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     Mzuri "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mzuri Post Number: 3974 Registered: 01-2006 Rating: N/A |
Black Leads Still Absent From Network Dramas By Nellie Andreeva Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:24 AM ET LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Dramas with single male leads are as popular as ever, but none of the leads went to a black actor this pilot season. That is not surprising given the fact that there hasn't been a successful drama series with a black lead. There have been a number of attempts through the years, including three with James Earl Jones: "Paris," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Under One Roof." More recently, UPN's "Kevin Hill" and ABC's "Day Break" starred Taye Diggs. USA Network tried a new spin on "Kojak" with Ving Rhames as the lillipop-loving detective, while on the opposite side of the law, Andre Braugher led a crew of criminals on FX's "Thief," for which he won an Emmy. A few years ago, Braugher toplined another critically praised but short-lived series, ABC's medical drama "Gideon's Crossing." When asked at the Emmys about what he wants to do next, Braugher said, "I want to be on a hit." So far, joining an ensemble cast has proven to be the best way for black actors to get on hit dramas -- almost every big series on the air has a black cast member, including Isaiah Washington on "Grey's Anatomy," Omar Epps on "House" and Gary Dourdan on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Diggs is taking that route this development season as a co-star of the potential "Grey's" spinoff. Rhames also has joined an ensemble cast, that of ABC's pilot "Football Wives." "There is a feeling that the vast majority of the audience is not black, and having a black lead dominating the show makes most viewers feel shut out since they don't work with an African-American in a dominant position in their daily life," TV historian Tim Brooks says. It will be interesting to see if Sen. Barack Obama's ascent into the public eye as a strong presidential candidate will change that perception. One place where blacks are widely accepted in high-ranking positions is the Army, with popular commanders like Gen. Colin Powell. That might have helped CBS' successful military drama "The Unit," whose ensemble cast is led by Dennis Haysbert. Things are even harder for drama series with all-black casts. CBS was the only broadcast network to attempt that with the short-lived medical drama "City of Angels." Family drama "Soul Food" did well but on a much smaller scale on pay-cable channel Showtime. David Simon, creator of HBO's acclaimed "The Wire," has acknowledged that having a largely black cast has hindered the urban drama's chances for commercial success. "There is a certain portion of the audience that will change the channel," he said in July. "Not in any grandly venal, racist way, but there are a lot of people that are going to look and see that many black faces looking back at them, and they're going to say, 'This is not my story.'" Audiences have had no problem embracing comedy series with black leading men, but dramas offer a very different dynamic. "In comedy, you are laughing with them and at them, it's not something that you relate to," Brooks says. "Most dramas are in some way relatable to your life, whether it is about families or cops, something you see every day." Ironically, the most-watched miniseries ever is the slavery saga "Roots." But for series, it's about "characters you want in your home on a weekly basis. It's a very intimate casual viewing experience, and you tend not to invite somebody into your home who you wouldn't mix with socially," Brooks says. It has been a long wait for a hit black-themed drama to hit the air, but another minority group might go there first. Latinos, who overtook blacks as the largest minority in the U.S. in 2003, have a good chance at landing their first drama series on commercial broadcast TV this year with CBS' untitled family drama pilot featuring an predominantly Latino cast, including leading man Jimmy Smits. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=20 07-03-12T062351Z_01_N12269546_RTRUKOC_0_US-BLACK.xml | ||
| Lil_ze Veteran Poster Username: Lil_ze Post Number: 904 Registered: 01-2006 Rating: |
dammit mzuri- i told you that I would post this story, then you would come back as "lil ze", and post a different story. you and i (mzuri) spoke about this, when you (mzuri) looked in the mirror, and spoke to yourself (lil ze). if you and i mzuri (even though we are the same person), are going to continue fooling the members of this board we MUST get our act together. before posting lets (wait, you mzuri), talk with each other (really you mzuri with yourself -me lil ze), and understand how we are going to continue to trick the board members. but im getting a little confused. you mzuri, are you. but you mzuri, are also me (lil ze). so in reality, its not "lil ze" typing this, its mzuri. but wait, is "lil ze" mzuri, or is "mzuri" really "lil ze"? and who the hell am i talking to right now? oh yeah, im loking in the mirror, talking to "lil ze", but im mzuri. or am i "lil ze" talking to "mzuri" about this? im so dam confused. mzuri, i have to tell you a secret. even though you already know this, because im actually taliking to myself "lil ze". what? im very confused now. i think kola boof may be on to our little "game". mzuri, i need to take to you about this. but since we are the same person, i just need to talk to myself. but am i "lil ze" or "mzuri"? or are we the same person? im still confused. mzuri, kola boof has us (you-me-us) figured out. let us no longer post under different names, ok mzuri/lil ze, wait who the hell am i talking to, or about? im totally confused. kola, you dumb-ass loser! | ||
| Mzuri "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mzuri Post Number: 3988 Registered: 01-2006 Rating: N/A |
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| Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 3886 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: |
I don't watch much network tv. I'm glad they don't have black leads on there. They always screw em up. Let's repeat this again, class. TV is for white people. Most of the viewing audience is white. Most of the target audience of the sponsors is white. Every Negro tomorrow could stop watching tv and they don't care. Don't watch it. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 7807 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Come on, Chrishayden! In proportion to their numbers, Black people watch more TV than whites. And there's plenty on for them to watch. They love the soap operas, the court TV shows, the Maury Povich and his baby's daddy shows! Plus there are plenty of black sit-coms on for them to watch like Girlfriends and The Bernie Mac and Chris Rock shows and the Tyra Bank's shows, not to mention the BET and MTV videos. They also watch a lot of prime time TV dramas. And blacks are also prominent in the commercials that sponsor these shows. You should know better than to speak on this subject since you confess that you don't watch TV! | ||
| Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 3889 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Come on, Chrishayden! In proportion to their numbers, Black people watch more TV than whites (What does this, and the rest of your post, have a damn thing to do with the fact that white people outnumber us at least 8 to one in this country--ten to one if you take their numbers. Now, if you could attract one person, or ten, which would you do? Plus if you count all the uncle toms and self loathing negroes, the proportion probably is more. All that to say they don't give a squat what y'all want on tv. You are watching it anyway. You just can't handle the truth. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 7810 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
What does what you just said have to do with the ridiculous statment you made about TV being for white people and that they are the only ones watching it, chrishayden? Since your initial premise is flawed, then your subsequent conclusion is irrelevant to the subject of this thread. Face it; pop culture is not your forte. So stop trying to squash an ant with a sledge hammer. | ||
| Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 3892 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sorry follks. Granny's memory ain't what it used to be I repeat TV is for white people. Most of the viewing audience is white. Most of the target audience of the sponsors is white. Check out the "Most" and get back to me | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 7811 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: |
That's a moot point. Others have argued that TV is what mesmerizes and brain washes and neutralizes black people and that, as such, it targets them. Forget about crunching numbers. | ||
| Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 3895 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
That's a moot point. Others have argued that TV is what mesmerizes and brain washes and neutralizes black people and that, as such, it targets them. Forget about crunching numbers (Huh???????) | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 7812 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
You are naive and out of touch, Chrishayden, if you believe that big white ad agencies don't pitch their products to a black demograph. These capitalists do not slight a cash cow. Black folks represent a sizeable and profitable consumer market. The black masses like their entertainment to be visual; television is their escape and their diversion and their pacifier. The liasian between them and TV advertisers is a marriage made in heaven. Moreover black preferences are dictated by TV images. So take that smack you're talking and stuff it along with your pretensions about being an elitist who scorns TV. When did you stop watching Wrestling, The Simpsons and The 3 Stooges?? | ||
| Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 3896 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Cynique: Why then, if they looooooves them they little black brothers and sisters, don't they put them in leads in dramatic series. It is obvious to anybody with the brains of a moron--white folks don't watch 'em, the ratings therefore are not high and they get cancelled. They have lists of the top white shows and the top black shows. Compare the ratings of both. Negroes, get the jobs behind the camera. The producers of the tv shows make all the money. | ||
| Mzuri "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mzuri Post Number: 3997 Registered: 01-2006 Rating: N/A |
And the reason Chris Hayden doesn't watch television is because he's mesmerized by the glow emanating from the inside of his refrigerator.  | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 7817 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
I didn't say that TV producers loooved brothers and sisters, Chrishayden. I said that blacks were a demograph that ad agencies do target. Obviously since, as you are so quick to remind, there are more white folks than black folks, TV programing reflects this. Smaller networks provide black shows for black folks to watch And there are no white leads in these black shows. And so it goes. |
