Wanda Sykes, Mike Epps, and Kim Fields on the working class roots of The Upshaws

There’s a great tradition of people just scraping by in sitcoms. Sanford & Son were barely making it. Roseanne was living paycheck to paycheck on-screen, and both iterations of One Day At A Time were about families forced to deal with new, harsh economic realities. That tradition continues with The Upshaws, which finds Mike Epps cast as Bennie, a blue-collar mechanic with a complicated family played in part by Wanda Sykes and Kim Fields. It’s a real murderer’s row of comedians, and the show—created by Epps and Sykes—uses their straightforward deliveries and tell-it-like-it-is nature to its advantage.

The A.V. Club sat down with Sykes, Epps, and Fields to talk about the show’s genesis, ancestors, and quest for truth.

The Upshaws is available now on Netflix.