the business of being used: a quick and unqualified (and uneven) rant about Black sitcoms, network strategy, and cultural exclusion
Can I whine about this a lil’ bit?
I don't have children, but if I did, I'd probably become a cultural steward and fill them with knowledge about all the amazing Black TV shows we had in the '90s. Actually, I'm 1000% sure that's what I would do. I've always wondered why, as the years went on, there was a steady decline in Black sitcoms when our nights used to be loaded with them. I was always confused about why it felt like network programming was moving backward while other platforms were moving toward progress until someone vaguely pointed out the motive behind green-lighting the content we covet so dearly. We've all heard the myth that non-white people lack universal appeal—an excuse used for gatekeeping specific tiers of entertainment opportunities. We've also heard how mighty the Black dollar is. Yet, these two ideas about one particular subject never made any sense. One of them was clearly a lie. One of them was an excuse to perpetuate the gatekeeping in Hollywood that has systemic racism baked into it. We learned quite a long time ago that this was all nonsense, except for the part about the Black dollar—that is powerful.
Like everything successful in this world, television laid a solid foundation. The titans, or 'the big three,' were NBC, ABC, and CBS. When other stations wanted a piece of the pie, they had to do something slightly different to solidify themselves. It probably didn't take much time to realize a heap of people were unfairly underrepresented in network television. So, these new stations did what most businesses would do and developed a strategy to fill in the gaps to compete with the big dogs. The problem with this strategy was that it wasn't born from a sudden altruistic love for Black culture. It lacked commitment to diversity and sustainability for Black programming, using Black comedy as a launchpad for its credibility, viewership, and ad dollars. Black audiences were dependable, loyal, and eager to flex their dollar in the name of representation. This business move tugged at our heartstrings, exploiting our desire for representation and using it as leverage.
Once news circulated that Black television was profitable, it disproved the centuries-old myth concerning our unpopularity and general lack of appeal. This discovery opened up masses of people they had not witnessed before, and the shows that debuted in this became essential to our canon. You couldn't turn the TV on without seeing Martin, A Different World, Living Single, The Parent' Hood, Fresh Prince, Moesha, Cousin Skeeter, and many other shows in our canon. To the naked eye, this seemed like a natural evolution. This is a natural progression for the layman. However, all was not well behind the scenes, as it was a situation of exploitation whereby white people were using Black culture to make a profit. Yet, they were not interested in ensuring the sustainability of the culture.
This era was slowly being phased out after the networks had exploited Black comedy to establish themselves in other networks. This step led to the death of some of the popular shows. Others were given poor airtimes, canceled, denied syndication, or not given second chances. The switching of the networks to programming that was considered mainstream ended the loving tales of family and friendship, and a reversion to the paradigm of exclusivity, gatekeeping, and the stereotypical positioning of people began. Even though the market dynamics came into play, there was a clear-cut difference between the reception to the Black comedies on networks vis-à-vis the white comedies. The white shows even had an opportunity to improve and develop. This created a gap in the industry, which continues to this day.
Many things have changed in the industry, and what used to be just limited content, now we have many websites with an abundance of options, just like our cult favorites, that I would be happy to share with my imaginary children or dog. These streams remind us of the Black dollar's strength and our stories' irresistibility. However, the untimely cancellation of such programs as Grand Crew, Marlon, The Carmichael Show, and How to Die Alone on extensive networks/streaming services are vivid examples of the continued challenges in this arena. We don't get improvement overnight, not even in 10,000 nights. Yes, the UPN, Fox, and the WB could not have imagined the influence that Whitley Gilbert would leave on culture. However, a well-organized business plan containing a conscious desire to be diverse would have transformed the entertainment environment even more radically and even transformed the history course of TV as we see it nowadays. Yet, you see... there is still systemic racism that raises its proverbial ugly head into the mix of setting aside budget dollars on marketing and production and puts our shows at a considerable disadvantage. The angles that go into this can make this a 100-page essay, but I digress. Thank God for Abbott Elementary.
