tv
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BET’s In Contempt Confronts America’s Unjust Legal System While Giving Us a Black Leading Lady
BET is shaking the table with its new series, In Contempt. The show stars Erica Ash as Gwen Sullivan, an opinionated and passionate public defender who sincerely cares about her clients—the downtrodden who need her legal services because they can’t get the legal help they deserve. This procedural drama is out to reveal something many…
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‘Penny’ and ‘Willona’ From Good Times Reunite
Before she was “Ms. Jackson if You’re Nasty,” Janet Jackson was Penny on Good Times. Jackson appeared on the series as Penny Gordon Woods during seasons 5 and 6, a character who dealt with physical abuse at the hands of her mother, Linella Gordon (played by Chip Fields, Kim Fields’ mother). In the episode “The…
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You Ain’t Got the Juice: Why Arrow Has No Business Addressing #BlackLivesMatter
In 2017 the TV landscape, despite the persistent whiteness of some networks like CBS, is looking a bit more … colorful. We certainly have heavy hitters like Shonda Rhimes and Ava DuVernay to thank for this, as their creations are sorely needed, especially as we dwell under the “leadership” (gag me) of the despotic Orange.…
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In Insecure, Where Are the Condoms?
For the past two weeks, I’ve been recapping the latest episodes of Insecure. This week I’m going to do a little of that, but there’s something much bigger we need to discuss. Molly is looking for a new therapist and found a potential new suitor named Lionel (Sterling K. Brown in an awkward guest-starring role).…
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Jay-Z’s ‘Moonlight’ Video Features Young Black Hollywood Excellence for a Friends Makeover
First I saw Issa Rae’s Instagram post. She wrote, “Two things I NEVER thought I’d be able to say: 1) I’m playing Rachel in ‘Friends.’ 2) I’m in a Jay-Z video with some of the funniest/dopest black people ever.” Just look at this glorious post: Turns out, Jay-Z put out a video for his song…
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Yara Shahidi’s Black-ish Spinoff to Be Called Grown-ish
Grown-ish will be the name of the Black-ish spinoff that follows Zoey, Yara Shahidi’s character, to the University of Southern California for college. Chris Parnell, Trevor Jackson and Emily Arlook will join Shahidi and Deon Cole in the Grown-ish cast, Entertainment Weekly reports. Creator Kenya Barris wrote in a statement, “Grown-ish reflects what we’ll be…
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10 Reasons You Absolutely Should Be Watching Queen Sugar Right Now (and When It Comes Back)
Queen Sugar, the Ava DuVernay-helmed television show on Auntie O’s OWN and based on the book by Natalie Baszile, is kicking ass and taking names right now. It’s easily one of the most compelling shows on television, and probably the only justification for why I see Farmers Only commercials on black television networks. I won’t…
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Watch: Is Power Better TV Than Game of Thrones?
There’s just something about the Starz TV drama Power that sticks to your ribs. It could be the beautiful cast (minus Angela—we hate her). Or the talented cameo stars (rest in peace, Charlie Murphy). Or our collective love of hate-watching little Tariq, who could be the worst son in the history of TV sons. Whatever…
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We Hate What You Love: GMG Staffers Reveal Their ‘Unpopular Opinions’ on Your Fave TV Shows
This is Unpopular Opinions, a weekly romp through our staff’s personal Slack conversations that boldly reveal scandalous opinions that many would deem unpopular. So, basically, it’s a conversation that proclaims: We schaid what we schaid. It all started in a Slack conversation. Someone (who wishes to remain nameless) from our Jezebel family admitted: “I have…
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From A Different World to Dear White People: Meet the Black-TV-Series Whisperer, Yvette Lee Bowser
“We’re all storytellers,” Yvette Lee Bowser said to me during our chat after I asked her how she battles creative blockages. She went on: “Writer’s block only exists when trying to figure out specifically how you’re going to tell the story. I never feel a dearth of stories to tell or characters of whom to…