If you're in search of complex, intriguing, and authentic depictions of Black life in the United States today, you're in luck. While network television often shows us an integrated, sometimes assimilationist world, in a rapidly evolving television landscape, streaming services which operate with less concern for advertising revenue and ratings such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are redefining the type of content we have access to. This evolution of television has paved the way for richer, more authentic portrayals of Black experiences on screen. In fact, some of the best work on television is not being broadcast on the Big Four networks in the US (though I will highlight that ABC’s Abbott Elementary is not only excellent, but won several Emmy awards in 2022 and is nominated for more for 2023).
This convergence of technological advances and decades of Black women showrunners (a pivotal role and typically held by the head writer or producer responsible for all aspects of a production) who have mentored younger Black women artists has finally accomplished what Hattie McDaniel thought she would be able to do when she signed on to do the radio version of The Beulah Show in the late 1940s: show a variety of Black life, with a level of reality that Black audiences feel good about.
We have moved from the incremental steps that typified earlier decades of television, to a point where, through these advances, more and more Black women in particular, and Black people in general, have opportunities to develop new stories. Developments in the first two decades of the 21st century have allowed for programming aimed at Black audiences – sometimes specifically Black women – to emerge and be sustained, even in a somewhat limited fashion. The examples in Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape demonstrate that it is not enough to be good. It’s important to acknowledge that despite progress, television networks still perceive Black-themed content as "risky", often prioritizing content tailored to a broader, predominantly white audience. Networks, whether broadcast, cable, or subscription, still operate from a position in which whiteness is normalized and rendered unmarked in various representations. Moreover, the industry's understanding of "diversity" is often skin-deep, with most diverse portrayals found in programs set in the workplace.
For the most part, though, the inclusion of Black women among the ranks of writers, directors, producers, and executive producers has broadened the kinds of representations of Blackness that Black audiences in particular have long desired. While there are still simple, two-dimensional Black characters within the television landscape, there is also now a significant number of other representations, ones that show a diversity and complexity of Black life in the United States. While negotiating respectability politics and the stark whiteness of the industry Black women are making some headway in shifting representation: the success of Quinta Brunson’s Abbott Elementary is just one example.
Mentorship plays a pivotal role in increasing the presence of Black women in television production. In several instances, one person's journey has paved the way for the next generation. A striking case in point is Mara Brock Akil, mentored during the 1990s like other Black women showrunners has continued to make an impact in television. Debbie Allen's move from Fame to A Different World, facilitated by her skill and reputation in theatre, film and television made space and opened a door for Yvette Lee Bowser, who went from working on A Different World to producing Living Single. These two programs were influential beyond their popularity at the time; Issa Rae recalls watching both shows when she was young as inspiration for her own work.
The growth in outlets, particularly streaming services such as Netflix, Max and Amazon has expanded the horizons for Black women creators to have their work produced and broadcast or streamed. These expanded opportunities also translate into expansions in the types of Blackness represented in the televisual. And while multiracial ensemble programming continues, particularly during prime time on network television, it is vitally important that television moves away from the "controlling images" that have been present throughout much of the history of the medium.
What began as an experiment with Hattie McDaniel playing the role of a Black woman, replacing a white man on a radio program, has become a space for Black women as actors, directors, writers, and producers. Black women have left an indelible mark on the televisual landscape. The convergence of mentorship, technology, and creative talent is reshaping how Black life is portrayed, and audiences are eagerly anticipating what the future holds for more diverse, authentic, and captivating television content and what a new generation of artists, like like Issa Rae, Janelle Monae, and Marsai Martin will bring to the world of the televisual.
Lisa M. Anderson is the author of Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape (2023). She is Professor of women and gender studies in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, USA. She has also written Black Feminism in Contemporary Drama (2008) and Mammies No More: The Changing Image of Black Women on Stage and Screen (1998). Her research interests include Black feminist speculative fiction and black queer and trans representations.
