerson Sr., Roc's widowed father, a retired railroad porter

### Recurring cast

* Garrett Morris – Wiz (Season 1)
* Vonte Sweet - Troy Babbit
* Clifton Powell – Andre Thompson
* Heavy D – Calvin Hendricks (Seasons 2–3)
* Tone Lōc – Ronnie Paxton (Seasons 2–3; 7 episodes)
* Jamie Foxx – Crazy George (Seasons 2–3; 9 episodes)
* Barry Shabaka Henley – Ernie (Seasons 2–3; 7 episodes)
* Darryl Sivad – Sly (Seasons 2–3; 6 episodes)
* Loretta Devine – Cynthia (Season 2; 5 episodes)
* Joan Pringle – Matty (Season 2; 4 episodes)
* Alexis Fields – Sheila Hendricks (Season 3)
* Rosalind Cash – Margaret Carter, Eleanor's mother (Seasons 1–3; 3 episodes)
* Richard Roundtree – Russell Emerson, Andrew's brother (Seasons 1–3; 4 episodes)

### Guests

* Kim Fields - Ruth (Season 2), Eleanor's younger sister
* James Avery - Dale Hammers Episode: "The Car Accident From Heaven"
* Kadeem Hardison - Rev. Adams
* Debbi Morgan - Linda
* Tommy Davidson - Donald
* Samuel L Jackson - Larry

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 25 | 25 | August 25, 1991 (1991-8-25) | April 26, 1992 (1992-4-26) |
| 2 | 25 | 25 | August 24, 1992 (1992-8-24) | May 9, 1993 (1993-5-9) |
| 3 | 22 | 22 | August 31, 1993 (1993-8-31) | May 10, 1994 (1994-5-10) |

## Reception and cancellation

Never a rating hit, Fox elected to cancel the show after three seasons, much to the anger of Dutton, who said that the cancellation "is very good proof that what little quality there is in television is reserved solely for white people." Fox had tried to move the show to Tuesday to package it with Martin to drive ratings, and Fox Entertainment president Sandy Grushow had stated his appreciation of the show while also saying it had run its course in trying to find an audience while Dutton contended the network had long before given up on trying to promote the show, particularly when he ran into conflict with the writers (who were mostly white).

### Nielsen ratings

* Season 1: #72 – 8.95 rating
* Season 2: #71 – 8.91 rating
* Season 3: #102 – 5.10 rating