CBS greenlit and funded a developing comedy based on a real wildfire that devastated Altadena less than a year of impact, without input from the people directly impacted. Turning an ongoing community disaster into scripted entertainment without consent is harmful and exploitative and erasure. We will not be erased and have our stories told without us. 

We are not against filming in Altadena. We are against inauthentic portrayals that exploit our grief. What we demand is that our stories be told with dignity, accuracy, and direct community involvement.

>> Read Full Deadline Article here.

NO MEANS NO.

Altadena burned. Not just homes, but histories. Not just buildings, but entire bloodlines of memory. In January 2025, the Eaton Canyon wildfire tore through our community killing 19 people, destroying over 9,000 structures, and displacing hundreds of families overnight. What was lost cannot be replicated: photo albums, family heirlooms, the scent of a matriarch’s kitchen, the trees grandparents planted with their hands.

And now, CBS wants to turn that into entertainment.

A sitcom.

A fictional tale about two brothers “rebuilding” after a fire written without the presence, consent, or truth of the people who are still picking up the pieces. This isn’t a tribute. It’s theft. It’s comedy carved from catastrophe.

This show is being framed as “representation.” But representation without reverence is exploitation. You cannot honor a people you won’t even listen to.

This is not just bad timing. It’s historical violence. Hollywood has a legacy of repackaging Black and Brown trauma for consumption  stories reduced to stereotypes, struggle turned into spectacle. But this is not just a creative misstep. This is an act of erasure, where real lives are replaced by scripted laughs and faux resolution.

We’ve seen this before:
 In 2021, public outrage forced the cancellation of HBO’s “Ghost Ship” series, which attempted to fictionalize the tragic Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people. That project was shut down because the community said no. And now, we’re saying no again.

Altadena’s grief is not your genre.

But this show isn’t just offensive it’s dangerous. Wildfires are not neutral disasters. They are part of a systemic pattern of displacement, especially in historically Black communities. Fires clear the land and developers quickly follow.

What’s happening in Altadena is not unlike what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where entire Black neighborhoods were destroyed, redeveloped, and renamed without their residents. Generations of families never returned. They were priced out, written out, and forgotten.

That’s not just gentrification. That’s engineered erasure. And when television normalizes these narratives it gives developers a blueprint. A green light to move in, to exploit, to remake communities in their image while pushing the original residents out of frame.

This petition is not just about stopping a show. It’s about protecting the soul of a place.

We are calling for:

1. Cancel the CBS Altadena Fire Comedy Sitcom.
   No edits. No rebrands. This concept is inherently harmful.
2. Transparent community consent.
   No more scripts about us without us. Early forums, acknowledgment of contributions, partnerships with local organizations, Invest in real recovery.
3. Support survivors and preservation efforts instead of exploiting them. Fund verified survivor campaigns

• Provide grants for local businesses still recovering
• Resource mutual aid networks
• Create a Community Trust, governed by locals
• Invest in storytelling, archives, and art led by residents

THE LEGACY OF THIS MOVEMENT

This petition isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of accountability.

Whether 500 or 500,000 Every signature is a voice saying, "this matters. This memory matters. This grief is not for sale." 

Here’s what we’re asking for:

• A formal response from CBS, Kenya Barris, and all executive producers
• A cancellation of the sitcom as it currently stands no edits, no rebrands
• An open, community-led conversation with local Altadena leaders, fire survivors, preservationists, and cultural workers on how to honor this moment with dignity, not distortion
• Commitment to real investment in recovery, preservation, and the rebuilding of Black and Brown futures  the very futures this show claimed to represent

Signatures is not just a number.
It’s proof that we are watching.
It’s proof that we remember.
It’s proof that we will not be erased.

Our long-term vision is to transform this moment into a blueprint for how communities respond to erasure in real times preserving oral histories, protecting memory, and passing down stories on our terms.

✍🏾 Sign this petition to demand:

• Cancel the CBS Altadena Fire Comedy Sitcom.
• Create standards for consent and community-led storytelling.
• Invest in real people, not scripted plots.
• Altadena’s grief is not a joke.
• Altadena’s memory is not for sale.
• Altadena’s future deserves respect.

This isn’t just about canceling a show. This is about reclaiming our narrative before someone else sells it.

Thank you for your support.