Race & Ethnicity On TV

[Sparger Springs]

On 5/30/2018 at 12:03 AM, jhlipton said:

I've posted on FaceBook that since the show was renewed, and now it's not, Roseanne has deprived then all of income, and they should sue her ass.

They knew exactly what they signed up for. No sympathy for the adults on this show. Roseanne has been straight garbage for quite a while now.

[Dee]

‘Black-ish’ Creator Kenya Barris Planned to Protest After Roseanne Barr’s Racist Tweet

Quote

“Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris was prepared to mount a PR blitz of protest after “Roseanne” star Roseanne Barr sent out a racist tweet last month. He was as surprised as he was determined to speak out against Barr’s comment when network executives told him the plan to cancel TV’s highest-rated program in response to Barr’s indefensible comment likening former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape.

Barris gave a glimpse of the outrage that rained down on ABC leaders in the wake of Barr’s tweet from members of the creative community. Barris was one of five showrunners who spoke Wednesday about the importance of having diversity in TV writers’ rooms, a panel that was part of Variety‘s Path to Parity summit focusing on women in the entertainment industry.

“I was literally coming out of the show and I was like f— this. I was going to go crazy. I was going to call my agent and go on (CNN’s) Don Lemon and other shows,” Barris said. But first he called ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey, Disney/ABC Television Group chief Ben Sherwood, and ABC Studios president Patrick Moran to warn them. “I was like, ‘I’m sorry guys’ and then I have to say, the response came in minutes.”

Dungey asked Barris to hold off a beat because they were in the process of canceling the show.

“It was amazing. Having Channing at the head and having Bob (Iger) be supportive” was significant, Barris said. He credited ABC and Disney brass with making the right decision in the moment, but he still questioned the decision to put Barr on the air at all, given her track record on social media.

Barr’s tweet amounted to “an indefensible moment but at the same time, you hired a monster and then you asked why the monster was killing villagers,” Barris said.

Edited June 7, 2018 by Dee

[Trini]

'Netflix's "Raising Dion" Casts Its Two Leads'

Quote

Newcomer Ja'Siah Young will star as 'Dion Reese,' a curious, playful, and intelligent 7-year-old boy who is learning he has some very special abilities - he can move things with his mind. While exciting and cool, it's also something he knows scares his mom, Nicole.

Alisha Wainwright (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments) will star as 'Nicole Reese,' a former professional dancer who gave it up to raise her son Dion when her husband Mark died.

...

Young and Wainwright join previously announced cast members Jason Ritter, Jazmyn Simon, and Michael B. Jordan.
...

Raising Dion, a Netflix production, follows the story of a woman named Nicole Reese, who raises her son Dion after the death of her husband Mark (Michael B. Jordan). The normal dramas of raising a son as a single mom are amplified when Dion starts to manifest several magical, superhero-like abilities. Nicole must now keep her son's gifts secret with the help of Mark's best friend Pat (Jason Ritter), and protect Dion from antagonists out to exploit him while figuring out the origin of his abilities.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2018/06/27/netflixs-raising-dion-casts-its-two-leads-113515/20180627netflix03/

[ursula]

2 hours ago, Trini said:

'Netflix's "Raising Dion" Casts Its Two Leads'

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2018/06/27/netflixs-raising-dion-casts-its-two-leads-113515/20180627netflix03/

OMG! I know this from Tumblr! And it's going to be a TV show with Michael B Jordan!!!! ??????????

[callie lee 29]

Son of a bitch. Does this mean I'm going to need to renew my Netflix!!

[galax-arena]

I'm interested in seeing if Sandra Oh manages to snag an Emmy nom for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Killing Eve. If she does, she'll be the first ever Asian nominee in that category. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

I'll be surprised if Sandra doesn't get one but that's going to be a really tough category this year.

[Dee]

‘The Flash’ and ‘Riverdale’ Stars Detail Suffering Racist Backlash

Quote

The CW stars Candice Patton and Ashleigh Murray have opened up about racist backlash they’ve suffered for their portrayals of traditionally white comic book characters on The Flash and Riverdale.

“For me, Iris West was traditionally white in the comic books. So, you know, comic book fans are very opinionated, very vocal. So it was very scary stepping into that role when I started the show,” said Patton, who plays Iris West on The Flash, during a panel appearance at POPSUGAR’s Play/Ground festival.

“And I remember our executive producer at this time, once I got cast, he was like ‘Don’t go online. Just don’t go on,’” she recalled. “But what’s great is, I think over time, people have embraced me and have embraced this character and I think it’s really important. And I think what’s great is, you know, years to come, people will remember Iris West as being African-American. And that’s a really, really cool thing.”

Added Murray, who plays Josie McCoy of Josie and the Pussycats fame on Riverdale: “It’s the exact same thing, you know? With Josie, she’s originally white in the comics, and so was Melody [Asha Bromfield]. And we all ended up coming as an all-black group.”

Murray said she received similar advice: avoid online commentary.

“And when I actually was testing for it, my aunt asked me ‘How are you going to deal with it, if you book this? How are you going to handle people having an issue with it?’ And I was like, ‘We’ll just worry about it when it comes,’” Murray said.

“And then when it came, I did exactly that. They were like ‘Just don’t even go on the Internet. Don’t check social media.’ And I have seen people say some really unfortunate things, but there was so much happiness and gratitude and support outside of that negativity, that it kinda outweighed it. And now it’s just white noise. I don’t even notice it or see it much anymore. And it’s probably thanks to [Candice], because [she] had to go through it before I did. You probably made the transition a little bit easier.”

Edited July 2, 2018 by Dee

[galax-arena]

Quote

I'll be surprised if Sandra doesn't get one but that's going to be a really tough category this year.

Yeah, the category is stacked, plus the Emmys like nominating the same people over and over again. But I'm hoping the level of critical hype for Sandra does the job. 

Both the Riverdale series itself plus the fandom are racist hot messes. I'm still irritated with the storyline involving the Serpents having Native American roots and now being led by white savior Jughead. 

[HunterHunted]

24 minutes ago, galax-arena said:

Both the Riverdale series itself plus the fandom are racist hot messes. I'm still irritated with the storyline involving the Serpents having Native American roots and now being led by white savior Jughead. 

When they were going into that convoluted Native American origin for the Serpents, I kept wondering what happened to leave the Serpents with so few members of color let alone a leader of color.

A lot of fandoms have very vocal toxic bigoted contingents, not just Riverdale. I find the Arrow fandom to be a poisonous echo chamber who only notices the crap writing on that show when it impairs the Olicity ship, but will come after you if you bring up how the writing for the characters of color has been awful for years.

[Dee]

1 hour ago, galax-arena said:

 But I'm hoping the level of critical hype for Sandra does the job.

Me too. She's way overdue for an emmy win.

[In2You]

Riverdale lost me with that Tumblresque writing after the first two episodes. 

The fandom was also sending Vanessa Morgan death threats before she even appeared on the show.

[galax-arena]

The fandom was also sending Vanessa Morgan death threats before she even appeared on the show.

To be more specific - just because this particular subset of fandom deserves a ton of shit imo - the Bughead fans were terrible to Vanessa. Obviously #notallbugheadfans, but enough so that it was definitely A Thing. Poor Vanessa. All because her character posed a threat to their ship. 

[Dee]

Bughead fans aren't the only terrible members of the Riverdale fandom.

Ashleigh received a ton of ugly hate from the Choni & Veronica fanbases.

And let's not even discuss the treatment, both onscreen and in fandom, of Chuck Clayton.

Edited July 3, 2018 by Dee

[galax-arena]

Sandra Oh has made history as the first Asian Emmy nominee for best lead actress in a drama. :) 

I might be slightly bitter that Killing Eve didn't get a nom for best series - not surprised that the Emmy's can't hop off GOT's dick - but I'll focus on the good here lol.

[galax-arena]

Oh, I want Sandra to win, but I think the award is Elisabeth Moss' to lose. And if not her, then Keri Russell might get it because the Americans is over and this is her last chance and the voters know that.

Something that's been bugging me: I've come across a lot of Keri fans who say that yeah, sure, Sandra is great and they love her, but she can wait until next year because this is Keri's time and she's been snubbed for years. It's completely fine if you think that Keri is a better actor than Sandra and therefore deserves to win! But I hate the argument/phrase that Sandra should "wait her turn" because it's Keri time. WOC have been expected to let white women go first for forever. Keri's been snubbed for years? So has Sandra, and not just in terms of not getting Emmy awards. She's been snubbed in the sense that the roles haven't been there for her to begin with! There's a reason why she's the first Asian woman to be nominated for best lead actress in a drama - it's because there are very few leading roles for Asian women to play in the first place. There's no guarantee that Killing Eve will retain the same level of hype & critical acclaim next year. And after the show ends, how much longer will it be before Sandra gets cast in another great role? Keri's show might have ended, but she's a white woman who has already been announced as reportedly joining the new Star Wars movie, not to mention a new thriller by Guillermo del Toro. She's going to be fine. 

Like I said, it's absolutely valid if you think Keri is simply the better actor and that's that, but spare me the argument that she's been through 1/10th of the shit that Sandra or any WOC actress has. 

[biakbiak]

Yeah it’s douvtful that Sandra will win simply because it’s the first season of a BBCamerica show that being nominated is a “win”.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

On 6/27/2018 at 11:15 PM, ursula said:

OMG! I know this from Tumblr! And it's going to be a TV show with Michael B Jordan!!!! ??????????

Both characters are Dark Skinned in the comic, but Biracial actors are cast.

 

:side eye: 

Edited July 14, 2018 by MrsRafaelBarba

[DearEvette]

On 5/23/2018 at 4:52 AM, Llywela said:

The show also features the always excellent Clarke Peters as the father of Pike (Walter's character) - himself a senior police officer, whose career still overshadows that of his son. And the very beautiful Lashana Lynch plays Pike's wife Arjana - two episodes in, and they seem to have a very happy marriage, loving and supportive, which is nice (and too sadly rare) to see on TV (Clarke's character, Bishop, is the one with all the relationship drama) - Arjana has a flourishing legal career of her own, as well as being mother to their two daughters.

Lashana Lynch was just cast as Agent 55 in the movie adaptation of the very popular comic series Y:The Last Man.  The casting of Agent 55 would have been a deal breaker for me with this movie and Lynch (finger crossed) seems like a great decision.  I decided to look her up a bit more because the only thing I had seen her in was the few episodes of Still Star Crossed that I managed to watch.  I thought she was very good on there.

I came across Bulletproof when I was looking her up, I am not sure it is available here in the US for streaming, but I came across a twitter convo about the casting of her and how it was a deliberate choice by the creator to not only to make her black (I think the producers wanted Pike's wife to be white) but to make her a dark-skinned black woman.  I am too lazy to trawl for the twitter like  but here is an article about it that basically says the same thing.

[ursula]

15 hours ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

Both characters are Dark Skinned in the comic, but Biracial actors are cast.

 

:side eye: 

Yeah, that does take the shine off it. In the comic book itself and the book "trailer", Dion and his mom are dark-skinned.

One step forward, two steps backward. 

 

[paulvdb]

9 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Lashana Lynch was just cast as Agent 55 in the movie adaptation of the very popular comic series Y:The Last Man.

That's not a movie adapatation but a pilot for a series on FX.

[Trini]

Madame C.J. Walker mini-series ordered by Netflix:

Quote

Netflix has given the green light to Madam C.J. Walker, an eight-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and executive produced by LeBron James. The announcement was made by VP original programming Cindy Holland during Netflix’s TCA executive session.

Janine Sherman Barrois and Elle Johnson are set as showrunners on the Zero Gravity-produced series about the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist, with Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, Talk to Me) on board to direct the first episode.

Written by Nicole Asher based on the book On Her Own Ground by A’Lelia Bundles, Madam C.J. Walker tells the untold and highly irreverent story of black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C.J. Walker and how she overcame hostile turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and some trifling family to become America’s first black, self-made female millionaire.

[Scarlett45]

3 minutes ago, Trini said:

Madame C.J. Walker mini-series ordered by Netflix:

I want to see this!

[Silver Raven]

How is it that Israeli actor Brian George keeps getting cast as Indian or Pakistani characters?  From Babu Bhatt on "Seinfeld" to Raj's father on "Big Bang Theory", and now he's costarring as the father of the lead character in "I Feel Bad".

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

How is it that Israeli actor Brian George keeps getting cast as Indian or Pakistani characters?  From Babu Bhatt on "Seinfeld" to Raj's father on "Big Bang Theory", and now he's costarring as the father of the lead character in "I Feel Bad".

Because they never make distinctions between Indian and Pakistani people and while born in Israel he is ethnically half Indian. 

[Trini]

That, and Hollywood's long tradition of "eh- looks close enough."

[Trini]

I was hoping Jill Scott would (somehow) return to Black Lightning, but this sounds good:

'First Wives Club: Jill Scott & Michelle Buteau To Star In Paramount Network’s Series'

Quote

Grammy winner and actress Jill Scott (Why Did I Get Married?, Baggage Claim) and comedian Michelle Buteau (Broad City, Key & Peele), are set as two of the three leads in First Wives Club, Paramount Network’s dramedy based on the popular 1996 film from Paramount Pictures. The 10-episode series hails from Girls Trip co-writer Tracy Oliver and Paramount Television.

The First Wives Club series, like the film which starred Diane Keaton, Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn, will be based in New York City. It follows three women, Ari, Bree (Buteau) and Hazel (Scott) who band together after their marriages fall apart, and who find strength in their sisterhood- and of course a little revenge.

...

Oliver is writing the series and is executive producing along with Karen Rosenfelt (Twilight saga, The Devil Wears Prada) and Scott Rudin, who produced the First Wives Club movie that, in turn, was based on the 1992 novel by Olivia Goldsmith.

...

Filming is scheduled to begin in New York City this fall for a 2019 premiere on Paramount Network.

And there's a short video here with EP Tracy Oliver about the premise/aim for the show.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Trini

[Raja]

2 hours ago, Trini said:

That, and Hollywood's long tradition of "eh- looks close enough."

If Hollywood only used actors whose parents were of the same race and of the majority ethic group of any nation that a character represents then Halle Berry wouldn't have an Oscar.

[Picture It. Sicily]

He should lose out on work because he's "only" half Indian? 

[Dee]

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Author to Develop Original Drama Series for Amazon

Quote

The untitled series, which hails from STX Entertainment’s STXtv, is described as a globe-hopping drama set amongst Hong Kong’s most influential and powerful family and the business empire they control. The project has received a script-to-series order.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Dee

[Silver Raven]

3 hours ago, Picture It. Sicily said:

He should lose out on work because he's "only" half Indian? 

My comment had absolutely zero to do with being "only" half Indian.  I did not know he was half Indian.  As far as I knew, he was Israeli.  Do not try to twist my words.

Hollywood executives wanted a white lead in Crazy, Rich Asians.

https://www.glamour.com/story/hollywood-wanted-a-white-actress-to-lead-crazy-rich-asians

[ursula]

Plus there's the issue of colorism. Much like biracial Zendaya admits: "I'm Hollywood's acceptable version of a  black girl." - It's worth examining the reason why a biracial Indian gets so many "choicer" roles over Indians with less Euro-typical features.

[Dee]

FX Orders New Take on Classic Samurai Miniseries ‘Shōgun’

Quote

FX has resurrected a new take on “Shōgun,” a 10-episode limited series period drama that had originally been set up at sister broadcast network Fox.

Based on the novel by Clavell, and made famous by a 1980 TV miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain, feudal Japan-set “Shōgun” charts “the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance.”

Edited August 4, 2018 by Dee

[biakbiak]

13 minutes ago, Dee said:

FX Orders New Take on Classic Samurai Miniseries ‘Shōgun’

 

Okay this is funny at my friends birthday last Friday we got into a long discussion about the original miniseries! Apparently it’s in the air.

Edited August 4, 2018 by biakbiak

[CabotCove]

On 02/07/2018 at 7:32 PM, Dee said:

‘The Flash’ and ‘Riverdale’ Stars Detail Suffering Racist Backlash

 

Quote

And now it’s just white noise. I don’t even notice it or see it much anymore. 

LOL, no pun intended, right.....

 

Anyway yeah, riverdale has been a toxic racist mess. 

Edited August 4, 2018 by HeroLeague

[In2You]

On 8/3/2018 at 1:06 PM, Picture It. Sicily said:

He should lose out on work because he's "only" half Indian? 

He shouldn't be playing the role on an Indian with two Indian parents. Hollywood lately has made people who are only half asian,latino, black,etc the representatives for that ethnicity. As if people who dont have one white parent aren't fit to play characters with their description. 

[topanga]

20 hours ago, In2You said:

He shouldn't be playing the role on an Indian with two Indian parents. Hollywood lately has made people who are only half asian,latino, black,etc the representatives for that ethnicity. As if people who dont have one white parent aren't fit to play characters with their description. 

I think it’s Hollywood saying they want actors who don’t look too black, Middle Eastern, Indian, etc. 

Zenday’s comment was perfect about her being Hollywood’s acceptable version of a black girl. 

[Dee]

'Pachinko' TV Series in the Works at Apple

Quote

Following a multiple-outlet bidding war, the tech giant has landed rights to develop the project based on Min Jin Lee's best-selling novel Pachinko. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the drama landed at Apple with a sizable script-to-series commitment. 

Pachinko, one of The New York Times' 10 best books of 2017 and a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction, chronicles the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family. Described as epic in scope, the story begins with a forbidden romance and crescendos into a sweeping saga that journeys between Korea, Japan and America. The Apple drama, which comes with what is said to be a sizable premium show budget akin to Netflix's The Crown, will be told in three languages: Korean, Japanese and English.

Soo Hugh (who oversaw on season one of AMC's The Terror) will pen the script for Apple as well as executive produce and serve as showrunner on the likely series. Pachinko hails from Michael Ellenberg's Media Res, which is behind Apple's upcoming Reese Witherspoon-Jennifer Aniston morning show drama and was the tech giant's entry into the scripted space. Author Lee will also be credited as an executive producer on the Apple take.

In addition to the Pachinko project, Hugh has inked an overall deal with Media Res — the studio's first such pact in television. Under the two-year pact, Hugh will also develop and produce additional projects for the studio. Sources say Hugh — one of only a few Korean-American female showrunners in television — had a personal connection to Pachinko and was able to option the title at a time when multiple outlets, including Media Res, were pursuing the book. Media Res then inked her to an overall deal, with Hugh bringing the book with her to the company. Sources say five networks bid on the TV rights to the best-seller. Hugh, repped by WME and McKuin Frankel, also counts The Killing and creating ABC's The Whispers among her credits.

Edited August 8, 2018 by Dee

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 2:59 PM, topanga said:

I think it’s Hollywood saying they want actors who don’t look too black, Middle Eastern, Indian, etc. 

Zenday’s comment was perfect about her being Hollywood’s acceptable version of a black girl. 

Brian George is a bad example of this, because he actually looks like many Indians.  They come in a wide variety of skin tones and facial features.  Now, I wouldn't disagree that Hollywood should make a better effort to include that variety when casting roles calling for Indians, but that doesn't mean that this specific actor shouldn't be cast as an Indian character because he is half-Indian.

Edited August 8, 2018 by proserpina65

[topanga]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Brian George is a bad example of this, because he actually looks like many Indians.  They come in a wide variety of skin tones and facial features.  Now, I wouldn't disagree that Hollywood should make a better effort to include that variety when casting roles calling for Indians, but that doesn't mean that this specific actor shouldn't be cast as an Indian character because he is half-Indian.

I totally agree. I was just speaking generally. 

[Roaster]

I was looking at the top-rated shows from the 1974-75 season in the US (per Wikipedia)

1. All in the Family

2. Sanford and Son

3. Chico and the Man

4. The Jeffersons

5. MASH

6. Rhoda

7. Good Times

Three of the seven had black lead characters. One lead on Chico and the Man was Chicano (the actor was not Mexican but had a Puerto Rican mother.) All seven shows were comedies.

That was over 40 years ago. There were fewer entertainment options then. If you run the numbers, it’s safe to say the large majority of people watching these shows were white.

The same list for the 2016-17 season shows The Big Bang Theory number 1 with a rating of 11.5. That rating would not have put it in the top 30 shows in the 70s. The highest rated shows get small audiences compared to decades past. (As an aside, only one of the top 25 shows in 2016-17 was a comedy.)

One thing that I wonder about it how people brag about how much more enlightened we are today and that we have more diversity on TV. Maybe a little, but we also have more audience fragmentation. Shows like Empire (ranked 23 in 2016-17), Blackish (59), Fresh Off the Boat (95) may have non-white casts, but non-white casts are nothing new and if the audience is so fragmented the impact on viewers of any show isn’t what it used to be.

One good thing may be in the make-up of ensemble cast shows. NCIS and Gray’s Anatomy have a more diverse cast that similar shows may have had in the past. (Hawaii Five-O was multi-ethnic in both incarnations.)

What do you think?

[Scarlett45]

23 hours ago, Roaster said:

I was looking at the top-rated shows from the 1974-75 season in the US (per Wikipedia)

1. All in the Family

2. Sanford and Son

3. Chico and the Man

4. The Jeffersons

5. MASH

6. Rhoda

7. Good Times

Three of the seven had black lead characters. One lead on Chico and the Man was Chicano (the actor was not Mexican but had a Puerto Rican mother.) All seven shows were comedies.

That was over 40 years ago. There were fewer entertainment options then. If you run the numbers, it’s safe to say the large majority of people watching these shows were white.

The same list for the 2016-17 season shows The Big Bang Theory number 1 with a rating of 11.5. That rating would not have put it in the top 30 shows in the 70s. The highest rated shows get small audiences compared to decades past. (As an aside, only one of the top 25 shows in 2016-17 was a comedy.)

One thing that I wonder about it how people brag about how much more enlightened we are today and that we have more diversity on TV. Maybe a little, but we also have more audience fragmentation. Shows like Empire (ranked 23 in 2016-17), Blackish (59), Fresh Off the Boat (95) may have non-white casts, but non-white casts are nothing new and if the audience is so fragmented the impact on viewers of any show isn’t what it used to be.

One good thing may be in the make-up of ensemble cast shows. NCIS and Gray’s Anatomy have a more diverse cast that similar shows may have had in the past. (Hawaii Five-O was multi-ethnic in both incarnations.)

What do you think?

Good analysis. 

I think that 1. We have more entertainment options now (genre channels etc), 2. I think we do have more diversity but we have audience fragmentation like you said.

3. Most of the shows mentioned above were primarily racially segregated. Black characters interacting with other black characters, white characters interacting with other white characters. Growing up in the 1990s some of my favorite shows portraying black families were Fresh Prince & Family Matters- both were comedies, and although they occasionally dealt with racism (during special episodes) the world of the show was very insular if that makes sense. In 2018 if we are looking at a show set in modern times, I don’t think that would fly. Having computers in our pockets makes that impossible. 4. I think diversity on an ensemble cast show is more valuable because if we only see minority characters portrayed as well rounded beings in the absence of white characters nothing has been accomplished. 

 

Side note- I feel in love with Soul Food when they were replaying episodes. Now that I’m the same age Terri was when the show started, it gives me warm fuzzies. And fine ass Boris Kudjoe!

Edited August 11, 2018 by Scarlett45

[DearEvette]

There was an article last year that talked about the audience make up of some of the more popular shows with predominantly black casts.  It turns out they have a majority non-black audience.

Regards the fragmented audience, I think it is a combination of more channels to watch and more ways to watch them.  In the 70s before even cable tv had the opportunity to saturate homes, most people had only 4 channels to watch and the only way to view them was on an actual tv set.  Now we not only have broadcast channels, but syndication, cable, streaming, apps, and web channels.  And you don't need a tv anymore to watch, but you can watch on phone, tablets, computers, through your Xbox or fire sticks. 

The thing is while the method of watching tv has changed drastically in the last 40 years, Nielsen's method of collecting ratings data really hasn't.  They are still using their same methods: diaries, people meters, sample extrapolations etc. for their fast nationals and overnights.  There is some data they can't measure (Netflix, Hulu and the demographics of people watching non-tv platforms) and even when they do have the ability to get raw information (DVR usage for example) they don't really use it as part of their ratings because it is all about how they count people who watch tv live who can see the commercials.  There is a reason CBS dominates ratings.  Their audience skews older and those people tend to be the ones who still watch tv on a tv set and that plays right into Nielsen's collection methodology.

Edited August 11, 2018 by DearEvette

[memememe76]

There is also a diversity in the types of characters actors of colour are playing, I feel. Raj, Cookie and Randall are quite different in temperament and character background. 

[Dee]

John Cho, Alan Yang Team on Drama ‘Tigertail’ for Netflix

Quote

John Cho, Tzi Ma and Christine Ko will star in Alan Yang’s multi-generational family drama for Netflix with shooting in New York and Taiwan beginning next week.

Yang is directing “Tigertail” from his own script, based on events that happened in his own family. The movie touches on themes of regret, longing, passion, and repression while spanning continents and generations, from 1950’s Taiwan to present-day New York City.

Edited August 24, 2018 by Dee

[biakbiak]

I am excited. Alan talked about it a few weeks ago on David Chang’s podcast and it sounds interesting.

[scarynikki12]

Excellent!  I always welcome as much John Cho as I can get.

[Silver Raven]

57 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

Excellent!  I always welcome as much John Cho as I can get.

Are you aware of his upcoming movie, Searching, where he's looking for his missing daughter and it all takes place on computer and phone screens?

[BaggythePanther]

I wrote about the new Bewitched reboot in another thread, but it also seemed appropriate to put the series description in this thread: 

Quote

In Bewitched, written by [Kenya] Barris and [Yamara] Taylor, Samantha, a hardworking black single mom who happens to be a witch, marries Darren, a white mortal who happens to be a bit of a slacker. They struggle to navigate their differences as she discovers that even when a black girl is literally magic, she’s still not as powerful as a decently tall white man with a full head of hair in America.

[ursula]

On 8/23/2018 at 11:43 PM, BaggythePanther said:

I wrote about the new Bewitched reboot in another thread, but it also seemed appropriate to put the series description in this thread:

?

Edited August 27, 2018 by ursula