Everybody Hates Chris was a surprise hit when it made its debut on UPN in 2005. Loosely based on Chris Rock’s life, the program centers around the title character, played by 12-year-old Tyler James Williams, who lives with his working-class family in Brooklyn.
After Season 1, the show was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. But when UPN merged with The WB to become the CW network, the show’s ratings suffered. The cast was told that no one was tuning in anymore, but online reports suggest CW wanted to move away from comedies and the black shows that made the network so popular. Tyler and the rest of the cast could see the writing on the wall. He told CBS, “It got to the point where Chris was doing the voiceovers, and my voice was deeper than his was. It just didn’t make sense.”
Rather than allow the network to pull the plug on the show without giving it a proper ending, Chris took matters into his own hands by deciding the main character would drop out of high school. Terry Crews, who played the character Julius, told Bossip, “Chris Rock didn’t graduate high school and started comedy when he was, like, 17 years old. Our Chris – Tyler James Williams – is now a sophomore in high school, so the timing is lining up pretty well. Once he becomes a comedian, the show’s over.”
After four seasons, the show was canceled in 2009, and all of the cast members went on to have successful careers in the entertainment industry. The show went into syndication and has since become a cult classic.
As for Tyler, his life took a very scary turn due to a severe health crisis that temporarily derailed his career.
Here’s what happened to the actor on Everybody Hates Chris.
He tried to go to college
After the show ended, Tyler didn’t miss being on the program at all. He told CBS, “It’s kind of like high school. Nobody ever wants to go back to high school.”
While sharing some insight about the show on Twitter, he said that when people ask him if he remembers certain episodes, the answer is always no. He can recall bits and pieces but, for the most part, his time on the program is one big memory that’s all lumped together.
During the show’s final season, he enrolled at New York University as a drama major. But the time he spent in college was uneventful.
He told CBS he was very combative and got into it with most of his professors. He purposely wrote papers that went against the grain in order to ruffle feathers. He also wasn’t pleased that he would have to give up working for four years in order to put all of his focus on his education. So, after about two-and-a-half months, he dropped out.
He continued acting but told the L.A. Times he made a concerted effort to stay away from comedies so he wouldn’t get typecast. He landed a few voice-acting gigs and a couple of small roles on TV shows, including an appearance on Lab Rats alongside his younger brother Tyrel.
Major health issues put his career on hold
At the age of 19, he began experiencing gastrointestinal issues on a weekly basis. He was still working at the time, so he tried to push through and hide his issues as best as he could.
As the years passed by, his weekly health issues turned into a daily occurrence. He visited multiple doctors who told him maybe he was lactose intolerant or perhaps he was suffering from food allergies. It took years for him to finally be diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.
On January 31, 2017, he was rushed to the emergency room and was told he had so much intestinal scarring that it was causing a blockage. He underwent emergency surgery, and doctors removed six inches of his small intestine. He thought his health issues were finally behind him but little did he know, this was only the beginning of his health crisis.
He stayed in the hospital for two weeks and his weight dropped to 105 pounds. He was still looking forward to getting released on Valentine’s Day so he could get back to his everyday life.
But when he woke up on February 14, 2017, he had a fever and was shaking uncontrollably. His nurse called the surgeon, and once the surgeon arrived, Tyler was rushed into surgery where it was determined that his intestines had split at the incision and the contents were spilling into his body. This also led to sepsis — a life-threatening emergency that occurs when an infection triggers a chain reaction throughout the body.
He made it through the surgery and his intestines were repaired. In an effort to allow his body to heal, he was given an ostomy — a surgically created opening in his abdomen that allows waste and urine to leave the body.
He was only 23 at the time and was worried about which direction his life would take. Thankfully, he received unwavering support from his family and his then-girlfriend who were there to help him every step of the way.
Getting his career back on track
After a month, he was released from the hospital and focused on his recovery. He went on to appear in The Walking Dead, Criminal Minds, and Dear White People to name a few.
At the start of the pandemic, he knew he had to take extra precautions to protect himself. In an August 2020 Instagram post, he wrote that his immune system was vulnerable due to an autoimmune disease. He had to leave his house to walk his dog and advised everyone who encountered him in public to stay away from him. He ended his message with a photo of himself flipping off the camera.
He has since returned to work and landed the role of Gregory Eddie on Abbott Elementary.
In July 2021, Deadline website reported that an Everybody Hates Chris animated series was in the works. There have also been talks of a cast reunion, but Tyler says it’s hard to coordinate everyone’s schedule since the cast stays booked and busy which, of course, is a blessing.
Let us know if you’re shocked by what happened to the actor on Everybody Hates Chris.