Why 'Everybody Hates Chris.' Not!

By: Tatiana Morales

A funny thing happened to comedian Chris Rock when he was a teenager in New York City. In fact, there were a lot of funny things.

And now he's going to show them to the rest of the country in his new, autobiographical sit-com, "Everybody Hates Chris." As he told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen, it's a lot easier to laugh now, than it was back then.

A video clip of the show finds young Chris walking down the hallway at school, Corleone Junior High in the fiercely Italian neighborhood of South Shore. Narrating the event Rock says, "My mother thought going to a white school meant I would get a better education and I would be safe. WRONG!"

The funny-man only narrates the story of his childhood, apparently believing it's better to be heard and not seen. Rock's teenage alter ego is played by Tyler James Williams.

What made Tyler right for the role of Chris Rock? "Uh, I think that, you know, we did a massive search throughout the country and, and the world," Rock answers. "We finally were at Angelina Jolie's house. And Tyler was back there just making gumbo. And, gumbo was good. Hey, kid looks like he could do it."

As for Tyler, he says his character is just like any other 13-year-old kid. "You get your bike stolen; you have kids picking on you," Tyler explains.

Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bussed into a predominantly white middle school two hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his two younger siblings in line at home and surmounting the challenges of junior high.