Remember UPN, the other “Black network”?
UPN wasn’t actually Black owned, but it earned that nickname because it seemingly ruled the mid to late 90s and early 2000s by being the sole network – broadcast, cable or otherwise – that distributed a diverse array of sitcoms and dramas led by majority Black casts. Shows like Moesha, its spinoff The Parkers, Half & Half, Eve, One on One, Malcolm and Eddie, and my beloved, all-time fave Girlfriends (which, at the time, happened to be one of the highest-rated scripted shows on TV among Black adults, age 18 to 34) offered viewers what felt like a range of endless scripted entertainment options. These shows provided a space for programming where Black content creators like Meg DeLoatch and Mara Brock Akil and actresses like Tracee Ellis Ross blossomed and thrived. A space that nurtured Black familial life and love.
The characters whose TV lives loyal viewers followed from week to week -– a loveable lawyer turned restaurateur looking for love, a divorced couple trying to make their blended family work, a boutique owner chasing her dreams, a mother-daughter duo attending college at the same time –- gave us countless perspectives and much to laugh (and think) about. It was certainly a different era in television history, one that came to a surprising, crashing halt when UPN merged with the WB in 2006 to form the CW network. The merger forced Girlfriends to end without a finale and fans of the show are still yearning for a proper goodbye — or at least an update in film form (much like the ladies of Sex and The City) on what’s happened in the lives of Joan, Toni, Maya and Lynn since we last saw them.
But UPN’s disappearance did a lot more than deprive loyal fans of their favorite girlfriends. It left a gaping hole in Black programming on network television, one that we’re slowly but surely recovering from. By wiping the slate clean and effectively erasing the very audience it spent years cultivating, the CW sought out shows that skewed to a younger and predominantly white audience. In retrospect, the loss of the UPN network transformed the television landscape as far as Black sitcoms and dramas are concerned.
Since then, sitcoms have, on the whole, been on the decline (an issue that’s much bigger than UPN and indicative of a changing culture) and reality programming has become a staple network and cable television offering. It has taken years for original scripted programming, sitcoms and dramas alike to come back to life. BET’s first attempt in scripted programming, for example, 2008’s Somebodies, came and went. Thankfully, BET eventually went on to give Akil’s The Game, formerly on the UPN network, a second chance, and greenlit her next show, Being Mary Jane. Tyler Perry’s presence on TBS can’t be denied – House of Payne and Meet The Browns made huge ratings for the network and Perry is now doing his thing at OWN with four shows on their lineup. Bounce TV is also making ground with its popular show Saints and Sinners, the most watched program in the young network’s history. These are all shows that are thriving on cable networks, which dominates the bulk of TV programming.
There are numerous shows on other networks, Black-ish, for example, that are filling the void and helping usher in a new era of excitable, well-written, thought-provoking content with majority Black casts. The success of Black-ish has already paved the way for shows like Fresh Off The Boat, also on ABC, and Uncle Buck, which is only a few episodes deep.
In looking at the current television landscape and that of the ’90s and early 2000s, there’s no question UPN was underrated, ahead of its time, and perhaps even taken for granted. As we push for continued access and opportunity, as well as diverse and inclusive television (and film) content, hopefully we’ll return to a point where shows with majority Black casts and leads are commonplace. A point where a second coming of something like UPN is the norm and not the exception.
