STUDIO CITY, Calif. – Sound Stage two at CBS in Studio City is home to The Neighborhood.  It stars Cedric the Entertainer as Calvin Butler.

"He’s been in the neighborhood a long time and now watching as the neighborhood is starting to become gentrified," Cedric said.

His new neighbor Dave Johnson, played by Max Greenfield, is the head of the Johnson family. They were shooting a scene for a February episode where Calvin and Dave are at a Los Angeles Kings hockey game. Cedric says he feels the show is more relevant than ever.

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"It’s all about how we learn to get along and learn to come to understand each other and grow and be neighbors," Cedric said.

While his real name is Cedric Kyles, he has enjoyed a long career in the spotlight as "Cedric the Entertainer," a name he says many people thought was arrogant when he started in the standup comedy world.

"You know, you can of find yourself kind of fighting up the ranks and people telling you should change it and telling you that will never work," Cedric said.

Cedric rose to fame as part of the “Kings of Comedy” tour, later turned into The Original Kings of Comedy movie, directed by Spike Lee.  

"I still perform a couple times a month, so therefore I still keep the old knife sharp," Cedric said.

He is also best known for co-starring in the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show and playing Eddie Walker in the movie Barbershop.

And just last year, Cedric got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"Something my mother always taught me is that your good name walks into a room before you do, and I believe that I’ve worked hard at having a good name and so whenever my name comes up, people more than likely want to give it a shot," said Cedric.

He prides himself on going to work every day, doing a good job, and remaining dedicated to his projects.

"I think that’s the attitude that’s led to my longevity is the idea is that I treat it with respect.  I treat others with respect, and that just kind of keeps the ball rolling," Cedric said.

In other words, being neighborly. He says he is honored to be a part of this cast and crew, especially on a network that has traditionally been white and conservative.

"It had been many years since this network had true African-American leads on this show.  I mean, a few pops here and there, but you think, will I be supported," Cedric said.

So far, he says the answer has been “yes.”

"We laugh a lot, so that’s one thing you can kind of count on when you come to work is that it’s going to be a good time," he said.

Now, he hopes the show gets picked up for a third season, but he thinks Hollywood needs to do more to put people of color on the business side of the industry.

"The deficit now is in the executive area, in the executive arena.  It is people who are decision makers, people who are in the room at all levels of the room when the decisions are being made," Cedric said.

They are decisions that have given him opportunities to succeed, and in this age of Instagram fame, he wants young people to see why the power to stay in it for the long haul rivals a meteoric rise to the top.

"At some point and time in your career, you’re going to want to be able to have a model like this that you can go “Oh yeah, Ced did it that way, and he stayed relevant and on top of the game, and I like that,'" said Cedric.

The Neighborhood airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBS.