Why are there not that many successful black sitcoms? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

waichingliu81 · 05-27-2007, 11:03 AM

i don't mean to cause offence and this question shouldn't be interpreted or read in that way but besides the deteriorating storylines and crappy ideas that other white sitcoms have as well, why is it that in the fresh prince of bel and the cosby show, they have been the most successful afro-american sitcoms, whilst the likes of a different world, in the house, my wife and kids to name but many have been unable to prolong the success of black sitcoms?

apart from the fact that in the banks family and huxtables, they were wealthy, successful: both financially and socially, the fresh prince of bel air and the cosby show were successful because it was built around, white upper class values and alas this attracted a mainstream audience. therefore, had the banks and the huxtables not been not rich, upper class families and didn't have well paid jobs, would the cosby show and fresh prince of bel been successful and lasted as long as they have on screen? i know this issue has been discussed many times before, but very rarely has this issue been touched or raised on this forum, in particular. i was wondering why therefore, recent black sitcoms haven't fared as well as its predecessors the fresh prince and the cosby show, as well as to what should be done about this. it is a sad situation in a way because i'd like to see more good quality black sitcom shows, alongside the mainstream ones

Frischman_Fan · 05-27-2007, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waichingliu81

i don't mean to cause offence and this question shouldn't be interpreted or read in that way but besides the deteriorating storylines and crappy ideas that other white sitcoms have as well, why is it that in the fresh prince of bel and the cosby show, they have been the most successful afro-american sitcoms, whilst the likes of a different world, in the house, my wife and kids to name but many have been unable to prolong the success of black sitcoms?

apart from the fact that in the banks family and huxtables, they were wealthy, successful: both financially and socially, the fresh prince of bel air and the cosby show were successful because it was built around, white upper class values and alas this attracted a mainstream audience. therefore, had the banks and the huxtables not been not rich, upper class families and didn't have well paid jobs, would the cosby show and fresh prince of bel been successful and lasted as long as they have on screen? i know this issue has been discussed many times before, but very rarely has this issue been touched or raised on this forum, in particular. i was wondering why therefore, recent black sitcoms haven't fared as well as its predecessors the fresh prince and the cosby show, as well as to what should be done about this. it is a sad situation in a way because i'd like to see more good quality black sitcom shows, alongside the mainstream ones

I never really thought about that! Good question!

waichingliu81 · 05-27-2007, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3scompanyfreak

I never really thought about that! Good question!

thanks!

Ant-Lox · 05-27-2007, 01:26 PM

Sitcoms like Goodtimes, Fresh Prince, The Jeffersons and The Cosby Show showed people different sides of black people. Black sitcoms these days don't do any of that. I think the only black sitcoms in the past few years to do something different were Moesha, Girlfriends and Everybody hates Chris.

Plus, most new black sitcoms are filled with stereotypes that appeal only to black people, and they turn everyone else off.

waichingliu81 · 05-27-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ant-Lox

Sitcoms like Goodtimes, Fresh Prince, The Jeffersons and The Cosby Show showed people different sides of black people. Black sitcoms these days don't do any of that. I think the only black sitcoms in the past few years to do something different were Moesha, Girlfriends and Everybody hates Chris.

Plus, most new black sitcoms are filled with stereotypes that appeal only to black people, and they turn everyone else off.

also, i think a lot has to do with the humour, in terms of that in those shows the humour and mannerisms that was being expressed, conveyed and shown on screen appealed to black audiences and of which they could relate to and understand. i do think it's important though that black US sitcoms continue to cater for its own people, as well as other audiences. also, it is very rare for black sitcoms to be produced by a tv network as big as fox, CBS, NBC and to do as well as they should- which the jeffersons, fresh prince and the cosby show did. but the quality of the writing, not to mention the appeal of the characters is an important part in its success.

however, it's interesting to note that a sitcom such as 'my wife and kids' was billed as the 00s cosby show because of the similarities of the families in terms of that they each had a 'cute' kid, a son and a older daugher- or in the cosby show 3 older daughters, as well as theo, the only son in the family. and still that show bombed and got axed, but that was because it wasn't as funny or as good as the latter show

coffield3 · 05-27-2007, 03:28 PM

Everybody hates chris is my favorite sitcom right now its hilarious!!!

waichingliu81 · 05-27-2007, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffield3

Everybody hates chris is my favorite sitcom right now its hilarious!!!

yeah, that's great show. i definitely agree with you on that one!

Mr. Television · 05-27-2007, 03:58 PM

Their aren't many white sitcoms that are hits today either and My Wife And Kids did last for 5 or 6 years. I think the ones that are successful tend to appeal to all audiences but if you look at sitcoms from the past like Good Times and Sanford And Son they weren't portayed as rich. I think the most important thing just like white character shows ,you have to have characters that people want to know and can identify with. I never watched any of the UPN sitcoms...never could get into them but others like some of the ones already mentioned have been some of my favorites.

Ireneparalegal · 05-27-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

Their aren't many white sitcoms that are hits today either and My Wife And Kids did last for 5 or 6 years. I think the ones that are successful tend to appeal to all audiences but if you look at sitcoms from the past like Good Times and Sanford And Son they weren't portayed as rich. I think the most important thing just like white character shows ,you have to have characters that people want to know and can identify with. I never watched any of the UPN sitcoms...never could get into them but others like some of the ones already mentioned have been some of my favorites.

I couldn't get into those UPN shows either. Boring, bland and no characters worth watching.

waichingliu81 · 05-27-2007, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

Their aren't many white sitcoms that are hits today either and My Wife And Kids did last for 5 or 6 years.... I think the most important thing just like white character shows, you have to have characters that people want to know and can identify with. I never watched any of the UPN sitcoms...never could get into them but others like some of the ones already mentioned have been some of my favorites.

really interesting quote and yes, regardless of whether it is a black or white sitcom, it has to be able to sustain the audience's interest for long enough through the usage of good storylines, interesting characters and also it has to be funny. sitcoms these days are having somewhat of a dry spell recently what with many not lasting as long as say 2, 3 seasons. and it doesn't help when we have all these dumb arse reality tv shows which are killing off the production of good quality sitcoms and which is why there aren't many of them being commissioned, made and screened by the numerous tv networks

waichingliu81 · 05-27-2007, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I couldn't get into those UPN shows either. Boring, bland and no characters worth watching.

sorry for asking but as i'm from the UK, i'd like to ask whether UPN is a tv network which shows predominately black tv shows?

Ireneparalegal · 05-27-2007, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waichingliu81

sorry for asking but as i'm from the UK, i'd like to ask whether UPN is a tv network which shows predominately black tv shows?

It was. It had several black shows on the air at once. I don't know how it came abt to be that way. It wasn't like that before. It just seemed to all of a sudden start these brand new shows with black casts. Don't get me wrong, that is a great idea, but the shows (to me) were not so great. There were hits like EVE and MOESHA and a few others.

Bronson · 05-27-2007, 05:15 PM

Moesha was good until they foolishly added Dorian which was a mistake. The Parkers were good as well.

waichingliu81 · 05-27-2007, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronson

Moesha was good until they foolishly added Dorian which was a mistake. The Parkers were good as well.

yeah, moesha was okay but the longer it went on, the more absurd the storylines got; as for the parkers, i liked that show too and monique was funny , even though not that many people like her. the romance subplot involving her and the professor was kind of hilarious

GARFIELDKOOL · 05-27-2007, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I couldn't get into those UPN shows either. Boring, bland and no characters worth watching.

The UPN sitcoms all they do is coon on there. None of them stand out. They talk about the same topics (sex, dating, money, etc)

05-27-2007, 11:03 AM	#1
waichingliu81 debbie allen Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 28, 2006 Location: london, england, UK Posts: 4,347	Why are there not that many successful black sitcoms? i don't mean to cause offence and this question shouldn't be interpreted or read in that way but besides the deteriorating storylines and crappy ideas that other white sitcoms have as well, why is it that in the fresh prince of bel and the cosby show, they have been the most successful afro-american sitcoms, whilst the likes of a different world, in the house, my wife and kids to name but many have been unable to prolong the success of black sitcoms? apart from the fact that in the banks family and huxtables, they were wealthy, successful: both financially and socially, the fresh prince of bel air and the cosby show were successful because it was built around, white upper class values and alas this attracted a mainstream audience. therefore, had the banks and the huxtables not been not rich, upper class families and didn't have well paid jobs, would the cosby show and fresh prince of bel been successful and lasted as long as they have on screen? i know this issue has been discussed many times before, but very rarely has this issue been touched or raised on this forum, in particular. i was wondering why therefore, recent black sitcoms haven't fared as well as its predecessors the fresh prince and the cosby show, as well as to what should be done about this. it is a sad situation in a way because i'd like to see more good quality black sitcom shows, alongside the mainstream ones

05-27-2007, 01:26 PM	#4
Ant-Lox Cloud Watcher Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2004 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,824	Sitcoms like Goodtimes, Fresh Prince, The Jeffersons and The Cosby Show showed people different sides of black people. Black sitcoms these days don't do any of that. I think the only black sitcoms in the past few years to do something different were Moesha, Girlfriends and Everybody hates Chris. Plus, most new black sitcoms are filled with stereotypes that appeal only to black people, and they turn everyone else off.
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05-27-2007, 03:58 PM	#8
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	Their aren't many white sitcoms that are hits today either and My Wife And Kids did last for 5 or 6 years. I think the ones that are successful tend to appeal to all audiences but if you look at sitcoms from the past like Good Times and Sanford And Son they weren't portayed as rich. I think the most important thing just like white character shows ,you have to have characters that people want to know and can identify with. I never watched any of the UPN sitcoms...never could get into them but others like some of the ones already mentioned have been some of my favorites.
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05-27-2007, 03:28 PM	#6
coffield3 <3 Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 23, 2006 Location: England Posts: 7,379	Everybody hates chris is my favorite sitcom right now its hilarious!!!

05-27-2007, 05:15 PM	#13
Bronson Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 27, 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 274	Moesha was good until they foolishly added Dorian which was a mistake. The Parkers were good as well.