Throwback Article: Hey! Where did all the Black sitcoms go?

Posted on 02. Oct, 2009 by Broadband in Entertainment, Film & TV

It’s an early afternoon on a Thursday and I have decided to reward myself with a day of television viewing. I flick through to one of my resident channels and relax gently on my sofa; fast forward to late afternoon/early evening and I have a sudden realisation that every sitcom I had just viewed portraying a black family or character was a repeat from an episode I had seen YEARS earlier. Hey! Where did all the black sitcoms go?

Since the abrupt ending to the airing of Kelsey Grammer’s sitcom, Girlfriends earlier this year, there has been a sudden halt to the usual influx of new black sitcoms on our screens in the UK and the US. There are now only two black sitcoms left on network television (Everybody Hates Chris and Girlfriend’s spin-off show The Game) with only one of them being picked up in the UK. There’s a cause for concern when a popular TV Channel targeting viewers aged from 16-30 is only showing repeats and an even bigger concern when the smallest percentage of them are from the UK.

However what concerns me the most is where the next black sitcom will come from. What many fail to realise is that there are hardly any shows with an accurate or at least relatable portrayal of black culture (family, lifestyle etc). With hardly any leading prominent black roles on the small screen in Drama, Action or Sci-Fi it was Comedy that was able to show a glimpse of black lifestyle even if it was sometimes over-exaggerated (for comedy purposes of course). This is in no way segregation from all great sitcoms but rather an additional form of great comedy.

I remember coming home from primary and later on secondary school each day in anticipation to watch shows like Sister Sister, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Desmonds in a decade where black sitcoms were at their most popular and most potent in number. The 90’s offered a laud of comedies on both terrestrial and satellite Television. In addition to the three above there was the infectious viewing of shows like Moesha, Hanging With Mr Cooper, The Cosby Show, A Different World, Smart Guy, Kenan & Kel and The Parkers.

It was a great period to grow up in as TV was booming with a variety of great shows in addition to the black sitcom. What was so enriching about this period was not only the fact that there were more roles for black actors on the small screen but there was a chance for talented black writers, producers and directors of these shows to shine also.

Indeed black sitcoms on TV were dominated by U.S Imports which was only slightly worrying as there was only Desmonds, Porkpie (12 episodes) and sketch show The Real Mccoy as represents from UK. This was until the 2000’s when we were introduced to The Crouches; the show was far from satisfactory but it was still an example of positive movement of black sitcoms in another decade which started off extremely promising. We were blessed to have on our screens creative and entertaining shows including My Wife and Kids, The Bernie Mac Show, Eve, All of Us, Half and Half, One on One and it’s spin-off show Cuts. Irony was to rear its unfortunate self as we saw more “Cuts” than we wanted to as in 2006/07 American networks stopped contracting these shows and slowly but surely we were losing black sitcoms.

Now at the end of 2008 Everbody Hates Chris and The Game are hanging on to a tight yet historic thread in which black sitcoms have entrenched themselves on the small screen. There’s only so much these two can do before viewers decrease and the uncompromising television network cut off the shows and more noticeably a legacy.

So why aren’t there any black sitcoms?

I refuse to believe it has anything to do with the market or target viewing, seeing as Eddie Murphy is the highest grossing film actor of all time and Will Smith the highest grossing film actor over the last decade (both black comedy actors). I also reluctantly refuse that it is down to racism, at least from the US perspective as there have been more than enough examples of successful black sitcoms.

Reality TV is in fact the reason behind the decrease in black sitcoms. Instead of TV Networks working on creating innovative comedy and shows in general, they rely too much on the safe route and resurface an old formula. If this formula is stopping regular shows from being created it gives even lesser chances for black sitcoms to shine through. UK Television is a prime example with hardly any creative shows on prime-time television. This is a deterrent on not only viewers of black sitcoms but the talented writers, directors, producers and actors adamant on making a success in the industry.

With UK channels such as MTV Base and Trouble showcasing old black comedies such as The Wayans Bros, The Jamie Foxx Show, Martin and The Steve Harvey Show, now would be the perfect time for ITV and BBC to start working on new black sitcoms to rival these channels and create a platform for future progression. Diversity is evident everywhere with multicultural lifestyles a niche market in world affairs. So what’s stopping TV Networks from taking advantage?

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