The Parkers

The Parkers main characters of Season 1: (l-r) Nikki Parker, Desiree Littlejohn, Kim Parker and Professor Oglevee (center)

The Parkers main characters of Seasons 1–5 with Jenna von Oÿ and Ken Lawson becoming regulars and the addition of Yvette Wilson (replacing Mari Morrow) joining the cast: (l-r) Professor Oglevee, Thaddeus "T" Radcliffe (back row), Andell Wilkerson, Nikki Parker, Kim Parker and Stevie Van Lowe (front row)

• Kimberly Ann "Kim" Parker (played by Countess Vaughn[note 3]) - A ditzy college student and Nikki's daughter. Although she can be shallow, Kim has a kind heart and is extremely close with Nikki. Kim is also a lead singer in the music group Free Style Unity, which also includes Stevie and T. At the end of series, she fails out of Santa Monica Community College but still becomes a successful fashion designer. (Kim originated as a regular character on Moesha).
• Nicole Ann "Nikki" Parker (née Alexander/West) (played by Mo'Nique) - A boisterous and confident single mother, who embraces college life to the fullest. She is in love with Professor Oglevee, despite his apparent hatred of her. In the series finale, she finally wins him over after five years of chasing him and they marry.
• Desiree Littlejohn (played by Mari Morrow) - Originally, the Parkers' neighbor and Nikki's friend. She only appears in the first season and is not credited as a regular after five episodes. She is not seen after episode 13.
• Stevie Alison Van Lowe (played by Jenna von Oÿ) - A sarcastic and intelligent college student as well as Kim's best friend. Stevie is from a wealthy family and has a tempestuous relationship with her mother. She is also a member of the music group Free Style Unity, along with Kim and T. Upon graduating from Santa Monica Community College, Stevie attends UCLA and goes into business with Kim.
• Thaddeus Tyrell "T" Radcliffe (played by Ken Lawson) - A flirtatious and charismatic college student as well as friend to Kim and Stevie. He is also a member of the music group Free Style Unity, along with Kim and Stevie. At the end of the series, T goes on to attend Berklee College of Music.
• Professor Stanley Wayne Oglevee (played by Dorien Wilson) - A handsome professor at Santa Monica Community College. Although he prides himself on his intelligence, he often becomes embroiled in hare-brained schemes, often due to his own foolishness. Although he is initially repulsed by Nikki's affections, he eventually declares his love for her and they marry in the series finale.
• Andell Wilkerson (played by Yvette Wilson) - Nikki's level-headed best friend. Andell originated as a regular character on Moesha and appears on The Parkers in a recurring role during the first season but becoming a main character starting from mid-Season 1. From Season 3 onwards, she is the owner of a restaurant, "Andell's." At the end of the series, she marries her boyfriend Lester.

• Mel Parker (Thomas Mikal Ford) – Nikki's rich ex-husband and Kim's father.
• Erica Willis (Porscha Coleman) – Guest starring television role.
• Regina Foster (Kara Brock) – Snobbish and stuck-up colleague of Nikki, Kim and Stevie's at Santa Monica Community College and also a member of the Triple A Sorority.
• Joe Woody (Dwight Woody) – Works in the "Grub Hub" cafeteria at Santa Monica Community College. He previously played Coach Vines on Moesha.
• Veronica Cooper (Paulette Braxton) – On-and-off girlfriend of Professor Oglevee and occasional nemesis of Nikki.
• Sophia Van Lowe (Shannon Tweed) – Stevie's mother with whom she does not have a close relationship.
• Gertrude "Gertie" Lowe (Kym Whitley) – Is the organ player at "Mount Zion" church in which Nikki is the choir director. She is occasionally a nemesis of Nikki. She has also known Nikki and Andell since high school.
• Frederick "Freddy" Jones (Kel Mitchell) – A flamboyant fashion design student at Santa Monica College who often has conflict with Kim.
• Symone (Samantha Becker) – Originally a backup singer in the group Free Style Unity in the first Season but is not seen after.
• Chandra Carrington (Lark Voorhies) – Colleague of Nikki and Kim's at Santa Monica Community College and also a member the Triple A Sorority.
• Jerel Goodrich (Trent Cameron) – Kim's boyfriend turned fiancé, later ex-husband.
• George and Shirley West/Alexander (Earl Billings and Aloma Wright) – Nikki's adoptive parents.
• Constance McFarland (Suzzanne Douglas) – Nikki's haughty older sister.
• Tiffany McFarland (Cherie Johnson) – Nikki's niece and daughter of her older sister.
• Quincy DeJohn (George Wallace) – Nikki's biological father.
• Camille Oglevee (Veronica Redd) – Professor Oglevee's mother. She tried convince Kim to drop out of college to work for her, much to Nikki's disapproval.
• Aunt Rita (Nancy Wilson) – Nikki's aunt who turned out to be her biological mother. She explained that was unable to raise Nikki due to her career.
• Evelyn "Nana" Smith (Isabel Sanford) – Nikki's grandmother who comes onto Professor Oglvee while visiting Nikki.

The Parkers series finale aired on May 10, 2004, and drew in 3.6 million viewers.[1]

The Parkers has aired in syndication on Centric (previously BET J),[2] UP, TV One, VH1, Fuse (until 2020), and MTV2.

Currently, the series airs reruns on BET, Fuse and Cleo TV.

The series started streaming on Netflix on October 1, 2020.[3][4]

In Europe, the show has aired in Ireland and the UK. In Ireland, it aired on RTÉ Two from 2000 to 2005, usually airing Thursdays as 7.00pm. The first four seasons were aired in this evening time slot, with season five beginning in this timeslot and with the few remaining episodes moved to a late night timeslot on Fridays. After the series finished on RTÉ Two, there have been no re-runs and no current plans to run the show again. It was also shown on UK channel Trouble,[5] which was also available in Ireland. It usually aired weekdays from 2000 to 2004 but after it was completely removed, it was shown on a one-off weekend in late 2006, with episodes airing all day. In Australia, it aired on Fox8 and in Jamaica on TVJ.