Black sitcom

A black sitcom is an American term meaning a U.S. sitcom that features a primarily African American cast. Early examples date back to the 1950s. Though many of these sitcoms target a niche audience of African Americans, or some subset of that population, some shows break out and find a wider, multiracial audience. The most notable examples are The Cosby Show, one of the most popular sitcoms ever to air in the United States and the #1-rated program in the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years in the 1980s and 1990s; Sanford and Son, a top-10-rated series for four consecutive years in the 1970s; and The Jeffersons, rated in the top 10 for three years and #3 during its ninth season in the early-1980s.

As with other sitcoms with a common target audience, TV networks have often scheduled black sitcoms in blocks on a given night of the week. While this has helped to foster an audience for many of these shows, it has been criticized as creating a "ghetto" for them, where they are less likely to be watched by non-black viewers who might tune in early for a "white" show they are already interested in, or stay tuned in after another show has finished. In the 2000s, UPN has emerged as the most prolific broadcaster of black sitcoms, scheduling one or two nights of programming each week featuring them. In 2004, they attacked the Nielsen's controversial people meter ratings system for systematically underrpresenting black households. The organization Don't Count Us Out formed specifically to protect the representation of black households in the new system.

Examples

1950s

Beulah

1960s

Julia

Trivia

Dave Chappelle featured a sketch on his controversial show called "I Know Black People" in which average people of all backgrounds were quizzed on black pop-culture; many of the questions centered around plot elements from classic black sitcoms, including Good Times, What's Happening, and Sanford and Son.

External link

Don't Count Us Out

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