Review: The State of the "Black" Sitcom

Timeline: The Cosby's was and is a great show. Just a classic family with classic characters that will live on forever. Oh before that, we had some of the more groundbreaking shows, not just for employing black actors, but in script and hilarious characters. The Jeffersons. Good Times. What's Happening. OK- then in the 90s, when the culture clearly stated that, hey- its the 90s, we were given some strong shows with great commercial appeal- Fresh Prince of Bel Air, In Living Color, Living Single, Other Cosby Incarnations. Fresh Prince was on NBC, and sadly was the last big black (Albini) show on the network. Fox also used the niche black show to garner a new audience. Today they basically have American Idol, House, and other shows starring white people that I don't really like (save for Simpsons). The 90s and 2000s also had the WB and UPN, which had The Wayans Brothers Show, Parenthood, Girlfriends, Moesha, and a fuck ton others. Hopefully some of these show are still on the CW, but I don't watch the CW. The WB and UPN also stayed afloat basically on the strength of their heavy rotation based on the black niche. Now what? The Tyler Perry Shows on TBS? Sorry but I think those suck. What the fuck is up network TV? Byron Allen is on late nights, and what else? Nothing of the top of my mind. I'm doing research right now, hold up... our president is black... Brothers got canceled because it was stupid and employed Michael Strahan... families are black on Extreme Makeover sometimes... Tracy Morgan on 30 Rock and Donald Glover on Community... the black people on CSI, Criminal Minds, and the Law and Orders more than hold their own... holy shit- the Cleveland Show!?!? Our leading black network sitcom is a cartoon where the lead voice is a white guy?? OK- not every black person likes Tyler Perry, or not everyone even has cable. I don't have cable. Is there a strong divide between what constitutes a black sitcom and a regular sitcom? No. and there never was. Good Times is still a relevant show that I find hilarious. Is there a struggle to promote black shows out there? Is middle america worse off than I thought? Not just blacks, but have asians ever had a chance? American Girl starring Margaret Cho and the other guy on City Guys? How about the handicapped? The homeless? Rabbits? Neckties? Intake? OK, I don't know what my point is here. I just want to think about it and think about what it says about our country. There are a million talented people there who are capable. Those people are white, those people are black, those people are brown, those people are people. So what am I saying here?