All Articles Tagged "black television programming"
TV One Expands Reach
(Radio & Television Business Report) — The joint venture owned by Radio One and Comcast which showcases and celebrates African American culture has added these new households across the south. Carriage additions this spring include Time Warner Cable, Knology, Charter and OneSource Communications systems.
African-American Television Writers: Breaking Barriers & Creating History
By Olufunmilayo Gittens
As African-Americans, we watch more hours of television per week than any other group. But have you ever wondered who the black folks are that script the shows we love? Despite the less than stellar representation of blacks at pitch tables and in writers rooms, there are a number of important African-American TV writers and writer-producers who are making huge moves. Many were inspired by those who came before them, who are also worth remembering as we illuminate the history of blacks writing for TV. These hidden blacks writers are behind the many shows you make time to watch, and have penned some of your favorite hits of the past.
The Grande Dame: Shonda Rhimes
Being the black writer-creator-executive producer of two wildly successful predominately white shows on prime time TV and earning gobs of money for her network aren’t the only things that make Shonda Rhimes known and respected among her peers: it’s also her voice and her integrity. When Rhimes’ breakout hit “Grey’s Anatomy” came on the scene with its handsome doctors, first person narration, quotable dialogue and color blind casting, the show stood out as a winner. Grey’s Anatomy won the adoration of millions of fans worldwide and, now in its seventh season, spun off “Private Practice,” a successful series four seasons running. Rhimes is also executive producing “Scandal,” a dramatic series starring Kerry Washington as a public relations crisis solver.
TV One, BET Debut Sitcoms Slightly Used and New
(Pittsburgh Post Gazette) — If the first day of press tour offered an ’80s flashback, day two is a return to the ’90s, when UPN and The WB aired sitcoms with predominantly African-American casts. TV One, launched in 2004, debuts its first scripted series, the sitcom “Love That Girl!” at 9 p.m. Monday. And the more established BET revives canceled CW sitcom “The Game” (10 p.m. Tuesday) and introduces a new comedy-drama, “Let’s Stay Together” (11 p.m. Tuesday). ”The Game,” which last aired an original episode on The CW in May 2009, continues to tell the stories of the women in the lives of players on a professional football team. Melanie (Tia Mowry Hardict) and Derwin (Pooch Hall) are San Diego’s celebrity “it” couple. The whole cast is back, but the show is now filmed in Atlanta (not Los Angeles), and it’s shot like a single-camera show rather than a multi-camera sitcom. Also, all the characters live in new homes.
Will It Take Black Audiences to Save the NFL on TV This Season?
(Target Market News) — Summer vacation is over, school’s open again, and families are getting back to their old habits — like watching football. NBC’s Sunday Night Football pre-season match-up between the Vikings and the 49er’s was the No.1 show of the week in black homes, with nearly two million tuning in. Whites households were also just as loyal in their viewing of that game and made it No.1.
