Early in the Apple TV+ period comedy 'Government Cheese,' the Chambers family is seen watching an episode of 'The Addams Family,' where a neighbor exclaims, 'Addamses, you are kooks!'
This playful remark resonates with both families and reflects the real-life inspiration behind the Chambers—the creator and showrunner Paul Hunter’s own family.
Hunter shared in a video interview from Mexico City that while others considered them unusual, they were simply immersed in their own imaginative world, fully aware of reality but choosing to live creatively.
Set in the late 1960s in California’s San Fernando Valley, 'Government Cheese' centers on the Chambers, a Black family engaged in unconventional pursuits—ranging from inventing and pole vaulting to hunting eagle feathers—largely detached from societal norms. The title references the processed cheese once provided to low-income families, as well as the inventive sandwiches made by Hampton’s mother, symbolizing aspiration and creativity.
Matthew J. Lloyd, the series’ cinematographer, described the Chambers family—parents Hampton (David Oyelowo) and Astoria (Simone Missick), along with their sons Einstein (Evan Ellison) and Harrison (Jahi Di’Allo Winston)—as a 'fable-ized version' of Hunter’s upbringing. The show invites viewers to accept the magical and fantastical experiences, especially those involving Hampton.
