9 Black TV Shows You May Have Missed
The television landscape has shifted a lot in the past decade. The number of streaming services exploded (seriously, what the hell is AMC+?) budgets increased ($1 billion for Lord of the Rings alone!?) cable networks faltered (remember when E! made scripted television?) and broadcast networks struggled to maintain relevance in this new era (is there anything else on CBS but cop shows?).
There’s been some growing pains along the way, viewers are exhausted with the amount of places it’s possible to watch television and mounting costs of streaming has made media conglomerates progressively competitive in the content they produce. Networks are taking more risks than ever in their television when it comes to tone, genres, casting and more all in the hopes of attracting the eyeballs of an increasingly distracted audience.
The rise of streaming services has also allowed for more specific narratives to be told. It’s hard to believe that it was only in 2013 that Kerry Washington made history as the first black actress to lead a network drama in over 38 years with Scandal. Since that time, we’ve had hit shows by black creators like Black-ish, Empire, Insecure and more take over our screens.
Television has always been a major staple in black homes. From the early 1970s shows with Sanford and Son and Good Times to the peak 1990s and early 2000s era with works such as Moesha, Martin, and Everybody Hates Chris, black people had always had television characters that reflect us on screen. Unfortunately, networks lost interest in black programming by the early 2010s and left the climate barren for black audiences until recently.
This Renaissance in black television felt different from the sitcom focus of the 1990s. Modern politics and race issues started to be explored more overtly and the genres started to diversify, such as Atlanta’s surrealist take on a dramedy or superhero shows like Watchmen, Luke Cage and Black Lightning. There’s even diversity amongst the black characters we see as LGBT narratives rose, the groundbreaking Pose being one of the biggest examples.
For every hit like Power or Insecure, there was something that flew under the radar. So here is a list of nine television shows starring and created by black people that you may have missed.
Love Life, Season 2 (HBO Max)
While the first season of this romance anthology centered on Anna Kendrick's character coming of age and finding love in New York City, season two shifts to 30 something, Marcus Watkins. After a sudden divorce, Marcus finds himself back on the dating scene, cycling through women while trying to navigate major career and family changes and having the classic romcom “will they or won’t they” dynamic with the ever elusive, Mia Hines.
William Jackson Harper plays Marcus to the fullest, effectively portraying all of his insecurities and deep flaws without losing the charm that makes him a great romance lead. He has crackling chemistry with the equally excellent Jessica Williams which carries the season to amazing heights. The conversations Marcus and Mia have are refreshingly honest, vulnerable and loaded even while they’re at odds with each other. By the time you’re finished with this season, you’ll be aching to live in Marcus and Mia’s world just a little while longer.
Stand out episode: "Epilogue"
Master of None, Season 3 (Netflix)
Times are different since Master of None aired its second season. In 2018, after creator and lead actor Aziz Ansari was accused of sexual misconduct, he took a break from the public eye. At the same time, co-writer and actress on the show, Lena Waithe’s profile rose massively as she started to grow her own production company and create and write works like Queen & Slim, the Boomerang reboot on BET and The Chi on Showtime. After four years, the third season was quietly released on Netflix after being secretly filmed in the beginning of 2021.
I won’t lie, I hesitated while writing this piece about including Master of None. I still have mixed feelings on Ansari’s misconduct scandal and I can’t help but feel the release and shift in narrative of the show is a not so subtle attempt at launching him back into the good graces of the public. I don’t think I or many other people can completely ignore that when watching. Netflix’s quiet efforts were almost too effective considering the latest batch of episodes didn’t make much noise amongst viewers nor did it receive any nominations or wins from major awards bodies like the previous seasons. With all that, season three is good, very good.
Subtitled “Moments of Love”, season three is almost a complete deviation from the first two seasons which focused on Ansari’s character Dev struggling to find love in New York City. You could probably watch this newest season without any prior knowledge of the previous ones and have no trouble at all.
All episodes were written by Ansari and Waithe and it ends up being a better Scenes From A Marriage adaptation than the actual HBO reboot that came out the same year. Denise is now a successful author and married to the love of her life, Alicia. The ups and downs of their marriage are explored as they attempt to start a family and have children. “Moments of Love” is messy, brutal and almost too uncomfortably real at times romantic drama, made richer by centering on a black lesbian couple, a point of view we very rarely see in relationship media. While Denise is the familiar character, it’s Naomi Ackie’s incredible performance as Alicia that really drives the emotional core of the season.
Stand out episode: “Moments in Love, Chapter 4”
South Side (HBO Max)
South Side’s central premise is all in its title alone. It follows a sizable cast living in Chicago's South Side neighborhood, Englewood. Created, filmed and written by actual Chicago natives, this show is dripping with the sort of authenticity akin to Insecure's portrayal of Los Angeles. South Side doesn’t run from Chicago stereotypes, instead embracing them and examining truths to a community that is often neglected or only shown one way in the media.
Easily the funniest comedy of the year, you’ll laugh your ass off watching Simon and Kareme run around the city trying to cook a steak or police officers Turner and Goodnight hunting down an illegal fur seller. Favorite detail is that every guest actor is also from Chicago as well (Keke Palmer please call them for season three!).
Stand out episode: “Chicago’s #1 Party Promoter”
Run the World (Starz)
Co-executive produced by Yvette Lee Bowser, creator of Living Single, Run the World feels like a warm hug. It wears it’s earnest nature and slight corniness on its sleeve. While female ensemble comedies are starting to become a dime a dozen, this show about four college friends living in Harlem will make you feel like the fifth member of their group. The various relationship and career troubles each woman faces are instantly relatable to anyone, all while keeping a breezy and comedic tone. If that doesn’t convince you, every male love interest is easy on the eyes as well.
Stand out episode: “My Therapist Says…”
Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show (Netflix)
Astronomy Club first started off as the first all black improv team from the renowned improvisational group, Upright Citizens Brigade.
In 2019, Astronomy Club received a series order from Netflix and the underrated sketch comedy was born. The show’s framing device is a mockumentary where all eight cast members live in a house Big Brother style. Common reality show tropes like over dramatic confessionals and competitive alliances are parodied. Interspersed throughout, sketches examine black issues (for example, a white Robin Hood tries to rob a rich black man’s gold coins in medieval times and hilarity ensues as discussions of race and class intersect), with a big focus on media stereotypes.
In an era where there’s a lot (and I do mean a lot) of bad comedy trying to talk about race, Astronomy Club does it right. It talks to its audience and not down on them all while not forgetting to make you laugh. Astronomy Club was unfortunately canceled after only one season (Netflix you will not see the pearly gates), but it still holds up two years later and will forever be a gem.
Stand out sketch: "Kat Williams Is Your Pimp Substitute Teacher"
P-Valley (Starz)
This gritty drama about strippers working at a faltering Mississippi nightclub is part of the growing subgenre of “neon noir”. While it still uses classic tropes like moral ambiguity and shady business dealings, P-Valley refreshingly sets it apart from most urban crime dramas by centering black women. It was created by playwright Katori Hall and based on her play Pussy Valley. Some of the best scenes are the gorgeously lit, hip hop set, pole dance numbers where the stunt dancers hired are allowed to really show off what they do best.
It features a strong ensemble of characters but it’s Brandee Evans as veteran stripper, Mercedes and Nicco Annan as owner of the club, The Pynk, that hold the show together.
Stand out episode: “The Trap”
Flatbush Misdemeanors (Showtime)
Flatbush Misdemeanors is hard to categorize. It’s a comedy that’s one part bromance, one part high school drama, one part workplace sitcom and one part struggling artist narrative. Kevin Iso and Dan Perlman created and star in this show and it takes you on a journey through several people who reside in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Showing you a side of New York City we don’t see often on TV, I think for this one, it’s best to go in with limited knowledge. The show will make you laugh at some of the silliest situations seen yet in comedy yet.
Stand out episode: “peace”
The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime)
It almost pains me that this has to be on my “you probably missed this list”.
Barry Jenkins adapts Colson Whitehead’s novel The Underground Railroad into stunning miniseries. He directs all ten episodes about Cora Randall, a slave from Georgia, who escapes her plantation by way of the Underground Railroad. The catch is that in this alternate history, the Underground Railroad is an actual physical train system, lying beneath the ground, unknown to everyone except the enslaved and the allies that help keep it running.
Barry Jenkins expands on his seminal works of Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk to portray truthful and difficult black stories all while not forgetting to be sensitive, romantic and kind. I would be lying if I said The Underground Railroad was an easy watch, it isn’t and nor should it be. The show doesn’t shy away from the brutality that was the inhumane practice of slavery but it doesn’t revel in it it either.
The Underground Railroad is told in an almost anthology like format, every episode showing us a new location on Cora’s journey. While set in the past, themes like white liberalism, capitalism, and internalized anti-blackness show up that can be applicable today and Jenkins pivots between several genres, think magical realism, romance, horror and action, with the deftness of a true master filmmaker. The Underground Railroad won’t be for everyone, but for those who want to tune in, it’s a rewarding watch.
Stand out episode: (Really all of them, but if I have to choose) “Indiana Autumn”
Bel-Air (Peacock)
The newest show on this list, this one will probably be the toughest sell to audiences.
Back in 2019, filmmaker Morgan Cooper made a concept trailer for a dramatic retelling of the classic sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It was a punchy, well made piece that went so viral it even caught the attention of Will Smith himself. A couple of years later, an entire show was made based on that first fanmade trailer.
People were skeptical, me included. A fake trailer is much different than a full on reboot of a property much beloved all over the world. While we are only four episodes into the first season, Bel-Air is great, much better than it has any right to be.
The central premise is the same, West Philadelphia teen and burgeoning basketball star, Will Smith, moves to Bel-Air, Los Angeles to live with his rich uncle and aunt after getting into a fight.
Make no mistake, this is not a sitcom, Bel-Air expands on the circumstances that made Will leave his city and grounds the original premise of The Fresh Prince into a dramatic coming of age story about the pressures and expectations young black boys face in today’s world. Callbacks to the original series are cleverly woven into a new modern plot. Jabari Banks is a star in making and his charismatic and heartfelt performance is a worthy successor to Will Smith.
If you go in with an open mind, Bel-Air will surprise and delight you.
Stand out episode: "Dreams and Nightmares"