Roy Wood Jr., SNL Vet Punkie Johnson Join Barbershop Series

Roy Wood Jr Punkie Johnson — Photos: Everett Collection

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Daily Show alum Roy Wood Jr. and Saturday Night Live vet Punkie Johnson both have boarded the cast of Prime Video’s upcoming Barbershop series.

The new comedy series, which continues the story of the film franchise launched back in 2002, follows Travis “Trav” Porter (played by Jermaine Fowler) as he endeavors to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, a legendary cutter at the titular Calvin’s barbershop in Chicago.

“And while the barbers are new,” the official synopsis reads, “the shop remains just as lively, the customers just as argumentative, and the fades are still the dopest in the city — because at Calvin’s, the community comes together for way more than just a haircut.”

Character details have not been made available, but Wood has been cast as Robert, while Johnson will fill the role of Stella. Other new Barbershop castings include Brett Gray (The Chi, On My Block) and E.J. Bonilla (The Old Man), as Kofi and Fernan.

Since wrapping his run as a Daily Show correspondent two years ago, Wood has taped a Hulu comedy special and hosted three seasons of CNN’s Have I Got News for You. (Though the panel show has yet to be officially renewed for a fourth season, Wood Jr. closed out this month’s finale by teasing new episodes to come in 2026.)

Johnson announced her exit from SNL in August 2024, following a four-season run on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series. Johnson explained during a visit to SNL vets David Spade and Dana Carvey’s Fly on the Wall podcast hit that upon meeting with her reps that summer, “I was like, ‘Look, I don’t really know if I belong at this job, so maybe I should step away.’

“I didn’t really feel like I fit, like I didn’t feel like that was my zone,” the stand-up comic added. “That show is for a different type of person.”

Johnson further expounded on her SNL exit in January 2025, on the debut episode of her Gay and Ghetto podcast.

“I knew something was off in that final half of [Season 49]. It just clicked in my system,” she shared. “I just woke up one morning and I had lost my drive. I had lost that hunger. I lost that greed and that need to perfect all my work. I had lost all desire to be in this business.”

“I guarantee if I had done another season at that job, I don’t think I would’ve made it to November,” she said. “Overall, it was a mindf*ck being at that job.”