‘The Neighborhood’ Surprise Baby News & Skye Townsend Joins Cast

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Skye Townsend, best known for HBO‘s A Black Lady Sketch Show, will be joining The Neighborhood for its upcoming sixth season, and with her role comes a surprise for Marty Lawrence Butler (Marcel Spears).

As reported by Deadline, Townsend is set for a recurring role in Season 6 of the hit CBS comedy series. She will play Courtney, loosely based on Spears’ real-life girlfriend, Sarah Francis Jones, who went into labor at a Beyoncé Renaissance tour concert back in September.

Her character is described as “very smart” (having entered MIT at 16 and worked at JPL before 21) and “very cool, very outgoing” with “a great sense of humor.” She previously worked with Marty at JPL, and he’s recently hired her as an electrical engineer at The Fuse Box, the EV solutions startup he and Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) launched in the Season 5 finale.

But there is a bigger twist in store with Courtney’s arrival; a few months back, she and Marty hooked up, and now she’s pregnant.

That’s right, Marty is going to be a father, which means Calvin and Tina (Tichina Arnold) are going to be grandparents!
The cast of 'The Neighborhood'

(Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS)

However, while Courtney is very upfront about the fact she likes Marty, she refuses to marry him. Fans will have to wait until the new episodes air, beginning February 12, 2024, to find out what happens.

According to TVLine, Townsend is slated to appear in five of Season 6’s ten episodes. In addition, Kevin Pollak, who was introduced as Dave’s (Max Greenfield) estranged father, Lamar, in Season 5, will return for two more episodes next season.

Townsend is an actress and singer who has released two EPs, Vomit (2012) and Rocking Chairs (2015).

She is best known as a cast member of the Emmy-winning HBO variety series A Black Lady Sketch Show. Her other credits include the BET web series 8 Days a Week, the Netflix urban fantasy series Lucifer, and the 2021 iCarly revival series.

She will next be seen in the OWN’s A Christmas Serenade, playing the lead character Willow. The film follows musician Jeremiah (B.J. Britt) as he returns home and gets recruited to take over as the Minister of Music for the annual Christmas Jubilee at his home church, reigniting the feud and romance with the pastor’s daughter, Willow.

The Neighborhood, Season 6, Premiere, February 12, 2024, CBS