Endangered species

[Jarryl]

I’m here to talk to you about an endangered species. Not the Polar Bears or a certain type of Owl, or Panda Bares. I’m here to talk to you about T.V black actors, and black sitcoms. From the year 2000-2008 there were officially 25 black sitcoms. Of those 25, only 5 are still running today. Those shows are Everybody hates Chris (The CW,2005), The Boondocks (Cartoon Network, 2006), Noha’s Arc (Logo, 2005), The Cleveland Show (Fox, 2009), and The Game (The CW,2006). This is very shocking/pathetic in my opinion. The 1990’s produced 38 black sitcoms, the 80’s produced 19, the 70’s produced 10, the 60’s produced 1, and the 50’s produced 2. Are we going back in time, will the number keep getting lower into the next decade? Personally I hope not I don’t mind black sitcoms, as long as they seem to be entertaining in some way. This topic also makes me mad since one of (in my opinion) the most realistic, classy shows of the Millennium, Girlfriends was canceled. Not because of ratings slipping, but simply because the writer/producer/creator Mara Brock Akil felt the show was overshadowing their spin-off (The Game). I don’t have a problem with The Game, but if I had to choose between The Game or Girlfriends, I’d throw the game in the lake in a split second. More importantly of these 5 shows (lets be real) this time next year I predict 2 of them will be canceled. I hope I’m wrong, simply because (with the exception of Noha’s Arc) I plan on watching every one of them but I’m sure The Game is on the tip of its run, and as excited as I am about the Cleveland Show, I know more people who aren’t. So what does this mean for black television actors? Will they be reduced back to the tokens that are already taking place all over television? Or without a permanent (or temporary) show to star in will it push more “made for T.V black actors” go into movies (Tyler Perry actors). Or will it push them into more “Mama what we gone do now” crappy Gospel plays (Tyler Perry actors)? Only the future will tell, Personally I’m saddened because I have to live out watching these type of shows that Im looking for through re-runs of Girlfriends, The Jefferson’s, Good Times, The Cosby Show, What’s Happening!, Living Single, A different world, Moesha, The Wayans Brothers, etc.

Another endangered species would be black actresses on sketch comedy shows. I’ve noticed that for the first time ever, both MadTV and Saturday Night Live have NO black actresses. So that means no more impressions for Oprah, Whitney, Beyonce, Star Jones, Queen Latifah, Diana Ross. Basically the people best portrayed by Debra Wilson, hell even Mya Rudolph (even though shes mixed she still brought all those actresses to the table, which is more than anyone on both of those shows as of now. But lets be honest Debra Wilson was the best, but now her and actresses like her aren’t seen to much now. What’s MadTV and SNL gonna do now? They cant make Keenan Thompson, Keegan Michael Key, and Jordan Peele play all the black women to, of the three of them Keenan’s the only one whose good at it.

[Nicole]

Aren't hour-long dramas more popular nowdays than sitcoms anyway? Or has the total number of sitcoms remained stable with the drop only in black sitcoms?

[Jarryl]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR REPLYING, (I've been waiting for hours). The drama genre was included with my study for this, so its pretty even both ways, either way its equally not enough of them for African Americans to fully relate to that arent crappy reality shows on VH1 or BET. As far as stabillity, the biggest drop was in 2005, when 5 semi-sucessful African American cast shows were dropped and ALL 5 of them were instantly replaced with all white shows.

[Dominus Digg]

I think that's key when you say "not enough of them for African Americans to fully relate to". Do you think Black folks need specifically black protagonists to relate to sitcoms? If not, there's no demand - so no shows. Plus, with the special interest channels on cable - BET and TV One - you really don't need network shows to fill niches. I wouldn't even consider Cleveland a Black show, since he isn't voiced by a Black actor.

(notice how when I move onto another idea I make a new paragraph ;) )

Also, to have a sitcom you usually need a comedian to headline it. Besides Chris Rock, who's another really popular Black comedian that can get a sitcom - excluding Chappelle who doesn't want to do one? They have to be funnier than Niecy Nash, who's show on Fox has been canceled already.

On the sketch shows, if they need a black chick they'll do a "featuring Black comedic actress", like how they got Latifah to play Gwen Ifill. All those sistah's you mention are not really comedy material worthy save maybe Oprah - whom can be played by Latifah or Keenan (I don't give a fuck what MadTV does).

Diana Ross? Really? What was the last funny thing her, Beyonce, or Whitney have done? I'm convinced Whitney's character was on SNL mainly because it was a skit Mya wrote.

[Jarryl]

Debra Wilson made Myas impressions of the same women look like shit. And it wasnt about what they do in the media thats funny, what made those sketches funny is taking these celebrities and making the characters do outrageously funny things heres some examples of what I'm talking about

[Dominus Digg]

I thought Maya's was better. She captured Whitney's inntonations better to sound more like her when talking or singing. Debra mainly does a crackhead that sings, but not a great Whitney impression. Maya's lines are also funnier:


But, do my ideas for the reason why the endangerment ius happening make sense?

[Jarryl]

Mya’s was funny but the one thing Debra has above her is, when Debra was whitney, she was Whitney! The same Whitney I saw act a damn fool on various interviews and (of course) her short-lived reality show “Being Bobby Brown” Im (somewhat) of a Whitney fan so Ive seen a lot whitney shit, and I think Debras was as over board as Whitney is known to be and enough to be real and Myas was safe enough to be funny. Mya’s reminded me very much of her Diana Ross, which I think she does a awesome job at. Hell I JUST found a youtube video of Debra doing whitney without the makeup or wig, and it still feels like your watching whitney, this is funnier than both of the mad tv skits . But the bottom line is both of those talented women are out of a job for some reason. And I think that skit is very funny.

I fully understand what you mean. But, having the black shows only on BET or TVone isn’t enough. It erases two very important reasons that black shows should be on FOX, NBC, CBS, and ABC. (I consider The Cleveland show to be a black show because they really are going to have to have some kind of black cast, reference, and history for Cleveland to pull this off.

1. It shows black families that don’t like BET or are sick of the Martin, Good Times, and Living single reruns on T.V One. Yea the black funny families been done a few times over and over on T.V, but how many more times have the white funny family crap been done? And why cant we have as many? If there Caucasian based sitcoms/dramas were rare on T.V people would lose it, but why is it Ok for us to.
2. Having black shows side by side with white shows also shows more personality and more change. The fact that Sex and the City, a show about white women in New York only had 94 episodes, and Girlfriends, a show about 4 black women in L.A. had 172 episodes. And the fact that Sex and the City was cancelled and Girlfriends just pulled the plug on themselves (which was a dumb move), says a lot. Now, since sex and the city had more mainstream writers, producers, advertisers etc. it’s a “Women’s groundbreaking hit” and girlfriends is the “In yo face version of sex in the city” (as Variety magazine described the show in 2000).


I just want another show on a major network with stars that Im familiar with, that deals with African American issues that need to be said and dealt with. Hell im asking for another The Hugleys and Girlfriends lol, I want that, and I think that statement I just made is the same as a lot of African Americans.



P.S. will someone please cancel According to Jim, that piece of shit should have been canceled on season 1 and why are they entering season 8? Oh wait I forgot Jim Belushi sold his soul to ABC.

[Dominus Digg]

Debra, Maya, whatever.

Possible answers:

1. As Nicole points out, the family sitcom as a category is pretty rare nowadays since Raymond went off the air. Add in that we're only 15% of the population. For every 10 people watching TV nationwide, one is black and one is bi-racial and 8 don't give a fuck: not a big enough group to go after. TV isn't trying to deal with issues, it's trying to get money by appealing to everyone - not individual groups.

We've had a good run. George Lopez's show was the first Latino sitcom in a generation. We've never even seen an Asian family sitcom outside of a few episodes of Margaret Cho's show.

2. The only way to get more Black shows is too convince all Blacks to stop watching their favorites that don't feature Black issues. Good luck, I'll be watching The Office and 30 Rock.

You like Drawn Together. That's telling TV that you like portrayals of Blacks like Foxy Love. You like Family Guy. That's saying a black guy in the background is good enough for you - I'd be shocked if Cleveland made a full season.

[Nicole]

Margaret Cho's show- I try to banish from my mind that THIS is the asian family sitcom. Better not to have one.

Besides, family sitcoms are the only place you can really have a nearly-racially-homogenized cast and get away with it- dramas require a mix to imitate life, unless they're set in the middle of nowhere.

I love House. Has there ever been an Asian character that's anything more than a one-off? I don't think there has- but I don't think it matters. In a sitcom, Asian stereotypes are played for humor, and this WAS true on Cho's show as it is with secondary characters on other shows. At least in dramatic presentations the range is run from person who just happens to be asian to stereotype....just like real life.

Anyhow. Asians have Simpsons, right? They're all yellow.

[Dominus Digg]

True.

Hell, they even have Phil guest star sometimes:

[NobleBear]

Here's my question: which is more important, the number of sitcoms or the quality?

I hear you arguing for what I perceive as an appeal to equity, but the remedy you seem to suggest is to spam the airwaves. Yes, there is something to be said for a shotgun approach, getting a bunch out there in hopes that a couple of them will stick, but this seems like the sort of failed stragagy that caused many to not miss TV when the strike was on.

Put another way, If this is the problem what would you say the solution should look like? Also, of those shows that still air what seperates them from the ones that have withered on the vine?