Last night, after six months of promos and teasers, Trevor Noah finally made his debut as the new host of The Daily Show with a spotty but promising performance. Noah kicked things off with a series of strong monologue jokes that went over well for the most part. Not surprisingly, he paid proper homage to his predecessor, Jon Stewart, describing Stewart…

Scandal heads, rejoice, for Scandal is back! And the season 5 premiere got us prepped and ready for what’s to come this season. Ripped straight from the (verrry old) headlines, the case of the week was based on Princess Diana’s infamous fatal car accident. Unlike in real life, however, Olivia Pope is on the case, and she figures out…

With last year’s addition of How to Get Away With Murder to ABC’s existing Thursday-night lineup, which already included Scandal and longtimer Grey’s Anatomy, Thursday nights were officially rebranded as #TGIT. And for the past several months, TGIT fans have suffered through withdrawal from all of the murders, affairs, scandals and general degeneracy to which they have grown accustomed. But finally,…

Promising an edgier sophomore season, Black-ish kicks off season 2 with the highly anticipated “n-word episode.” Whether or not it sparks a national conversation about the historically divisive issue remains to be seen, but it certainly delivers on the laughs.  During a school talent show, Jack (Miles Brown)—aka “Party Time,” the youngest of the Johnson boys—performs Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” and…

The 2015 prime-time Emmy Awards have set a record, with 18 nominations for black actors and actresses this year. If this weren’t already huge enough, Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson have both been nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category for their performances in ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder and Fox’s Empire, respectively. If either of these two stars…

Over the past year, shows like Black-ish, Empire and How to Get Away With Murder helped usher in a new level of entertainment-industry interest and confidence in shows featuring more diverse actors in key roles. Some people even expressed concern that the industry might overcompensate for years (decades) of lack of diversity with too much of it in the next TV-pilot season. Gasp!…

Last year, ABC’s Black-ish introduced audiences to the lovable Johnson family and became the first sitcom to feature a black family on network television in years. While comparisons have been made to The Cosby Show, Black-ish creator Kenya Barris has consistently highlighted a critical difference between the two shows. “The Cosby Show was about a family that sort of happened to be black…

At the first-ever Blackout Music & Film Festival, held Saturday at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles, artists, activists, celebrities and everyday citizens convened to highlight and explore the ways in which artists are using their art to address human rights violations and injustices. The daylong festival featured screenings of 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten…

As graduates across America bask in the pomp and circumstance of commencement festivities, I have tried to reflect on the indispensable words of wisdom famed news anchor Dan Rather shared with my fellow classmates and me during his commencement address to the University of Texas, College of Communication, Class of 2002. … As it turns out, I…

As we prepare for the season 1 finale of ABC’s Black-ish, let’s take a look back at how Black-ish quickly became one of America’s favorite new sitcoms. 1. Remember when the Black-ish trailer first aired, promising the story of a well-to-do African-American father grappling with how to ensure that his family maintains a sense of cultural identity in the face…