TV Thread - beware, [expletive] can get spoilery

[Jocephus]

im not on any side regarding black characters/TWD (though i think its more silly than solid). when you look at it on the surface, sure you can see it, but like you, i can't imagine its intentional on the writers/producers/etc.

[ghostrunner]

im not on any side regarding black characters/TWD (though i think its more silly than solid). when you look at it on the surface, sure you can see it, but like you, i can't imagine its intentional on the writers/producers/etc.

I don't see how they didn't at least give some thought to it. Atlanta is over 50% black, Georgia is 30% or so, yet you have one regular black character for two seasons (24ish episodes)? I think it's pretty typical Hollywood style racism, where they just don't even consider it or there's some strange fear that they just don't know how to write for black characters.

[Jocephus]

could be that too

[Schlich]

Just finished house of cards season 3. I think Doug Stamper might be the most compelling character in television.

[33anda3rd]

I think it's pretty typical Hollywood style racism, where they just don't even consider it or there's some strange fear that they just don't know how to write for black characters.

Very typical, can can apply to almost any TV show, save the ones that are primarily/almost all black, The Wire, and Treme. Even the quality stuff made by good people lacks a real cross-section of the world.

Take Kimmy Schmidt. In Tina Fey's NYC there have been two every-episode black male characters (Tracy as played by Tracy and Titus as played by Tituss), and they're both hysterical, often foolish comic relief. If we didn't know that Fey was a good progressive liberal we might say things about her attitude toward black men.

[MrSaigon]

Grizz and Dotcom were a pretty hilarious and effective (if terribly acted) counterbalance to Tracy, as were his strong wife and son. The fact that 30 Rock did an 'I have no idea how old black people are ' episode is pretty forward and challenging for what was a very white (in creation and viewership) show. I also think the fact that Titus gets to be a weirdo and a narcissist/dumbass that farts is a departure from the token gay friend you're not allowed to start a sitcom without in the 2010s. I think that is progressive.

[heyzeus]

Take Kimmy Schmidt. In Tina Fey's NYC there have been two every-episode black male characters (Tracy as played by Tracy and Titus as played by Tituss), and they're both hysterical, often foolish comic relief. If we didn't know that Fey was a good progressive liberal we might say things about her attitude toward black men.

Everyone on that show is hysterical, often foolish comic relief.

[Vidor]

Finally caught up with "The Americans". Gotta love how this show will set up Chekhov's Guns that don't pay off for years. Two seasons after Martha plants the bug in Gaad's office, it's a huge plot point.

[33anda3rd]

Take Kimmy Schmidt. In Tina Fey's NYC there have been two every-episode black male characters (Tracy as played by Tracy and Titus as played by Tituss), and they're both hysterical, often foolish comic relief. If we didn't know that Fey was a good progressive liberal we might say things about her attitude toward black men.

Everyone on that show is hysterical, often foolish comic relief.

Xanthippe. Her dad. The (SPOILER ALERT) shrink he's banging. Kymmi. Not everyone, but that wasn't the point. Point was even in good shows by liberal people there's not enough black faces. Even our best TV comedy artist doesn't properly cross-represent race in her work.

[heyzeus]

Take Kimmy Schmidt. In Tina Fey's NYC there have been two every-episode black male characters (Tracy as played by Tracy and Titus as played by Tituss), and they're both hysterical, often foolish comic relief. If we didn't know that Fey was a good progressive liberal we might say things about her attitude toward black men.

Everyone on that show is hysterical, often foolish comic relief.

Xanthippe. Her dad. The (SPOILER ALERT) shrink he's banging. Kymmi. Not everyone, but that wasn't the point. Point was even in good shows by liberal people there's not enough black faces. Even our best TV comedy artist doesn't properly cross-represent race in her work.

1. The three characters you cite are hysterical and foolish. Everyone on the show is. This is in fact your point -- that the black characters on the show are unique in that they are relegated to "hysterical, often foolish" tropes. No, every character on the show is. That's the world the show inhabits.

2. Each of the three characters you cite are members of a wealthy and oblivious white Manhattanite family (plus their therapist). The show is a satire of the wealthy and oblivious white Manhattanite family. If they were not oblivious white Manhattanites, the show would no longer be a satire of a wealthy and oblivious white Manhattanite family. Sounds like you would like this show to be something other than what it is; I suggest writing The Unbeatable Cammy Smith, and it can be a satire of the Huxtables.

3. Call me crazy, but it seems like every main character in the show is either female, black, or asian. There are a lot of non-diverse shows on tv. This one is an odd hill to die on to make that point.