Kevin Hart has always been open about his journey, sharing it through stand-up, docuseries, and memoirs. His new adult animated series, “Lil Kev,” inspired by real-life experiences, takes it further—offering a raw, unfiltered, and funny look at his childhood in North Philadelphia.

Now streaming on BET+, “Lil Kev” is more than just laughs—it dives into real issues within the Black community, from tough love parenting to survival in a rough neighborhood. Hart has a way of finding humor in even the hardest moments while keeping it real. In addition to voicing his younger self, he serves as the show’s executive producer and writer. 

“Now was the right time to do it because it finally came to life,” Hart says about why he turned his upbringing into an animated series. “I've been trying to develop it for the longest. And any opportunity that I can tell my story, I jump to it. When I have an opportunity to be creative and do it from the times of old, it's exciting to me. Recreating those moments or repurposing them for the [greater good] for people to see, relate to, and understand is great to me… I can go and get raw, but give you a reason to laugh through the animation and delivery.”

If there was ever a spot-on casting choice, it was Wanda Sykes as Kevin’s mother. She plays Nancy Hart, an ER nurse who runs a strict household but is driven by love and a deep need to protect her kids. She’s quick with a whooping but even quicker with care. For Sykes, it was a role she couldn’t pass up. “It was very well written. I just got who she was. And the big thing is… I got to yell at Kevin,” she jokes. “I just loved that. I would skip to work. And I praise God that I got this part where I just get into him. Just yell at him. It's beautiful.”

But balancing humor with the heart of a tough-love Black mom was something Sykes took seriously. “Just finding that balance… I have a Black mom. She's yelling at you, and it's crushing, but you can hear the love. You know what you did. You know why she's yelling at you. You know where it's coming from. It's not just being mean to try to tear you down,” the Virginia-born actress explained. “It's their fear of, ‘Oh my god. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, and I want you to be better. It’s a tough world out there, so I have to do this and it's for your benefit.’ I think that's what I was trying to do with Nancy.”

One of the things that makes “Lil Kev” stand out is its focus on real issues in the Black community. “These are things and moments that so many can relate to,” Hart tells BET. “So, being honest in those moments and then after that using your humor to get you in and out of them, that was a priority. That's what we wanted to achieve in our goal at hand, which was put it all out here. ‘Let's put it all on page, and let's create the road map of success and delivery and reason.’ And, more importantly, what we're looking for in return. And the return that we're looking for from the audience to watch or that's gonna watch is to relate, to like find it to be true, but then ultimately to laugh and find humor in the moments that were so dark for me that I've created and put in a space to be light in today's time,” he adds.

When casting “Lil Kev,” Hart knew exactly who could bring the characters to life. Alongside Sykes, the series features a strong lineup, including Deon Cole, Gerald “Slink” Johnson, Cree Summer, Affion Crockett, Jess Hilarious, and more. “That's the dope thing about the role of animation. It's about the voices. It's about the cadence. It's about the people that you think elevate the person that they would potentially be playing,” the actor says. “In this case, these are no-brainers. Wanda was a no-brainer. Wanda was not a meeting. Wanda was not a discussion. It was not a round table.”

Sykes jokes, “I wish you would've asked me to have a meeting. I would have flipped the table over.” Hart turns to Sykes and adds, “I know. That's why I didn't ask. But if I had asked, you would've flipped the table over because I'm a bad motherf**ker. I would've caught that table in mid-flip and put it right back down.”

Hart and Sykes have worked together before, but never in this dynamic. Still, their chemistry in the booth was natural—playing off each other like longtime comedy partners. Beneath the humor, though, “Lil Kev” is more than just laughs. It’s a story of resilience, hustle, and a young boy determined to make something of himself. When asked about his legacy, Hart reflects, “You know, you're just trying to create an amazing resume at the end of the day. This is like a vision board. It's so much.” He continues, “So it's like, alright. Well, what do I want it to mean? It's one that I gotta think about because what do I want it to mean? Is it for me to say, or is it for other people to say, like, well, ‘Here's your legacy because here's what you were to us.’ And then I'm able to say, ‘Oh my God. Thank you.’ I think it's me accepting it and then and then embracing it.”

At its core, “Lil Kev” is more than an animated show—it’s a tribute to the experiences that shaped Hart and a love letter to the Black community, told with his signature humor.