Why isn’t the Cosby Show for a new generation on network TV?

[lovedforaday]

By Reniqua Allen, Published: July 13

Today, the only way some Americans get insight into what life is like for a black family is by watching snippets of the Obamas on the nightly news. No English-language network program centers around a black family - or an Asian or Hispanic family either - except Fox’s “The Cleveland Show.” And that’s animated

Comments

[fenris_lorsrai]

I think another component here is the decline in the number of non-genre scripted series overall. Many of those have been displaced by reality shows.

Reality shows by and large couldn't displace genre shows in most cases, but the general "family drama" shows have been squeezed into a smaller and smaller slice of the market. and with that smaller slice, the ones featuring POC got squeezed right out.

[moonshaz]

I agree that's a major component.

[ohmiya_sg]

I miss UPN

[xerox78]

It probably would have ended up whitened up anyway. :\

[keeni84]

UPN merged with WB which became the CW. The CW got rid of shows like The Game, Girlfriends and Everybody Hates Chris, in favor of shit like Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl, which they thought would appeal to young white girls and white women.

So basically, it did get whitened.

[xerox78]

I know; I meant even if UPN had stayed UPN, it would have happened. All they really would have had to do was drop "Black Night" (Monday).

[tinylegacies]

Part of the problem, critics say, is that minorities need more creative control behind the scenes.

This is very true. I can only begin to imagine how offensive a show about a black family would be if it was produced by white people.

And I think this is a problem that affects the way all minorities are represented on television - because, by and large, the powers that be are old white men.

[etherealtsuki]

If the Cosby Show was made today, it would not even been a network show. :/

Currently watching the fuck out of Soul Man with Cedric the Entertainer and Niecy Nash on TVLand and me and my grandma always talk about the show was good enough for a Network TV Show. Those two have outstanding chemistry and it's a shame they get such a little audience.

[roseofjuly]

Niecy Nash is hilarious; I wish I had cable. I might have to find this show online.

[lovedforaday]

I liked Soul Man, or the episode that I saw. I can see that fitting on TGIF if ABC ever brought it back.

[qable]

I would love to have a good Hispanic show on mainstream TV. It gets really old seeing Hispanic folk stereotyped as con-men, sex workers, and undocumented immigrants. That said, I have severe doubts in contemporary writing making anything I could watch without cringing.

[killerforhire]

The first two Hispanic shows I could think of were the George Lopez show and The Brothers Garcia. They still weren't even remotely relatable for myself, but it's a start, I guess.

[imnotasquirrel]

Shelby Woo, but that was ages ago and it was on Nickelodeon.

The one show with an Asian-American lead that I can think of right now is Nikita, and she is SURROUNDED by white people. And they just added another white male regular to the cast. SMH.