Race & Ethnicity On TV

[jhlipton]

6 hours ago, Keepitmoving said:

Shots Fired according is only supposed to be a one time ten episode show. It was never supposed to have a second season. I've enjoyed it.

I don't often agree with "TV Grim Reaper" but he is correct when he says that any show with high enough ratings will be renewed; those that don't will "be planned to be one season only".

6 hours ago, Keepitmoving said:

I don't think I've ever seen the rise of a same race, minority super couple on any drama that I've watched in my life time.

Randall and Beth on This Is Us.  Bif and Evelyn on Pitch before it was cancelled [sob].

6 hours ago, Jaded said:

Leslie Moonves on Diversity: Judge Track Record by ‘Totality’ of CBS Corp.

What a bunch of self-serving malarkey.

[callie lee 29]

6 hours ago, Keepitmoving said:

You know what I notice, I've never really seen a super couple that was Asian, African-American, Hispanic etc... basically I don't think I've ever seen the rise of a same race, minority super couple on any drama that I've watched in my life time. 

I'm not sure if they would qualify as a super couple as it was a sitcom and I'm not sure you can have a super couple on a sitcom (??), but there was Turk and Carla on Scrubs (Donald Faison and Judy Reyes); they were long-term, fairly stable pairing that ran the length of the show. I don't really remember than having any serious issues. They were pretty core to the show. Other than that I can't think of any others. 

Of course one could say the real core relationship was JD and Turk! ;)

[jhlipton]

3 minutes ago, callie lee 29 said:

I'm not sure if they would qualify as a super couple as it was a sitcom and I'm not sure you can have a super couple on a sitcom (??), but there was Turk and Carla on Scrubs (Donald Faison and Judy Reyes); they were long-term, fairly stable pairing that ran the length of the show. I don't really remember than having any serious issues. They were pretty core to the show. Other than that I can't think of any others.

But Turk was Black and Carla was Latina, so that doesn't fit the original request for same-race couples.

[topanga]

4 minutes ago, callie lee 29 said:

I'm not sure if they would qualify as a super couple as it was a sitcom and I'm not sure you can have a super couple on a sitcom (??), but there was Turk and Carla on Scrubs (Donald Faison and Judy Reyes); they were long-term, fairly stable pairing that ran the length of the show. I don't really remember than having any serious issues. They were pretty core to the show. Other than that I can't think of any others. 

Of course one could say the real core relationship was JD and Turk! ;)

You're giving me Scrubs flashbacks! One minor conflict I can recall is when they  went to the beach for...something, and Turk was a little turned off by Carla looking like a mom on the beach. Because she was a mom. But I think that conflict was short-lived. Yes, I liked them as a couple.

And I remember when JD got to Elliott by saying he loved her more than Turk. But of course he didn't!.

Ah, memories.

[callie lee 29]

Ahh, I think I read it as African American and Hispanic couple. Whoops.

[topanga]

1 minute ago, callie lee 29 said:

Ahh, I think I read it as African American and Hispanic couple. Whoops.

Yes, Judy Reyes is Dominican, but I read that Judy Reyes said in an interview that she is also African-American (can't find the link to the actual interview).

[DearEvette]

CBS is shit when it comes to race.  And Les Moonves' tap dancing answer is trash-fire.  But damn if that new Star Trek Discovery trailer doesn't look awesome!  And it is all Michelle Yeoh and Sonequa Martin-Green.

[Dee]

47 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

But Turk was Black and Carla was Latina, so that doesn't fit the original request for same-race couples.

Carla is Black too.

[Keepitmoving]

43 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

But Turk was Black and Carla was Latina, so that doesn't fit the original request for same-race couples.

Exactly.

 I'm trying to remember other than my days of watching Angie and Jessie on All My Children and they got pretty good attention on their pairing as far as daytime soaps are concerned. But prime time dramas? I don't  think I have ever seen a real same race, minority super couple on a drama. I mean one of those most watched dramas where you see the damn couple all up in everyone's darn face on talk shows and what not, and covers of magazines like annoying ass Meredith and Derek on Grey's Anatomy. That's the type hype I'm talking about, that's super couple status to me. I've never seen it for an Asian couple, a Hispanic couple and African-American couple etc...I won't even count that couple on This Is US, although I know that's one of the positives that I've seen stated in commentary from those who watch that show, that it's refreshing to see. But I barely see them getting the press of a super couple, I know what that looks like and their coupling isn't getting it in the press. The entire show has and continues to get lots of love but...

[vibeology]

They are off and on but what about Cookie and Lucious? They are the pivot point of Empire. Everything revolves around their history. 

[Dee]

To be fair, it's not like 'Black' dramas have ever been industry standard.

Prior to 2015, Black couples having strong supporting roles on a hit primetime drama could/would still be considered a coup.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Dee

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, Keepitmoving said:

You know what I notice, I've never really seen a super couple that was Asian, African-American, Hispanic etc... basically I don't think I've ever seen the rise of a same race, minority super couple on any drama that I've watched in my life time. 

Asian 
Sun and Jin (Korean) - LOST.

Black
Mary Jane's parents - Being Mary Jane  (not a super couple)
Annalise Keating and Nate - How to Get Away with Murder
Earn and Van - Atlanta  (admittedly on again off again)

Just looked up my favourite dramas to try and find examples

Edited May 17, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Dee]

Atlanta's a comedy.

[Silver Raven]

Kono and Adam from Hawaii Five-O, though they're pretty much a supporting couple.

[ribboninthesky1]

6 hours ago, topanga said:

Regarding the cancellation of Pitch, 

 

 

I suppose what disappoints me most is that people of color didn’t support the show more. Here we had a black woman (biracial, whatever) at the center of a drama on FOX of all networks, and she wasn’t playing the sassy best friend, the faithful wife/girlfriend who doesn’t have a story of her own, and she wasn’t the judge or the police lieutenant—which seem like important roles, except they’re rarely more than peripheral characters. 

I wish black women, in particular, would have driven the show’s ratings the way we did for Empire and Scandal. Even if we weren’t sure what the show was, we should have checked out the first few episodes and realized that it wasn’t a boring mockumentary about baseball. It was so much more.

I haven't looked up the ratings, but maybe viewers, particularly black women, just didn't connect with the show.  I didn't, and I watched several episodes.  The premise was always a long shot.  It sucks, but it happens.   

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Keepitmoving said:

I don't  think I have ever seen a real same race, minority super couple on a drama. I mean one of those most watched dramas where you see the damn couple all up in everyone's darn face on talk shows and what not, and covers of magazines like annoying ass Meredith and Derek on Grey's Anatomy. That's the type hype I'm talking about, that's super couple status to me. I've never seen it for an Asian couple, a Hispanic couple and African-American couple etc...

I tend to think the same way about a super couple -- two characters the show is teasing fans with "will they or won't they" and then "OMG, they did," and who get so much entertainment media coverage of those storylines you can't help but know their names even if you don't watch the show.  Maddie and David.  Sam and Diane.  Ross and Rachel.  Mulder and Scully.  Meredith and Derek.  Brenda and Dylan.  Doug and Carol.  Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano.

(I know, my examples are old; I don't read entertainment media other than this site anymore, so I'm going with what I remember from my years of Entertainment Weekly and TVGuide.  Not a single minority couple is coming to mind.)

[Dee]

In the past 25 years, the closest a Black tv couple has come to "mainstream" 'supercouple' status, is/was A Different World's Dwayne & Whitley.

And, like Atlanta, ADW was a sitcom.

[xaxat]

12 hours ago, Dee said:

Atlanta's a comedy.

Atlanta is much more than a comedy.

[SistaLadybug]

14 hours ago, jhlipton said:

But Turk was Black and Carla was Latina, so that doesn't fit the original request for same-race couples.

Latina isn't a race - it's an ethnicity. Carla can be an Afro-Latina. That would still qualify them as a same race couple.

[Keepitmoving]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

I tend to think the same way about a super couple -- two characters the show is teasing fans with "will they or won't they" and then "OMG, they did," and who get so much entertainment media coverage of those storylines you can't help but know their names even if you don't watch the show.  Maddie and David.  Sam and Diane.  Ross and Rachel.  Mulder and Scully.  Meredith and Derek.  Brenda and Dylan.  Doug and Carol.  Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano.

(I know, my examples are old; I don't read entertainment media other than this site anymore, so I'm going with what I remember from my years of Entertainment Weekly and TVGuide.  Not a single minority couple is coming to mind.)

See, you and I are on the same page when it comes to super couples, because I didn't watch Cheers, but you wrote Sam and Diane and I'm old enough to know that you must be talking about Cheers even though you never mentioned the name of the show. That's when you know you're talking about a super couple, because I didn't even watch that show, but I also wasn't living under a rock, so you hear things when a couple is super couple status.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Keepitmoving

[Dee]

2 hours ago, xaxat said:

Atlanta is much more than a comedy.

The show contains elements of drama in many of its episodes; but it's designated, in the industry, as a comedy.

[topanga]

12 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

I haven't looked up the ratings, but maybe viewers, particularly black women, just didn't connect with the show.  I didn't, and I watched several episodes.  The premise was always a long shot.  It sucks, but it happens.   

Point taken. Sorry you didn't like it.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Luke and Laura, Bo and Hope, Cruz and Eden, Greg and Jenny, Jesse and Angie.

[Keepitmoving]

On 5/11/2017 at 1:43 AM, Dee said:

If OWN were smart, it would grab Underground ASAP.

It would make a strong addition to its non-Tyler Perry related original programming, but, its $5 million an episode budget, makes it a pretty expensive potential acquisition for such a struggling network.

And I would finally check it out. I just can't keep up with all these shows and I have yet to see this one. But there are certain networks that I routinely watch or at least check in, to see what's on and OWN is one of them. I don't even recall which network Underground is on but isn't Jurnee Smollett on this show? I've seen a couple of ads. for the show on other networks.

[BoogieBurns]

14 minutes ago, Keepitmoving said:

I don't even recall which network Underground is on but isn't Jurnee Smollett on this show?

It's on WGN. I don't even know what channel that is on my cable package. I only know about it from Jurnee's instagram page.

[Gurkel]

3 hours ago, BoogieBurns said:

It's on WGN. I don't even know what channel that is on my cable package. I only know about it from Jurnee's instagram page.

I must admit I've never watched Underground. And now I feel guilty that it was canceled. Was a good show, or was it simply an IMPORTANT show?

[Dee]

It's a bit of a mixed bag.

Season One leaned toward the former, Season Two leaned toward the latter.

[xaxat]

The trailer for CW's Black Lightning. 

On one hand, I'm happy to see another show revolving around POC, On the other hand, growing up as a kid when the comic first came out, I thought Black Lightning was boooring. 

But more importantly, It annoys me that the drama derived from many TV shows set in cities is that they are crime infested.  While there has been a recent increase in places like Baltimore and Chicago, violent crime in general is at its lowest point in decades. Yes, there is work to be done, but cities are not the hellscape that Trump and many shows would have you believe.

[Minneapple]

Black Lightning actually looks really good. A family superhero drama. Okay, sign me up, even though I see they've pushed it to midseason. I may be more excited about the CW's midseason shows than I am about the fall shows (let's not talk about Riverdale's treatment of black girls, because I may fly into a rage).

[Keepitmoving]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

The trailer for CW's Black Lightning. 

 

On one hand, I'm happy to see another show revolving around POC, On the other hand, growing up as a kid when the comic first came out, I thought Black Lightning was boooring. 

But more importantly, It annoys me that the drama derived from many TV shows set in cities is that they are crime infested.  While there has been a recent increase in places like Baltimore and Chicago, violent crime in general is at its lowest point in decades. Yes, there is work to be done, but cities are not the hellscape that Trump and many shows would have you believe.

Not to mention, I've been to Chicago and never set foot in the area where all the violent crime is occurring, so it's not even like the entire city is burning. Yep, not happening, and boy are their city streets clean. If you just go by the news one would never step foot in the city of Chicago, it's a beautiful city. It's the first city from my perspective as someone who was born and raised in NYC, so I compare all cities in this country to NYC, Chicago was the first city in which I truly felt like I was in a real city comparable to NYC. Chicago has a real city skyline, like real sky scrapers.

Same thing with Baltimore, not the sky scrapers,  Baltimore seems more like a small town to me. But again, the entire downtown area is not on fire. Big businesses and state agencies are down there. But they say Baltimore on the news and you think the entire place is on fire. Not to mention, there's a difference between Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Keepitmoving

[jhlipton]

5 hours ago, Minneapple said:

Black Lightning actually looks really good. A family superhero drama. Okay, sign me up, even though I see they've pushed it to midseason. I may be more excited about the CW's midseason shows than I am about the fall shows (let's not talk about Riverdale's treatment of black girls, because I may fly into a rage).

I'm glad for Tony Isabella.  He's a cool guy and it will be nice for him to get the recognition (and hopefully lots of bucks).

 

ETA: Nice "diversity" you have going there Loonves...

Edited May 19, 2017 by jhlipton
Diversity!!!

[Neurochick]

On May 10, 2017 at 10:57 AM, phoenics said:

White people should refrain from ever using the n-word.  In any shape or form.  Simply stop singing when it comes on the radio.  That's what *I* do when it comes on because I don't use the word - and I'm black.  The word is horrible and even if some black folks think we've "taken it back", well, we haven't - it's still used to degrade and I'm beyond sick of white people being mad they can't use it - like it's a toy they've been told they can't play with.

My feeling is that rappers shouldn't even use it in their lyrics.  

To me, this started with the OJ trial.  I'm old and I remember Richard Pryor had an album that was called "N*****."  

It was said a lot in historical dramas (like the 1977 version of Roots), but today, people are more aware of it, and I noticed this started with the OJ trial when people started saying "The N word."  

In that episode of DWP I thought the point wasn't the usage of the word, but how things escalated so quickly.  Using that word in a song lyric should have been a reason for a discussion, talk about it later, not when you and everybody else have had too much to drink.  It was an interesting point.  Are you a racist for repeating it in a song lyric?  How about reading it in a novel like Uncle Tom's Cabin, which was written to show the evils of slavery.  The book is horribly dated now, as is Huckleberry Finn, but both books use the "N" word and have it more than just once.  

Quote

This real person's identity is being erased and since Zach McGowan is a nobody, the typical "we need a star to get the movie made" excuse doesn't fly.

You obviously didn't watch Black Sails because he was a fucking badass Charles Vane.  Interesting because Black Sails was a show that could have whitewashed a character (for the first two seasons I kind of thought they would) but didn't.  

Quote

I lived in San Jose, CA during the time of that Gold Digger song... and I was in a club on Santana Row (Strait's - after hours).  My black girlfriends and I were sitting in the lounge area (the dance floor was too small).  There were 4 of us total and we were the only black women in the place.  There were plenty of black men, white women and white men... but when the "leave yo @ss for a white girl" part came on, the DJ cut the music and let the crowd scream this at the top of their lungs - with lethal glee.

Lethal glee?  Shows me how stupid they must have been, either that or drunk.  Kanye isn't praising the guy for leaving her for a white girl.  He's saying the guy's a douchebag; that the black girl does everything for him and then he gets rich and leaves her for a white girl.  Class-A douchebag.

As for CBS, ever since I was a child, it has catered to the over 60 crowd.  They know what works for them, so they keep shitting it out.  Remember, CBS was the network of The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, My Three Sons...

Edited May 21, 2017 by Neurochick

[jhlipton]

18 hours ago, Neurochick said:

In that episode of DWP I thought the point wasn't the usage of the word, but how things escalated so quickly.  Using that word in a song lyric should have been a reason for a discussion, talk about it later, not when you and everybody else have had too much to drink.  It was an interesting point.  Are you a racist for repeating it in a song lyric?  How about reading it in a novel like Uncle Tom's Cabin, which was written to show the evils of slavery.  The book is horribly dated now, as is Huckleberry Finn, but both books use the "N" word and have it more than just once.

That was my thought too.  Blame the DJ / playlist creator for playing the song.  Blame Addison for singing it.  Blame Reggie for bringing the party to a screeching halt.  (In descending order of blame, with Reggie far below Addison.)  But, to me, the scene wasn't about the word as much as it being about how quickly (and potentially tragically) things escalated.

Also, I think DWP wanted to show that Addison could do racist things without actually being a racist (which Reggie and his friends kept trying to say, but Addison and his friends were too drunk and angry to hear).

[phoenics]

On 5/20/2017 at 8:04 PM, Neurochick said:

Lethal glee?  Shows me how stupid they must have been, either that or drunk.  Kanye isn't praising the guy for leaving her for a white girl.  He's saying the guy's a douchebag; that the black girl does everything for him and then he gets rich and leaves her for a white girl.  Class-A douchebag.

 

Yes - you know that and I know that, but they basically reappropriated the meaning to be something oh so positive for them.  That was the mindset out there.  That's why it was so frustrating and depressing when it happened.  It was like watching a bunch of skinny girls with no asses bumrush the dance floor during "Baby Got Back".  But this time it was a lot more sinister.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Richard Pryor had an album that was called "N*****."  

Richard Pryor had two albums with that word. The first was called "That N****r's Crazy" and the second was called "Bicentennial N****r". He won Grammy awards for both of them. He also appeared on SNL back in that time and did a sketch with Chevy Chase where Chase actually said the "N-word". It was not bleeped at the time but SNL could not do that sketch today without bleeping the word. Today comedy albums probably couldn't be released with titles like Pryor used and they certainly wouldn't win Grammys. I doubt even Dave Chappelle or Key & Peele could get away with that today and they've all achieved fairly mainstream status at this point.

[xaxat]

Trailer for CBS' SWAT.

I honestly don't know if I should be encouraged or terrified. On the plus side, Moore really is the star, not part of an ensemble. In addition, it looks like it will deal with the racial politics of urban policing.

On the minus. . . a CBS drama about racial politics?

[Jaded]

The end of that preview clip was unexpected but really funny. I was never a watcher of Criminal Minds besides a couple episodes here and there that were never the really out there ones. I say that because I'm not used to seeing Shemar Moore in a tough guy role like that. I remember he played a mechanic in Diary of a Mad Black Woman.  I still think of his character Malcolm Winters from Y&R when I see him though who was so suave with the ladies.

[Dee]

2 hours ago, Jaded said:

I remember he played a mechanic in Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

I still haven't forgiven him for that hair.

[topanga]

24 minutes ago, Dee said:

I still haven't forgiven him for that hair.

Those jacked-up cornrows? 

[Dee]

30 minutes ago, topanga said:

Those jacked-up cornrows? 

Yes! I made peace with his jacked up teeth, but that was a bridge too far.

[jhlipton]

Too bad it wasn't "Serve, Unite and Protect" -- hey, 'sup????

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, Dee said:

I still haven't forgiven him for that hair.

Ha. I haven't forgiven him for raping Drucilla on Y&R (even though I didn't watch Y&R) because IIRC, it wasn't treated like a rape but rather a mutual mistake even though she was drugged up and out of it.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Ha. I haven't forgiven him for raping Drucilla on Y&R (even though I didn't watch Y&R) because IIRC, it wasn't treated like a rape but rather a mutual mistake even though she was drugged up and out of it.

Allegedly the story was going to be treated like a sexual assault but several Black cast members (presumably KSJ, VR, and SM) went to Bill Bell and strongly protested because they felt it would reflect badly on their characters as Y&R's representatives of the Black community. As a result Bill Bell pretty much killed the story and said it would never be revisited. It indeed never was revisited until after his death, and then the writers made it about Lily's paternity and not the rape. Although as I vaguely recall Malcolm (not the SM one, the other one) sort of apologized for not realizing that he was perhaps taking advantage of Dru's drugged condition. But they also had Dru claim she knew what she doing despite her woozy condition so that let Malcolm off the hook somewhat. Amazingly, B&B pulled the same nonsense last year with Ridge, his son Thomas, and his wife of the time, Caroline.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Joimiaroxeu

[Dee]

52 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Amazingly, B&B pulled the same nonsense last year with Ridge, his son Thomas, and his wife of time, Caroline.

Didn't B&B do a similar storyline with Ridge & Brooke a few years earlier?

[possibilities]

Shots Fired was better than I expected, so I suppose there's a chance SWAT will be, too. I remain skeptical, but will hope I'm wrong.

Even the promo had the shooting be treated as a good guy who goofed and felt terrible about it and paid consequences willingly, and not as a racist motherfucker who made excuses, got away with it, and thinks he's the victim.

So, already they are in fantasyland and kind of papering over the seriousness of the problem with cops murdering people.

But if they are going for a role model kind of thing instead of a minimization kind of thing, I guess that could possibly be worthwhile. But: CBS, you know? Hard to trust.

[Silver Raven]

The racists are out in force about the "white genoicide" being reflected in the new Star Trek series.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/white-genocide-in-space-racist-fans-seethe-at-diversity-in-new-star-trek-series/

[callie lee 29]

18 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

The racists are out in force about the "white genoicide" being reflected in the new Star Trek series.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/white-genocide-in-space-racist-fans-seethe-at-diversity-in-new-star-trek-series/

Well that's...dumb. I don't get why having two females of color in charge is a big fucking deal. And what the hell is SJW?

Sometimes I feel so confused by people...

[Silver Raven]

2 minutes ago, callie lee 29 said:

Well that's...dumb. I don't get why having two females of color in charge is a big fucking deal. And what the hell is SJW?

Sometimes I feel so confused by people...

SJW is the alt-right term "Social justice warrior", which to them, is a bad thing.

[callie lee 29]

1 minute ago, Silver Raven said:

SJW is the alt-right term "Social justice warrior", which to them, is a bad thing.

Ahh. All I could think of was SWV. which isn't the same thing.

[Keepitmoving]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

The racists are out in force about the "white genoicide" being reflected in the new Star Trek series.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/white-genocide-in-space-racist-fans-seethe-at-diversity-in-new-star-trek-series/

What network is this going to be on? When does it start? I need to make sure I watch it. I'm kinda wishy/washy when it comes to Sci-Fi. I've never been into Star Wars, the only one I remember really liking was when Luke Skywalker found out that Darth Vader was his father. But I liked Star Trek, I wasn't a fanatic about it. Looking back Captain Kirk was hilarious.  But two women, minorities heading this new Starship Enterprise, that could be must see tv for me.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Keepitmoving