Desmonds: Series I & II

The Original Barbershop Comedy!

Welcome to Desmond’s barber shop - a friendly family business that is the hub of the

community’s social scene, where you and eat, drink, watch videos, play dominoes and –

if you’re lucky – get a haircut! Norman Beaton stars as Desmond Ambrose,

a self-taught barber who knows only one style – short-back-and-sides.

Born in Guyana, he dreams of going back to the old country to retire,

unlike his enterprising wife Shirley who has successfully crossed the cultural divide with the

aid of their three children: “buppie” son Michael, college student Gloria and teenage son Sean,

who is as keen rapper as he is a computer geek. The Desmond’s ensemble also includes

West Indian loafer Porkpie, streetwise wheeler-dealer Lee, trendy hairstylist Tony

(played by Dominic Keating known for his role as Lt. Malcolm Reed on Star Trek: Enterprise)

and the African student Matthew, who bears the brunt of many jokes around the shop.

Desmond’s became an “extended family” to its devoted viewers around the

globe that embraced these vibrant characters on the screen, not only generating laughter but

also gaining a sense of belonging from them.

Desmond’s aired on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) in the early 1990s

and on Vision TV from 1995 to 2005 and thus gained a loyal following on this side of the

pond becoming a hit in Canada, the USA and throughout the Caribbean - where it achieved cult status. 

Often touted as a British Cosby Show, Desmond’s was enjoyed so much by

Bill Cosby that he invited its star, Norman Beaton, across to the USA to actually appear in his hit

NBC series The Cosby Show in 1991, where he played the part of a cricket-mad West Indian doctor in

an episode titled 'There's Still No Joy In Mudville'!