Is TV Worth Watching?
By Sylvia Bridges
The JelfTersons,
Good Times, and perhaps even
What’s Happening? Why is that we
are not allowed to produce such suc
cessful shows anymore. These shows
all have something in common: they
had long runs, a mostly Black casts,
and high ratings which were boosted j
j by millions of white and non-Black
I viewers.
“TV segregation is back,” said Earl Hutchinson,
writer for an on-line black publication. “As popular
as these shows were, if they were pitched to TV exec
utives today they would
laugh the idea out of their office or segregate them
into an all-Black time slot. They would claim that
they aren’t commercially viable because whites won’t
watch them.”
As silly as this may sound, Hutchinson is correct.
Dean Valentine, the president of UPN, announced that
the network will dump most of its Black-themed pro
grams into a single time block and will shift its pro
gramming to shows that appeal to more affluent
whites. Sanford and Son, The Jefferson, and other
black shows that were successful should prove to
these executives that whites and non-whites would
promote good quality black-themed shows. For all it
is worth, black shows seem to be vanishing as fast as
the blink of an eye.
“I think the white audience would also watch
black shows especially since the people that they
interact with may enjoy watching them. They may
begin to like the show as well and it to the list of
shows that they find entertaining,” said Takeima
Ricks, a junior education major.
BET, Black Entertainment Television, is the only
network we can rely on to show black shows in abun
dance and at a time when viewers can watch them.
Although the WB, Warner Brothers network,
shows a good number of black sitcoms, it has pushed
most of them into a single time block. First, Jamie
Foxx, Steve Harvey, and For Your Love all air on
Friday night. Second, Friday night is not a night to sit
down and watch television. Most people are out on
Friday nights. Therefore, by missing one night of
television you miss the majority of black-themed
shows that are aired on TV
Are executives looking for black shows to be
forced off the air?
Jamie Foxx, Steve Harvey, and For Your Love are
all great shows with excellent actors and actresses,
but how many people are willing to give up their
Friday nights to stay home and watch TV?
The three major networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS,
all fall short when it comes to representing black
shows well. Cosby, shown on CBS, and the
Hughleys, shown on ABC, are the only two black-
themed sitcoms aired on the three networks. There
are only a few dramas that may have a black character
in an important role. In contrast to the number of
black sitcoms, the number of sitcoms with whites as
the leading actors is overwhelming. The list includes
Everybody Loves Ramon, Frazier, Spin City, King of
the Hill, Dharma and Greg, Becker, the Drew Carey
Show, and many more.
Cecil Outlaw, a junior African American studies
major said, “There are more whites in the nation so I
could see why executives would want to attract a larg
er audience. Yet, a show like The Jeffersons should
attract a variety of viewers because it does not do a
lot of stereotyping and it involve pertinent issues for
all races.”
It is clear that most African Americans are not
happy with the lack of black shows or blacks in lead
ing positions on television. For the new seasons of
ABC, CBS, and NBC, the NAACP asked all African
Americans to boycott these stations to show them
they were not happy with what is going on.
The only way to have your voice heard is to take
action. The NAACP has taken the first step and they
must continue all the help and support they can get if
they want to achieve positive results.
9
Black Ink