BET+'s 'The Ms. Pat Show' Star Shares Even More Family Secrets in Season 4

Ms. Pat is back and, as expected, not afraid to hold back! The Ms. Pat Show returns to the premium streaming service BET+ for its Season 4 premiere on May 23.

Comedian Patricia "Ms. Pat" Williams portrays a fictionalized version of herself, Pat Carson, a former convicted felon from the streets of Atlanta who is now a suburban mother in Indiana. The series is a modern-day Roseanne with real-life, non-sugar-coated family issues at the forefront of each episode. Alongside her husband, son, daughters, mayhem-ridden sister, and other crazy characters, Pat has to put out many fires on a day-to-day basis as she deals with being more open-minded as she lives her life as a mom, wife, sister, and friend.

The Ms. Pat Show is based on Williams' real life, which is depicted in the autobiography Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat. BET+ picked up the series in Oct. 2020 and it premiered on Aug. 12, 2021. The show was renewed for a fourth season on May 30, 2023. Since its release, The Ms. Pat Show has garnered Emmy nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at both the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2022 and the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2023 for the Season 1 episode "Baby Daddy Groundhog Day" and the Season 2 episode "Don't Touch My Hair". Both episodes were directed by Mary Lou Belli.

The full cast includes Williams as Ms. Pat, J. Bernard Calloway as Terry Carson, Patricia's husband, Tami Roman as Denise Ford, Patricia's sister, Vince Swann as Brandon, Patricia's college-aged son, Briyana Guadalupe as Janelle, Patricia's daughter, Theodore John Barnes as Junebug Carson, Patricia's 14-year old son. Brittany Inge recurs as Ashley James, Patricia's daughter from a previous relationship. The show is produced by Brian Grazer of Imagine Television, Lee Daniels of Lee Daniels Entertainment, DAE Light Media, and BET Original Productions.

Parents who want to know if they should go full speed ahead into The Ms. Pat Show should know that it is definitely geared towards adults but features messages about problem-solving, decision-making, and other necessary life lessons that are relevant to your older high school and college-aged kids. "We are a real family. We're just taking from my real family, and this TV family is acting out all my real problems." The Atlanta-native comic said in the interview. We spoke more with the star who divulged and how the cast feels like a real family and a surprise story arc from this upcoming season. Read on to find out more!

The Parent Watch: It's been more than a minute since we've seen you on TV. The Season 3 finale aired back in 2023. People have missed you. I've missed you. I wanted to know, how does it feel to be promoting a brand new season?

Ms. Pat: I'm so excited. I'm just glad to be back. I'm so tired of people in my inbox asking me when I'm going to come back. You know how you got to keep that secret? I'm from the inner city of Atlanta. You tell the police on everybody. It was hard to keep in, but I'm glad we can finally talk about it.

Season 4 is described as being wilder than ever, and anyone who's seen the trailer can definitely attest to that. I've watched episodes of season 4 and can definitely confirm.

Which episodes did you watch?

I watched episode one and two.

Oh, great! I hope you enjoyed them.

You've touched on really important, relevant topics, drug use, cyberbullying, code switching, and even race play. What is the writing process for this new season?

We're still touching on deep subjects and topics. One of the things we're talking about is racism this year. I know you saw the first episode, which was my son coming home. What a baby. We touched on generational curses, that's around episode four. We touched on a lot of different things.

I know that you co-created this with Jordan Cooper, [with him] having a hand in what's being put on television, too, were there any topics that you're scared to tackle? It seems like you haven't had any barriers, but is there anything you're like, "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this?"

No! If it's funny, we should all be able to talk about it. Why can't we take some of the deepest, darkest moments and learn from them and laugh at them? That's all we try to do over at The Ms. Pat Show. If you get hit by a car, we're going to write a nice episode.

[Laughs] What I love about this show, too, is that it features a Black family, a no-holds-barred depiction of it. I love the chemistry between you and J. Bernard Callaway. It's always so fun to watch. What is it really like being on set, playing a married couple and dealing with all these crazy situations?

Well, J. Bernard is from the theater. I'm a comedian, so it's just awesome. I love to watch him act because he can act. The cast as a whole [are] all experienced actors except me. So therefore, I was put in [the] hands of some really good people to learn from.

I think you have a knack for it. Even [in] these newer episodes, I really feel like I'm watching a real family go through things. Kudos to you, honestly.

Yes, we are a real family. We're just taking from my real family, and this TV family is acting out all my real problems.

You have a great lineup of guest stars. I saw Golden Brooks (Saturdays), Tommy Davidson (The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder), Flex Alexander. What was it like working with them in this capacity?

It was exciting. It really was. I was like, "Oh, Golden Brooks is here!" Tommy Davidson before, so I'm so used to his behind, but I love seeing the guest stars coming, especially from older Black sitcoms. When you're watching these people, you're like, "Oh, I get to work with them"; Janet Hubert and so many more. I get excited sometimes when people walk through the door, they say yes, and take the job.

It's a multi-generational show as well. For Season 4, in four words, how would you describe the season?

"It's crazy as hell" [laughs] But funny, it's funny. We have this episode about white slaves. You've never seen this on TV, but [there's] a message behind it, which I think everybody will understand and appreciate. We had to cast some white people as slave. That's my favorite episode. I love it. They played a slave really good.

The Ms. Pat Show is back on BET+ today.