Did The Cast Of 'What's Happening' Indirectly Set Back "Black Sitcoms"

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

I notice now that there are not any "black sitcoms". They were popular in the 1970's with black and white audiences. Around 1973, Sanford and Son was the #2 show behind All In the Family.

I think 1980's shows were black families who were successful and the whole Norman Lear like shows that were race political were dropped. The Cosby Show and A Different World were two examples.

Then in the 1990's and early 00's, networks like UPN were mainly showing "black shows". UPN did not do well and no longer exists (unless it does, I live in China now). Besides Star Trek Voyager, there was nothing on UPN worth watching. Seems that the majority African American casted TV show were put (pardon the saying) in a "ghetto" with the network trying for an inner city demographic.

Concerning, "What's Happening". "What's Happening" was very popular with white viewers and it was a very good show. I did not really see them as black first and foremost, basically they were middle class teenagers who went to school and hung out at a malt shop. It was sort of a 1970's inner city Happy Days more than anything, with a mix of Welcome Back Kotter. I also watched the syndicated "What's Happening Now!", and enjoyed it almost as much (because it had almost everyone in the cast minus Mabel King).

Rerun and I have the same birthday on March 13th. Rerun got greedy and thought he was the star of the show. Redd Foxx was also greedy, although he probably had some legitimate beefs against NBC and thought he could do better and he didn't. Little known fact is that both Foxx and Demond Wilson were cokeheads at the time, with Wilson once chasing someone at NBC with a gun while high. He turned himself around and became a Christian and a minister.

Come on, there are 5 black national TV stations and 2 of them air new black programming.

[waichingliu81]

Originally Posted by Smartboy

I can see by the information included with your pen name that you live in England. Was "What's Happening!!" syndicated there?

no, i just watch the episodes on youtube. that's where i discovered the show. what's happening!!! never aired in the U.K.

[TMC]

When I brought this subject over to IMDb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074071/...0628#204420628

Networks only care about money. There was turmoil on the sets of Sanford and Son and Good Times as well. But those shows stayed on the air because they were top 10 hit shows. The What's Happening guys overstated their importance to the network. It was a hit but never higher than 20-something on the Nielsen chart. In the beginning of its last season, it came on after Mork and Mindy so the ratings were high. But ABC moved it during the season so the ratings plummeted. If they were a top 10 show the network might have tried harder to keep it on. ABC figured they could replace it with a show that made more money.

But, yes, by 1979, all those shows were gone except The Jeffersons was still a hit. (Diff'rent Strokes can't really be called a "black sitcom".) Good Times's ratings plummeted and Redd Foxx quit Sanford and Son which was also dying in the ratings by that time. There were other black sitcoms but none of them were hits. Unfortunately, black people are considered a "trend" in television. The wave had died down and didn't pick up again until the early 90's after The Cosby Show cleaned up for years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074071/...0853#210770853

For the most part, "What's Happening" didn't focus on racial or social issues during its run. Sure, they lived in the ghetto, and Raj and Dee lived in a single parent home, but most of the episodes were about simply being teenagers. Raj getting expelled, Dee's mouthing off, Dwayne's shyness with girls. It was a pretty innocent show.

I agree with the previous comments about what led to its cancellation. The hold out for more money was what did it, and according to articles I've read previously, Fred Berry was the master mind of it all, getting Ernest Thomas and Haywood Nelson to go along with him.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by shotzette

How about "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons"? They were both made around the same time that "What's Happening" was on.

I think that one of the issues that led to cancellation was the fact that Mabel King left, and she and Shirley Hemphill were the only two cast members who could act. Fred Berry was entertaining, but only in short bursts.

Just about all of the "Big 4" black sitcoms of the '70s (Sanford & Son, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and What's Happening!!) had backstage turmoil. Well, maybe not The Jeffersons other than the network abruptly canceling it in 1985 w/o informing the cast and crew ahead of time.