Essence Atkins is back on primetime television thanks to Poppa's House, a new sitcom airing Monday on CBS. She stars opposite Damon Wayans Jr. and Damon Wayans, who she'd been wanting to work with for some time.

"I had worked with Junior before [but] Senior I had never worked with," she tells ABC Audio. "He was kind of the only one of the family that I hadn't worked with. ... He was like ... the final frontier. I was like, if I can work with Senior, then I'll have worked with all of them."

Essence's wish eventually came true, partially thanks to another Wayans: Marlon, her former costar on NBC's Marlon. "When Damon told him about the idea for the show, Marlon started pitching me long before it was ever, like, a go. He was like, 'If you don't hire Essence ... you're stupid.' He was like, 'She's amazing. She's the best. She's who you want on set with you,'" Essence recalls.

In Poppa's House, Essence plays Dr. Ivy Reed, a "well respected" psychologist and bestselling author who is brought "in to help bring a feminine voice to a very successful and iconic radio show program" hosted by the elder Damon's character. "Ivy is relentless and she is committed. But what I love about her is that she is also a fan of who Poppa is and what he has done for 20 years on radio," she says.

"There's so much of a back and forth ... that people are ... asking, well, is she going to be more than just his contentious partner?" Essence continues. She teases, "I think there's room for that."

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.