City Guys

City Guys is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on NBC from September 6, 1997, to December 15, 2001. The series aired as part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC. Plot City Guys was mainly centered on its two main characters, Jamal Grant (Wesley Jonathan) and Chris Anderson (Scott Whyte), two teenagers from different backgrounds – Chris coming from a wealthy family, and Jamal coming from a working-class family – who had to stay on the ball while attending Manhattan High School (which was nicknamed in the series as "Manny High") and avoid trouble, while their principal Karen Noble (Marcella Lowery) attempted to keep them in line and out of trouble. Jamal and Chris's similar personalities caused friction between them in the beginning, but they became best friends as the series went on. The boys and their friends – overachiever Dawn Tartikoff (Caitlin Mowrey), slick guy Al Ramos (Dion Basco), aspiring actress Cassidy Giuliani (Marissa Dyan) and dimwitted bully-turned-friend (who was held back six grades) Lionel "L-Train" Johnson (Steven Daniel) – dealt with the typical teen issues, such as cheating on tests, peer pressure, racism, and dealing with school violence. Cast Wesley Jonathan as Jamal Abdul Grant Scott Whyte as Christopher Robert "Chris" Anderson Caitlin Mowrey as Dawn Tartikoff Dion Basco as Alberto ("Al") Rocket Ramos Marissa Dyan as Cassidy Giuliani Steven Daniel as Lionel "L-Train" Johnson Marcella Lowery as Principal Karen Coretta Noble Theme music The theme song for City Guys was written by Joey Schwartz, Eric Swerdloff and Michael Muta-Ali Muhammad and composed by Joey Schwartz (who also composed the incidental music used to denote scene changes and breaks in the program). The rap and R&B-infused theme included a chorus, "C-I-T-Y you can see why, these guys, the neat guys, smart and streetwise", which repeating twice consecutively during the beginning, middle and near the end of the song.