When you’ve done everything, you can expand into anything. Over the last 20 years, Kevin Hart has been a cop, stand-up comedian, Jumanji zoologist, jobless night school student, a beeper store employee, and one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood. At 42-years-old, Hart is ready for the next chapter in his career, and speaking with Complex, that includes being a Black father on screen for the world to see and learning about classic cars with his best friends, the Plastic Cup Boyz—Harry “Bucket Lo” Ratchford, Joey “Dubbs” Wells, John “Burgandee” Clausell, Ron “Boss” Everline, and Will “Spank” Horton—on an app mostly car enthusiasts will see.
“With life, you always want to progress,” Hart said. “We’re on the MotorTrend app and we’re finding something new that we’ve yet to tap in with.”
Earlier this month, Hart debuted his new MotorTrend original show Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew, and it isn’t simply a vanity project masked as an interview series. Hart makes sure it’s not long before you understand that this show is more about community than celebrity. Within the first 10 seconds each episode, Hart can be heard telling viewers he and his friends are on this show to “take rock the classic car world.” In the first three minutes of the first episode, Hart says the show is a way for The Plastic Cup Boyz to take have a reason to maintain their bond and hang out and shows footage of him gifting his friends with their favorite classic cars in 2018.
To Hart, Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew is a sign of evolution where a group of 40+-year-old men are bonding over cars they’ve loved rather than hanging out at the club that’ll give them hangover regrets every weekend. Whether it’s Horton reveling in the panty drawers magnetism of his 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS 396, Ratchford having a loving conversation with his 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS, or Wells catching road range in his miniature 1956 Volkswagen Beetle, Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew treats cars as catalysts for exploration and bonding. Hart could’ve taken this series to Netflix, his own Laugh Out Loud Network, or even FX, but chose a car app because, at this point in his career, he wants community more than clout.
“The car community exists and has existed in this space for quite some time. Yes, the opportunities on the other platforms were there, but I think there is a strong sense of creditability that is attached to this space,” Hart said. “This is a space we can grow. You don’t want to come in and deter an audience that has been true to this world. You want them, you need them. I think the long road of building that fanbase is one worth embarking on.”
Car shows seldom have an all-Black cast and there aren’t too many shows where a group of lifelong Black male friends is bonding over their ignorance of a subject and them growing together. Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew is all jokes, but they let the viewer learn along with them as they never present themselves as experts but more enthusiasts. They are stunned when they find out someone took ten years to build a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr, and Everline had to rely on Google to find out what shark towers are. “These classic cars take a lot of finesse, moving parts I didn’t realize. I thought you turned a few bolts, turned the key, and the car starts and will run all day. There is finesse and expertise and engineering into making these old cars work,” Ratchford told Complex.
Car enthusiasm is the latest sign of Hart’s expansion beyond what we’ve known him for, but his most striking example is a role he’s been playing off-screen for years: A father. In his latest Netflix film Fatherhood, Hart plays Matthew Logelin, a widowed father of a young daughter, who is struggling with the doubt and responsibility of being a single parent. Hart’s penchant for approachably brazen humor is still on full display, with Matthew explaining to his daughter that one of the issues he’s having is with the different shapes and speeds her poop can hit him. But, unlike almost any other role in his storied filmography, Hart faces survivor’s guilt over his wife’s passing, the struggle of ensuring a perfect childhood for his daughter, and society’s preconceived notions about single father’s inability to parent. It’s quickly being regarded as Hart’s finest role and a key piece in Hart’s expansion as a creative force.
“This was a way for me to show some progression and growth. I wanted to show some talent that has yet to be on display. At the same time, attaching an important message to it. Hopefully, I can continue to do this in my career. Hopefully, I can continue to find new levels of excitement in my craft,” Hart said.
Hart is worth $200 million and is probably one of a handful of people who could legitimately have Will Smith, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ice Cube, Dave Chappelle, and LeBron James all agree to do whatever sort of TV show he wants to do. Complacency is almost expected when this level of influence is effortless. However, Hart is now big enough to expand and the next act of his career could be the most authentic version of himself the world has ever seen.
Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew is streaming now on the MotorTrend app.
