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Freeman Family

In General

Left to Right: Riley, Huey, and Robert

Three members of an extended African-American family, who moved from the South Side of Chicago, Illinois to the affluent suburban city of Woodcrest (implied to be located near Baltimore, Maryland).

• Ambiguously Absent Parents: It's never explained how Huey and Riley ultimately came under the care of their paternal grandfather; we never find out anything about either of their parents or their paternal grandmother, other than the fact that it's very strongly implied that they're all dead.
• Badass Family: In the TV show, the Freemans tend to get into fights with other characters rather frequently. Though how well They can fight tends to vary.
• Butt Monkeys: Life seems to enjoy messing with them. Robert hoped that he and his family would enjoy easier lives in Woodcrest, only to find that it's much less quiet and peaceful than they expected.
• Deadpan Snarkers: All of the Freemans are rather sarcastic or sardonic, though only Huey is really deadpan about it.
• Dysfunctional Family: In the TV series, Robert is rather shockingly immature and incompetent for a man his age, and uses corporal punishment rather liberally against Riley(and Huey on one occasion). Not to mention how often Huey and Riley fight each other, usually due to the latter's trouble-making tendencies. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for this.
• Fish out of Water: There's quite a bit of culture shock for a trio of inner-city blacks who now live in a mostly white suburb. Hilarity Ensues.
• Freudian Excuse: It's implied that much of Huey and Riley's behavior and issues stems from their parents dying when they were young and having to grow up in a bad urban neighborhood. Likewise, it's implied that Robert, a man who had a fairly hectic life in the Civil Rights era, had to grapple with the death of one of his kids and wasn't fully prepared to care of his grandsons when they came under his care.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: All of them are unpleasant in their own ways, especially Riley. Robert is selfish towards everyone except attractive women. And while Huey cares for others and has a strong moral backbone, he's incredibly cold towards every person we see him interact with. However sometimes, we see that they really do care about each other and that they do care about other people on some level.
• N-Word Privileges: Like most black characters in the show, the Freemans, save for Huey, say "nigga" a lot. Huey only says it once in a great while.
• Weirdness Magnet: For some reason, the Freemans have met many strange enemies over the course of the series. They include, but are not limited to: Evil Old Folks, an evil little kid, a crazy lady who loves wolves, a homoerotic cult-like theater troupe, gangsters who deal candy bars, a dead old man who returned as a vengeful ghost (and later as a clone), and even a psycho phone app!