Can We Ever Get The Black Family Sitcom Back?

April 30th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

Source: Shadowandact.com

Today Bounce TV announced the launch of a new original series, “Family Time,” on what is ironically the 20-year anniversary broadcast of the last episode of The Cosby’s—the show considered by many to be the greatest black family sitcom that ever lived.

Hopes aren’t very high for the show which centers around the experiences of The Stallworths, a working class two-parent, two-children African American family who scratches off a lottery ticket and jumps to middle class overnight. That’s likely because of the network (Bounce) and the actors who are lesser known (Omar Gooding, Angell Conwell, Jayla Calhoun, and Bentley Kyle Evans, Jr.), but I think there’s another element at play when it comes to apprehension about black family sitcoms. For as much complaining as we do about our current depictions on TV and our pleas for a quality family sitcom, the shows just don’t get our support and I think it’s partly because they aren’t reflections of our reality.

Most people said they wanted to give “Reed Between the Lines” a chance, and though poor writing made it understandably hard to do so, outside of that there was a sense that the Reed’s weren’t a “real” family, that they weren’t handling or dealing with issues the way a real black family would, particularly Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s character as a black father. Some of that can be summed up as pure ignorance about the non-monolithic reality of black life but that conundrum begs the question of whether we want black family sitcoms so that life imitates art or whether we’re missing the mark by not having art truly imitate life?

I understand and support the plea for black family shows. Black life is overly represented as a sea of baby mamas and daddy’s lacking any family unit at all, which unfortunately reflects a lot of the reality of society. Somehow when we put together these rosy depictions of the small percentage of black families that consist of two professional parents raising respectable children it’s almost too picture perfect for viewers to get into and without viewers the shows don’t last and we’re stuck back in the same cycle trying to get clearance for another show destined to last one season.

When I think about the success of “Modern Family,” I think, there’s a model black sitcoms could learn from. Aside from being hilariously funny, the families reflect family units that have become the majority in society today. People love the show because one of the families on the show likely is their family. In many ways, rather than being innovative, many black sitcoms attempt to come along and reinvent The Cosby’s and while that format worked great during the 80s, 20+ years later it’s just not totally representative of black life today.

By no means should we give up on putting together strong representations of black families in sitcoms today, but they need to be contemporary and they need to come out from under the shadow of “The Cosby Show,” “The Jeffersons,” “What’s Happening,” and “Good Times.” Those shows were genius because they spoke to their era, we need to do the same in 2012. We can prove that two parent homes exist, we can show that blended families don’t have to mean mess custody battles and unpaid child support, we can show that black families adopt. There are a lot of modern positive examples of black life, what we need are innovative writers and producers who can paint that picture in a way that’s relatable and inspirational.

Do you think there’s a chance for the return of popular black sitcoms on major networks?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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  • http://twitter.com/michellehobama Lavern Merriweather

    The ‘writer’ of this tripe is really stupid and living in a what blacks must be monlith herself. And ‘Modern Family’ WTF?!! A show steeped in stupid,insulting,very racist stereotypes is the EXAMPLE we should follow?! What a dummy and for your info that show is written by WHITE MALES so don’t hold your breath on it becoming more culturally sensitive any time soon. In fact MANY of the shows supposedly about black people were written exclusively by white writers so who is she kidding?! Maybe SHE needs to stop acting like this is still 1984 and ALL black families are just like the Cosbys. Or that we need to have the extreme opposite God forbid there be any middle ground.

  • Baddvixentype

    Soooo happy for Omar Gooding!!!! finally! Those gooding brothers are really good actors when giving good material. i hope this sitcom works out!

  • http://kimster-thatswhatshesaid.blogspot.com/ Kimster

    Some of the post Cosby Show black series’ that stood out to me and, I’m sure, many others was Family Matters, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Everybody Hates Chris, My Wife and Kids, and even the animated Proud Family. The shows lasted three seasons or more and had genuine comedy; it didn’t feel forced. And although I will watch a Tyler Perry movie, I find it taxing to watch his sitcoms. The comedy in the shows I mentioned was also nicely paired with a sense of drama and tear jerker scenes. (Remember when Will Smith’s biological father left? Whoa!) The family dynamics and relationships within these shows felt real. These are the model shows that current and future black family series’ should follow, in my opinion.

  • miche

    i’ll just say what i’ve always said about “reed Between the lines”, and that is that the writing sucked!!!…any good sitcom starts with good writers, talented actors with chemistry and good timing…i’m sorry, i just found it hard to watch and i never laughed one time during the show. when i watch tv, i’m not looking just for something that reflects who i am, i also like watching shows that will allow me to learn about other cultures, places and peoples circumstances that i might not have known about otherwise…the problem with most of todays shows is that everything has to be P.C. in order to even aire..most of everything today is crap!

  • Candacey Doris

    I like Reed Between the Lines. Maybe some of the problems were a little bland, but i didn’t see anything wrong with the family situation. Warner’s acting was fine and his role at home was a lot like my father’s (work at home dad, takes care of the kids, cooks, etc). Maybe that’s why i liked it so much. And why others couldn’t relate. There’s never going to be one black family sitcom that hits all the notes. Not every family situation is reflected on tv. You can’t expect one to represent everyone. Sometimes the problem isn’t the show, it’s viewer expectations. Ease up a little people. Even the Cosby’s were a little surreal. They were the ideal black family, but they only represented a small percentage of us. Try remembering that.

  • GemJoy

    I enjoyed “Reed between the Lines” it showed a lot of my friends life with different careers.I agree we need more black family sitcoms. We need a range of different family shows because we are not all the same. So we need to see the single mom, the blended family, and a two parent home.

  • Rmdavis45

    I think that sitcoms for blacks are long gone and the problem is they don’t depict what’s going on  in black families like your Good times, what’s happening, Room 227  Roc, Soul Food, and others these were shows that dealt with real life situations and they were funny as heck but today Television. come up with black families that have Fathers being Doctors Moms being Lawyers not saying that it’s not the case in some black families but in the majority of black families this is not the case so these shows last for a season at best. so Television need to focus on what black familes really deal with on a daily basis and build a show around it their are plenty talented black actors and actress who are more than qualified that could make it a success.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

      The only problem is, if we do that, then the show becomes stereotypical. Absent father, single parent home. Not achieving in school.  Wanting to become a rapper or ball player. That is the reality for alot of black familes. 

  • universal

    never heard of the channel “bounce”. i guess i should check my local cable listings for more information….LOL, but the show sounds like a flop, sorry to say. but on a good note, angel conwell makes for some beautiful eye candy tho, cause dayum! that girl know she look GOOD.

  • BLACKentLOVER

    Happy to see some familiar faces. Love Omar Gooding. Enjoy Bentley Evans work and love Angell Conwell. Madam Noire did interview with her before. This is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdOd9KtQZ0Y Congrats to them all for Family Time

  • FromUR2UB

    I tried to like “Reed….”, but I just couldn’t get interested in it.  It seemed too formulated, except for the little girl, who’s character was too spoiled to be cute.

    There will never be another, “The Cosby Show”.  So each new family show is going to have to strike out on it own and find it’s individual voice, because they just look like pale comparisons when they try to copy it.

    I’m not familiar with the other names, but I like Omar Gooding, so I’ll at least check out the show.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

    HUH!?!? But I liked Reed Between the lines :(

  • IllyPhilly

    This is actually a good article. I agree with Reed issues. It wasn’t real. Not because there was a dad around or because of their jobs. it just didn’t have authenticity. IMO shows like Roseanne and Malcolm in the Middle were more associated to a common “Black family” than the Reeds. 

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