this whole trial is...sexy. - after ten years of the '90s, we had a whole new television world that could take us anyplace we wanted and even places we had never imagined. [bell dings] - was that the oven timer? - that's right, my friend. it's time for... both: "baywatch"! - oh! - can you believe they gave stephanie skin cancer? - i still can't believe they promoted her to lieutenant. - ah, you're just saying that 'cause you're in love with yasmine bleeth. - well, how could anyone not be in love with yasmine bleeth? - hey! hey! they're running! - see, this is the brilliance of the show. i say always keep them running. all the time, running. run. run!

run, yasmine! run like the wind! ental music) - do you feel that there is not enough representation? because after the last incident, i had children bussed in. - when i think about the history of black television, i think about when black folks watch, we watch to zero in on us. - instead of making us celebrate your holidays, why don't you celebrate some of ours? what about tupac's birthday? - and when you have so little, it means everything. all of those shows, they all matter so much. - it feels like there's been more of an ebb and flow and an evolution. - it is so important for us to have true authenticity. - why we always the only black people here? - that's why representation matters, black stories told by black people. - i'm trying to tell you something. - [man] we set the pace for sit comedy. - you hear that, elizabeth? i'm coming to join ya, honey? - from "sanford and son" to the other black shows. - what is this? - loved "the jeffersons. - monogrammed shirt, brand new silk tie.

- is that a tie? i thought your tongue was hanging out. - "good times" is one of my favorite sitcoms because you could not tell me that these people were not real. - dy-no-mite! - uncle phil! - "fresh prince of bel-air" was groundbreaking for me. it was a different depiction of black life. - argh! - "martin" made me laugh so much. - jerome in the house! - clear! - "black-ish", "insecure". - hey! - so many shows that are on now that are killing it in ratings. - we're living in a golden age of black television, especially when it comes to sitcoms. - we're finally starting to see ourselves represented in the world. (car whooshes past) (water sprays) - hell no! (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - as times change, we're beginning to see this evolution of black television.

- this is rochester van jones. he's my butler. - we finally get to see a realistic depiction of ourselves. - issa, what's on fleek? - and the only way that that could be done was by changing the people who were telling the stories. - i don't know what that means. i know what that shit means. - by putting more seats at the table for black storytellers, writers, creators directors. - and that's a big difference in what we saw before. - [announcer] "the adventures of ozzie and harriet," starring the entire nelson family. - [announcer] "father knows best." (soaring instrumental music) - the tv landscape in the 1950s was considered the golden age television. you would have these great shows like "i love lucy," classic television shows, but you didn't have black representation until you started seeing shows like "beulah." - cereal, miss alice? - [ernie] "amos 'n andy" was the first all-black sitcom. - mornin', andy. - mornin, amos. - [ernie] but it was boycotted by the naacp, and after only two seasons in 1953, the show was canceled. - my problem with "amos 'n andy" is that there were no black writers in the room, obviously.

that often can lead to stereotypes. - these shows mocking black voices, sort of making real caricatures of black life. - i learn a lot of things. i just don't retain 'em. - so you had these examples of black representation that were not always positive and did not always center black life and culture in a way in which we wanted to see ourselves. - and these were very much shows that were made to allay white fears and to protect white comfort. you're talking about the jim crow era. - and i've seen the promised land. - as the civil rights movement was kicking up, the naacp wanted to show black people in a different light. black people were going to college and making money and entering the middle class. took until 1968 for us to have a show that was served as a counterweight to shows like "beulah and "amos 'n andy." - when i think about the history of black television, i think of diahann carroll. she personifies the brilliance that has existed in black hollywood.

- "julia" premiered in 1968. the country was in the midst of incredible unrest. this is right around the time that martin luther king, jr. was assassinated. - diahann carroll herself, she didn't feel that it portrayed the black experience in a way that it should've been portrayed. - julia and corey baker, this is my sister, wanda waggedorn. - how do you do? - you're a negro! lenny didn't tell me that! - that's all right, wanda. leonard didn't tell us you aren't. - she really felt that they were presenting an image of the white negro. - but at the time, i didn't care because there's a black woman on tv. she's a nurse. she's helping people. - diahann carroll was the first black woman to be nominated for an emmy for her performance in that show. - it represented the first time that a black family went into the homes of americans on a weekly basis. it did establish that premise, and i was very pleased about that. (upbeat funky music) - the success of the television show "julia" opened the door

for redd foxx, who was this underground comedy legend. - that's the money i was saving for my heart operation! you hear that elizabeth? i'm coming to join ya, honey! - love "sanford and son." you give me the first line of a "sanford and son" line, i can finish it for you. - for every man, there's a woman. - and for every dummy, there's a dummy. - one of the creators of "sanford and son" saw redd foxx in his act and thought that he would be perfect for the series they were gonna do, which was an adaptation of a british series, "steptoe & son." - "sanford and son" was a more authentic show because of writers like paul mooney and ilunga adell. - redd and i said, "you know what? we need to have some black writers." - what you doing combing your hair? - why does anybody come their hair? to look neat. - but you just going to a job. - pop, just because i work in junk don't mean i have to look like it. - when we had white writers, they would write, "i'm gwan," g-w-a-n. we gwan hit it over der,"

and redd said, "hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. you don't need to do that. write words, and we, the characters, will say those words the way black people say those words. - who you calling ugly, sucka? (audience laughs) (upbeat music) - we shot the pilot in september of '71, and it just went through the ceiling. we didn't just usher in black shows. we were the foundation for all the sitcoms for the next 25, 30 years. - it just led the way to other sitcoms like "good times." ♪ good times ♪ anytime you need - breakfast is ready if you hungry! - "good times" is one of my favorite sitcoms because i didn't realize i was watching a sitcom. - give me one good reason why you married me. - you was pregnant. - that ain't nothing to joke about. suppose one of the kids that heard you said they was born outta wedlock. - wouldn't bother me none. (audience laughs) i ain't the oldest. (audience laughs)

- they were a two-parent black family. you never had black men who were integral to these households. "good times" had that. - "good times" made history because it was the first time we had black creators. - all right, come on over here, lionel. - michael evans, who was a guy from "all in the family," he had access to norman lear, and norman lear told him to write something, and he wrote something with eric monte. - just to get that chance to prove yes, we deserve to be here. i think eric monte and mike evans proved that. - dy-no-mite! (upbeat funky music) (audience laughs) dy-no-mite. i know might i did a little tiny dynamite just in rehearsal. john rich, our director, says, "i love that dy-no-mite thing. here's how you do it. dy-no-mite!" i said, "john, please, people will never go for this." - then jimmy walker's character takes over, and instead of "good times," you end up with the dy-no-mite hour. - "good times" was a microcosm of what it is to produce black television.

- eric monte and mike evans were forced to partner with a white show runner. that reflected a dynamic that we see throughout the history of black tv, which is having black creatives needing the co-sign of a white person in order to make their thing, even though it's based in the stories they know. - by season two of "good times," john amos was complaining about how his character was not being written in a very authentic way. - so they said, "tell you what. why don't we kill him off, and we'll all get on with our lives." - killed in an auto... - my god! - so that taught me a lesson that i wasn't as important as i thought i was to the show or to norman lear's plans. (glass shatters) - damn, damn, damn! - as good as "good times" was, it still did not resonate with everyone as to how this was a characterization of black america. you had organizations like the black panthers pressuring norman lear who had helped create "good times" to give us something different, and with that, he came up with "the jeffersons." - i wear the pants in this family. - and when you zip them up, include your mouth.

(audience laughs and applauds)

eat music) ♪ well, we're movin' on up ♪ movin' on up ♪ to the east side ♪ movin' on up - "the jeffersons" was an aspirational show. you have the great theme song sung by ja'net dubois about moving on up. you had a different situation from "good times," where it's a poor black family, to a rich black family living in a high-rise apartment. - your family started at zero, and look what you've got now, a lovely wife, successful business,

and a beautiful apartment. - that's right, buddy. - i don't need you to tell me that! (audience laughs) (mid-tempo r&b music) - the character of george jefferson was a rich black man who was unapologetic about that, and that was very, very groundbreaking in 1970s. - george jefferson with the walk out the bank move, the hit the cliff. that's how i walk out the bank when i make withdrawals. - how about this? (upbeat funky music) (audience laughs) - isabel sanford was really a trailblazer. - weezie, honey. - don't you weezie honey me. - in 1981, isabel sanford, who plays louise, became the first and still only black woman to win the emmy for lead actress in a comedy series. - at last. (audience laughs and applauds) - marla gibbs is everything to me. she was a breakout star. - you live in this apartment, right? - uh huh. - and you got an apartment in this building, too? - yes, that's right.

- well, how come we overcame and nobody told me? (audience laughs) - the fights i had with george on the show was mostly prewritten. however, he and i would come up with things sometimes and they would keep it. - florence, your cooking tastes like dog food. (audience laughs) - that's 'cause i'm cooking for a chihuahua. (audience laughs) (upbeat music) he and i really had a chemistry together. - one of the unique things about "the jeffersons" is that it featured the first primetime interracial couple, the willises. - george, if we have a problem, why can't we just talk it through like tom and helen? they don't fight. - they don't fight 'cause they scared to fight. - what's that supposed to mean? - you know damn well what it means. if you two ever really started going at one another, inside of five minutes, he'd be calling you - don't say it! - nigga. - he said it! - coming out of the 1960s loving case, which made interracial marriages legal in the united states, you had this representation of what america could look like, of what america could be. (audience laughs and applauds) - i beg your pardon. i'll come back later.

- "the jeffersons" was really groundbreaking. - everything you do, do it cool. that's it. - [marla] "the jeffersons" had something for every segment of society. - yeah. - government is not the solution to our problem. government is the problem. - america was changing. you're in the middle of reaganomics and trickle down economies. - the social policies of that era were really splintering black families and the black community in this country. - in the early 1980s, the landscape of primetime television was dominated by these hour-long dramas. some of them were very gritty. - one of the things people were all saying was the comedy on television was dead. ("the bill cosby show theme song) - but then there's this juggernaut of a show in the form of a black family comedy, and it completely reinvigorates the sitcom genre. - i am your father. i brought you in this world and i'll take you out. (audience laughs) (soft upbeat music) - "the cosby show" absolutely created a phenomenon of must-see tv.

- "the cosby show" is consider the pinnacle black sitcom. gives you a black family that's not just incredibly tight knit. - listen. let's put on some music 'round here. - it was also a family that was doing very well for themselves, that was upper middle class where family values in the most traditional of senses was a core of the series. - mr. cosby brought in dr. alvin poussaint to be a consultant on the show. so when we would write out a storyline, we'd send that off to dr. poussaint, and that would come back with all his notes on it, and alvin poussaint was the guy that grounded us to make sure that we were always representing this black family in the best light. - in the 1980s, "the cosby show" gave a vision of blackness that was comfortable. - we're here to say goodbye to lamont goldfish. - the way that it conveyed blackness specifically was often quite subtle. it was in the art that was on the walls. it was in the music that was being played. it was in the sweatshirts that they wore referencing a historically black college.

- "cosby" doesn't come on on nbc when they're at their height. he comes on when they're in the dumps. - fight, fight! (upbeat music) (audience laughs) - and next thing you know, the number one show on television is an african american comedy. (laughs) (audience laughs) (muffled shouting) bill cosby was, to all of us, america's dad. "the cosby show" was, at its height, doing astronomically high numbers. (wesminster chime) it was that "mash" finale territory of just the biggest numbers you've ever seen on paper. (soft jazzy music) (audience applauds) - now, as far as who he is outside of the work, it's not to be ignored. - he's been controversial, absolutely. - [patrick] in 2018, bill cosby was convicted for drugging and violating a woman in 2004. - [female reporter] some 50 women have alleged similar sexual assaults. - the conviction was overturned and cosby was released, which, to him, was a vindication

because he always had maintained his innocence. - so how do we celebrate bill cosby's legacy? - it has been hard. it's been difficult to reconcile the man versus the myth, the legend, the comedian, the star. - i think we have to look at bill cosby. i don't think we should look away. i think we should look at all of it, the good, the bad, the ugly. i think it's important. (mid-tempo r&b music) (muffled shouting) - "the cosby show" laid the groundwork for a lot of the sitcoms that we saw, and the most obvious is "a different world," which was a spinoff of the series, and it followed denise huxtable when she went off to hillman college. - oh, you must be our new roommate. - the first year was different. you had a white character named maggie, and you had a show about a college that, while it was a historically black college, it was not necessarily black. ♪ i know my parents love me - in the second season of "a different world," it became a whole different television show. ♪ i know my parents loved me - [ernie] brought in debbie allen. - they called me to come in and make it relevant, and when i got there, i had gone to howard university, so i didn't have to go on a field trip to see

what a historically black college was. i had lived it. - debbie allen is a trailblazer. she really brought the authentic hbcu experience to television while managing to tackle serious issues like racism and sexism and colorism but also giving us fun, lighthearted comedy in a way that inspired me to go to an hbcu. - they explored the fraternities, the sororities. (characters cheer) (upbeat funky music) it was an exact parallel to what my experience was at howard. - a memorable episode was the la riots. whitley just got married to dwayne. they were going to take their honeymoon in la, and the riots happened. (upbeat music) (objects clatter) - hey, hey, hey! - i remember being called in by the network. they were upset because we had white looters. and so what did we do? talked roseanne and tom arnold into playing the white looters, and we reshot it. - my feet are killing me!

- i told you to steal some shoes. - they were happy then. - you all know that winning is not everything. - that's right! - but it so feel good! (characters cheer) (mid-tempo r&b music) - the real legacy of "a different world" is that we tripled the enrollment of historically black colleges. that show still stands the test of time. (soft ethereal music)

sic)

(uplifting music) - the success of "the cosby show" did hit so big that suddenly, all the networks are back in the sitcom business, in the black sitcom business. - "family matters" every week literally just made you crack up and laugh. - no, i got it. - no, no, i got it. - no, no! - don't, don't, don't, steve! (glass shatters) - did i do that? (audience laughs) - i just feel like i was so lucky to grow up in a time with urkel. - a peck near the lip area would speed me on my way. (audience laughs) - so would a left hook. (audience laughs) - ooh, i love it when she gets physical. - winslows are a loving african american family that live in the chicago area. father, carl winslow, was a cop. - "family matters" was my very first job. i was one of three black writers in a big room of maybe 10, 12 writers. - in 1994, "family matters" had an episode called "good cop, bad cop."

eddie winslow, the teenage son, comes back from a really upsetting encounter with a police officer. - i was driving along minded my own business when the cops pulled me over! - i remember the scene, and it was very difficult to do. - then he made me get outta the car and lie face down! then he cuffed me! - that's unusual procedure unless you provoked it. - the idea that the black father would tell his black son, "you must've provoked the cop if you were treated badly," just did not sit well with me. i had to say, "i don't think that black father would say that to his black son." - i thought what i went through tonight with the worst thing that's ever happened to me, but i was wrong. not having my own father believe me is even worse. - i remember the showrunner getting very angry, wondering if i was saying he was racist, and i remember realizing at that moment, as black people, our desire to depict authentic versions of ourselves is always negotiated because if i'm not here, then this whole room is white,

and then characters who look like me will have no one who looks like them to speak their truth. (upbeat funky music) ♪ back to life - there's yet another big shake up in the tv landscape when hip hop meets rodeo drive. - [male reporter] it is called rap music. - they keep saying it's a fad. - rap music is not a fad. - in fact, rap is one of the largest grossing forms of music on the charts. - quincy jones recognized that hip hop was gonna change america ♪ parents just don't understand ♪ and that will smith was gonna be part of that. - hey, uncle phil! oh! (audience laughs) ♪ this is a story all about how ♪ ♪ my life got flipped turned upside down ♪ - will smith was a rapper. - yeah, yeah, yeah. - he had albums. and then even the starting of the show was amazing. it had a storyline you can follow as the credits were going. ♪ of a town called bel-air - will happened to be in la. he was at a party at quincy jones's house. will never really acted before in his life. - the only kind of audition i had was quincy's birthday. he said, "so here's the deal.

everybody that needs to say yes for this show is sitting out in that living room right now, waiting for you." "and i thought, gimme 10 minutes." and he's like, "all right, y'all, audition in 10 minutes! audition in 10 minutes!" oh yo, the plane ride was stupid! i was up in first class. - excuse me? - no, i'm saying the plane was dope. - i was sitting in the front- - excuse me? how would he? the flight was really neat, yeah. (audience laughs) (soft upbeat music) - the episode that really stands out to me is where will's father who had abandoned him as a young man comes back into his life, and at the end of the episode, he's abandoning him yet again. - it was great seeing you, son. - you, too, lou. - in the african american community, a lot of families are torn apart because of the male. - ain't a damn thing he could ever teach me about how to love my kids! (soft poignant music) (will breathes shakily)

- it came time for that moment. he broke. it was a beautiful thing, and the rest is history. - it showed that there are other people in one's life who can become that father figure when it comes to male role models in the black community. ♪ hip hop music ♪ you like it 'cause you dos it ♪ - "fresh prince of bel-air" became one of these landmark black sitcoms that you're gonna look at 100 years from now saying, "this is one of the ones that changed things," - pssh. - and still is relevant today. (jazzy screams) (audience laughs) - in the 90s, there was one show that epitomized what it was to be young, funny, and black, and that show was "martin." - martin lawrence is a standup comedian, and the "martin" show was based on all of the things that he would talk about onstage. - wassup? hell no! you wants to stomp with the big dog! - people really seem to gravitate to him. - jerome's in the house! - 'cause it was raw. ♪ i said jerome's in the hou-eh-ou-eh-ouse ♪ - he played at least 10 different characters

within the sitcom, and you believed them all. - how you all doing? (audience laughs) party's my middle name! go, gina, go, gina! what's happening, baby? - martin lawrence was the one who said comedy has a way of bringing light into this dark world. black people, we do have this way of laughing at our struggle. he embodies that. (glass shatters) (mama payne whimpers) - damn, damn, damn! - "damn, gina" is said to me 100 times a day. - [unison] aw, damn! - i loved martin and gina's romance, particularly because it was the first time i saw a young black couple in love on television. - grab my ears? (audience laughs) (upbeat funky music) - we didn't think that we were gonna make the impact that we made. - girl, your hair is so nappy, wilson couldn't pick it. - recently, me, tichina, and martin had gone to lunch, and we were all like, "can you believe this? it's like 'brady bunch.'

people are still watching this show," and we're in shock. and i was like, "martin, can you believe they call us icons?" and he was like, "i know!" ♪ we're living ♪ ooh ♪ single ♪ hey - "living single" is about six upwardly mobile 20 somethings who figure out life, and we figure it out together. - we had never seen a show with such unapologetically black, smart, sexy, fun women on television before. - damn, he fine! (audience laughs) - oh, and good technique. - and big feet. (audience laughs) - they were "friends" before there was the sitcom "friends." - "living single" came first. there was an interview with warren littlefield who, at the time, was running nbc. they asked him, "was there any show that you wish you had bought this year?" and he said, "i wish i had bought 'living single.'" - "living single" was the archetype. you get a group of quirky women living

across from quirky men, two dudes. (upbeat jazzy music) - [male reporter] later today on "oprah," lonely women who waste their lives watching television. - there was a big twitter beef a little while ago when the gentleman who played ross said, "they should do like a black 'friends' sometime," and, honey, black twitter went in because he was just blissfully unaware it had already been done. - now david schwimmer said that his comment was taken out of context. he said, "i am aware that there was a show called 'living single' on the air before us." - even though we were a black show, we were a show that is absolutely relatable, and yes, i still get those residual checks. thank you. you're welcome. (jazzy music)

a slow network is no network for business. that's why more choose comcast business. and now, we're introducing ultimate speed for business —our fastest plans yet. we're up to 12 times faster than verizon, at&t, and t-mobile. and existing customers could even get up to triple the speeds... at no additional cost. it's ultimate speed for ultimate business. don't miss out on our fastest speed plans yet! switch to comcast business and get started for $49.99 a month. plus, ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. call today!

♪ i'm gonna be successful - [male reporter] fubu means for us by us. - fubu. - [female reporter] blacks are watching more tv, 70 hours a week, say the nielsen numbers. - these networks understand that when they're trying to get a foothold in the industry, the first thing they do is go to an underserved audience because they can get a lot of eyeballs. - in the 1990s, you had all these fledgling networks coming up, upn, the wb, who were specifically targeting black audiences. - [man over loudspeaker] attention, stars at the wb. - that strategy did enable a rap of black shows, black actors, black creators to shoot their shot. ♪ unforgettable (audience laughs) (upbeat music) - he used to hang with me with me and my band,

the high tops, perform for the queen of england. - i love that entire era of television, the show, "sister, sister, "half & half," "smart guy," "one on one," "wayans brothers," 'cause i literally saw myself in those characters. - "moesha" was something that i wanted to do because i wanted to see a story about a black teenage girl, and i did not see that on tv. - she don't know who i am by now. she better ask somebody! - [unison] baby! - "moesha" was my first staff writing job. it was a groundbreaking time. it was a place where we all belonged. it was a place that you could actually launch a dream. - they introduced nikki parker on the last episode of "moesha," which was the pilot for "the parkers." on this slot, it was "moesha," "the parkers," "the wayans brothers." so can you imagine what that parking lot looked like, sound like, and smelled like. it was incredible. - and while some of these shows may be popular in african american households,

they may not have enough crossover appeal to survive. - so you've got upn, and you've got the wb. they come together to create the cw. beautiful, right? not if you're a black sitcom. black shows disappear. - we felt the shift of the shows trickling away. - some of the hits started coming in that were more like "smallville," "gilmore girls." you only have so many hours you program. something has to give. - and they just canceled us. everybody was just, "oh, we're done. thanks." - i will never forgive the cw for what they did to upn. they really had a good run. we did get great writers like mara brock akil and kenya barris out of that. mara went from writing for "moesha" to creating the influential sitcom "girlfriends." - hey, girl. - hey! - the vision i had for "girlfriends" is i wanted to document our existence as black women. i was a big fan of "sex and the city," and i appreciated that it wasn't centered around a man's opinion about how women were.

- i'll be on my way and leave you to your hot lesbian action. - we were trying to figure out if we could have it all. all my black "girlfriends" were wondering that, too. we wanted it all. we wanted it all. (upbeat music) (bernie whistles) - give me a chance. (men laugh) i'll take wb. i'll take upn. i'll take usa. - by the early 2000s, networks are only looking for big name black comedians to headline their shows. - when you talk about "the bernie mac show," you get a slice of life, of african american life. - yeah, my sister's on drugs. what am i supposed to do? allow these three kids to go to some foster home? - you don't know what you're getting yourself into. - i didn't wanna come into america's living room. i wanted to bring america into mine. this is my house. - bernie had a very clear idea of the kind of show he wanted. bernie mac goes, "you know, reggie? of all the people in hollywood, you get bernie mac." - ma'am, don't do that. this is my car. i'm trying to tell you something. - my goal working on the show as a director, as a producer

was to make sure bernie mac stayed bernie mac. (horn blows) (upbeat funky music) - i don't mean to toot my own horn, america, but bernie mac's genius. - i'm overwhelmed, as you see. - the first time in the more than 200-year history of this country, an african american will be the chief executive. how far we have come. - america has changed to the point now where "black-ish" is telling these unapologetically black stories. they have that freedom because we have changed as a culture. - [andre] sometimes i feel like a bit of an oddity. - and if you look to your left, you'll see the mythical and majestic black family. - it talks about the so called post-racial version (laughs) of being black. - the whole show begins, saying, "we moved to a white neighborhood, but we still got to hold on to our culture." - this is our culture. - this ain't our culture. we black, not african. africans don't even like us. - dad, can i go? - there was a lot of conversation about

what to call it. "black-ish" was the preferred title, and the creator kenya really supported and felt like sets off a little bit of a firestorm, and you get people talking about it. you've got a man who's got his family at a crossroads. "i care about black history and culture and our roots. i don't want them to not be black. i don't want them to only be black-ish." - from now on, we will be black out loud. - "black-ish" had a episode called "juneteenth" that i'm so proud to have been a part of. - our whole family will celebrate juneteenth. - all right. - boom! i know where to buy strawberry soda. - and i make a mean red velvet cake. - i'll fire up the grill. that loud and black enough for you? - yeah, mm-hmm. - i'll hang up my stocking. - oh, buddy. - and now it's on the national calendar forever, something that's still mind blowing to me. - president biden signed the juneteenth national independence day act into law. - we did an episode about a little white girl in the elevator by herself,

and the black man shouldn't get on it. and they just. (laughs) (doors ding) but so many white people came up to me and was like, "is that a thing?" and i'm like, "hell yeah!" that was just as important of an episode as juneteenth was. it's like these topics that we touched on. - excuse me! - here we go again. - i hope you enjoy the rest of your racist pageant! johnsons, we out! - no! no, no, no, no! (upbeat hip hop music) (ding chimes)

(upbeat music) - today, i'm very proud of myself. our president has finally released a birth certificate. - donald trump's campaign began with questioning the legitimacy of the first black president, barack obama. wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners when somebody disrespects our flag, get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out? he's fired. he's fired! - people felt they could no longer sit on the sidelines. they saw a lot of folks protesting in the streets. - but at the same time, we couldn't just react in anger. we needed change. we needed real change. - this was an era of resistance to be

as loud as possible and as black as possible. there was a fresh crop of creators coming to the forefront, namely donald glover with "atlanta." - i can't imagine what tv would be like now without "atlanta." you don't get something like that without getting to trust the vision of someone like donald glover. - what you have with shows like "atlanta" is they don't even try to just be sitcoms. they're completely comfortable sort of straddling that line between comedy and drama. - where are your ancestors from? congo, ivory coast? - i don't know. this spooky thing called slavery happened, and my entire ethnic identity was erased. - i remember an episode i saw, and i was like, "oh my god. he covered mental illness, black unemployment." - i'm not asking for money. - you should be. aint you homeless? - not real homeless. i'm not using a rat as a phone or something. - don't be racist, man. that make you schizophrenia. that don't make you homeless. - he covered so many topics in not even the whole episode. that was like the first few scenes. - and he gets to do it under a black lens while having that not be the only thing

about the show that is intriguing. - black people can now say themselves, "this is who we are," and you see that in shows like "atlanta" and like an "insecure." - i want to thank trump for making black people number one on the most oppressed list. - oh! (upbeat music) - "insecure" is today's version of "living single" and "girlfriends." those shows really paved the way. issa rae took that torch and added to the conversation in a really meaningful way. - i am sexy. let's get outta here. you're super! oh my god, you're a music producer! do you know beck? - it started on youtube. she shared her stories, "the misadventures of awkward black girl." - [j] my name is j, and i'm awkward and black. - that eventually landed at hbo. - i remember we were meeting with hbo, and the title "insecure" had always existed, and we were having a conversation about, "oh, we should rename the show." and they were like, "well, you, issa,

there's nothing insecure about you." and she was like, "that's why we're calling the show 'insecure' is because i'm constantly insecure." - i think the secret to "insecure's" success is that hbo eventually let issa do what she wanted to do. "you know what? this isn't our story to tell, but we're gonna give you what you need to tell it." - and it has become this massive pop culture moment that everyone loves, and it's such an honest portrayal of black life. - i've been tased before! tase me again! i'll survive! - we wanted to talk about things that felt like everyday life on a tuesday for black people, not juneteenth. it's not king day. (laughs) it's just gonna be like a tuesday, and this is what we had to deal with on a tuesday. that's where we always felt this show needed to live, and so i feel like those were the ways that "insecure" felt different. ♪ gotta take a risk sometime ♪ gotta take a risk (lively music) - dear white people. we filmed "dear white people," season one in 2016. our last day of filming was the day

of the presidential election. "dear white people" ended up releasing in a trump world. - "dear white people" takes place at a fictional ivy league institution, kind of stand in for white america, and there, we follow this group of black students navigating a very white world and figuring out what it means to be black now. - [professor] anyone with some special connection to the material? - it was always like a battle between the people who said, "why do we need a show like this?" and then people saying like really horribly racist stuff. - people were threatening to boycott netflix, and i remember being so scared, like, "wow, we just did all this work. is our show just gone?" and the netflix executive sent us an email and said, (tense music) "we're putting this show out. these comments let us know exactly how much this show is needed." - and frankly, making the show "dear white people"

in the time of trump is and was a form of protest. our entire four-season run is book ended by his election win and his, thank god, election loss. - you're not rashida jones biracial. you're tracee ellis ross biracial. people think of you as black. ♪ hip hop music, you like it - so now you have shows like "twenties," which is created by lena waithe, which made history as one of the first shows to have its lead characters lgbtq, and what that says is that we again are changing and that we can tell these stories and that black people are so different. - what stands out for me about "twenties" is the lead character is a black queer woman. she's not the sidekick. - what i also love about the show is that it has a lot of conversations that, frankly, we have in huddles but usually not in public. these are conversations we're not supposed to put on tv, lena! - why we always the only black people here? - because you know black people don't like being outside. - what's amazing about these artists,

people like issa ray and lena waithe, they're really great about wanting to bring up new voices and continue the conversation. - you have been out here for three years, and what do you have to show for it? - look, we are living in the new black renaissance, okay? i'm black and i'm gay. hollywood should be knocking down my door. (fireworks hiss and boom) (lively classical music)

(upbeat music) - for oprah winfrey, this is not only the start of a brand new year. it is also the beginning of her new cable network. it's time. - i believe that the future of black television comes in ownership, places that we own, we operate, and we can have our own voice. - for everyone who has actually been given that seat at the table for most of us with melanin, you gotta fight. - we have a person like tyler perry who owns a studio, and that's remarkable in and of itself because, in 1950, you could have never have imagined that a black man would dominate this space so thoroughly as tyler perry has. (upbeat music) - i think the black ownership of content will disrupt the media ecosystem because we won't have gatekeepers who are beholden to the status quo or traditional media companies. - a perfect example of black ownership changing the game, lee daniels and "the wonder years."

- i loved "the wonder years" growing up. love it even more now that they've rebooted it and they've said it in montgomery, alabama 'cause it reminded me of my childhood. - lee daniels acquired the rights to the original "wonder years" because he wanted to tell a story about the black middle-class experience during the late 60s. - i didn't wanna direct it. i didn't wanna write it. i just didn't wanna mess it up, so i found a great showrunner writer, saladin, who had a good take on it. - so i think it's time that we talk with you about sex. - can't we just whoop the boy like god intended? - yeah, mama, i'll take the whooping! - i came on board and we decided to set the show in the cradle of the civil rights movement. - and not just the tragedy and the pain and the trauma because we've carried that for so long, and we continue to, but trying to build family and community and celebrate and have love in the midst of that. - what makes cupcakes taste so down home? - slavery

and bacon grease in the pan. - abc understandably so had a lot of concerns. then as soon as we started turning in material, the note always was, "can you make it funny?" you told us that you wanted real life. trust us. it'll be funny when it's supposed to be funny, and then it'll be heartfelt when it's supposed to be heartfelt and dramatic when it needs to be dramatic. - and so that's what's really special about "the wonder year's" reboot is telling the story of america from a different perspective, from our perspective. (upbeat soulful music) - black representation has improved on television because black people have the opportunity to actually represent themselves as opposed to white creators saying, "this is who black people are." (upbeat funky music) - seems like a drop in the bucket, but then that bucket overflows and everything gets sticky. i can't predict the future of black sitcoms, but i am liking that more creative license is being taken.

- lighten up, dude! remember your condo. - more black creators are getting in the door and showing their point of view that we're getting a chance to see characters be three dimensional and more. - eyes on the prize, world domination. - i think about the opportunities that we have now, and i get excited. - it should be a rule. exes cannot walk on each other's blocks. - sweetie, that will leave me a very, very small batch of the bronx. - good morning, atlanta! i don't care who you slept with, as long as you. - wake up with kenan! - wake up with kenan! - when i think about the history of black television, i really think about progress. - we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created. - and i think about how our experience in the united states also very much mirrors our progress in the medium. - i'd like to introduce- - introduce? oh, this man needs no introduction. i'd know the reverend jesse jackson anywhere.

(audience laughs) - i really do see a journey from the early years. - oh, here's your clean shirt, mr. harry. - thank you, beulah. - when so much of it was seen through a white lens. - we'll talk about this in the morning. - now go to your room. - yes, sir. goodnight, boss. - hey, did you get my email about the two of us hanging together after school or? - no, it must have gone to spam. - i think maya angelou said that "if you don't like something, change it, and if you can't change it, change your perspective." (girl screams) (fire extinguisher hisses) (audience laughs) - we are the ones who are saying, "this is who we are. this is why we matter. this is what we want you to understand. we're writing stories for us." - what's this neighborhood technically called, issa? - oh, someone told me it's the black beverly hills. is that true? (upbeat music) - guys, i really don't know, but i do know we have a lot of work to do, and this bench needs to go over there. could you- - oh, but we just moved it here. - oh, don't question my authority. thanks.