CINEMATIC HISTORY:
TELEVISION
Like cinema, television emerged in the 20th century as a visual medium that explored Black identity and stories. While early television shows like Britain’s The Black and White Minstrel Show (1958–1978) are now denounced for their racist use of Blackface and offensive portrayal of Black stereotypes, a plethora of shows from sitcoms to dramas have since come to the small screen and have started to shift perspective towards better representation both in front of and behind the camera. Below you will find a small selection of these television series as well as a few notable stand-alone episodes.
SINGLE EPISODES
“Plato's Stepchildren”. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), Season 3, Episode 10. Dir. David Alexander. NBC, first aired: 22 November 1968.
Watch a clip of the kiss between Kirk and Uhura here.
Since its original series beginning in 1966, Star Trek has been a science fiction franchise that consistently promoted diversity and inclusion through its onscreen characters and storylines. The original series in the 1960s depicted a diverse, multiracial crew working on the Enterprise spaceship that included Japanese helmsman Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu (played by George Takei) and Black female communications officer Nyota Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols).
The season 3 episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” also features one of the first televised interracial kisses between Captain Kirk and Uhuara. While this is often mis-cited as American television’s first interracial kiss, it is nonetheless significant in demonstrating the bold steps taken by the show to confront racism in the television industry regardless of the controversy that would surround such storylines.
“Shades of Guilt”. The Twilight Zone (2002-2003), Season 1, Episode 3. Dir. Perry Lang. UPN, first aired: 25 September 2002.
Watch a clip of the episode here.
Originally created by Rod Serling in 1959, The Twilight Zone is a television franchise that explores unusual or disturbing events through a range of genres including science fiction, fantasy, dystopia, black comedy and horror. Famously, characters are said to enter “the Twilight Zone” as they experience strange events.
The third revival of The Twilight Zone from 2002 to 2003 is presented by Forest Whitaker and includes the episode “Shades of Guilt”. This episode focuses on a white man Matt McGreevey (Vincent Ventresca) who refuses to help a Black man as he is being pursued and attacked by a racist gang. Later, Matt learns that the Black man was murdered in a hate-crime, and then his own skin starts to darken until he is mistaken first for a mixed race man, then an African American man, until finally he resembles the murdered Black man he declined to help.
“Crossroad Blues”. Supernatural (2005-2020), Season 2, Episode 8. Dir. Steve Boyum. The WB and The CW, first aired: 16 November 2006.
Watch a clip from the episode where Robert Johnson sells his soul.
Supernatural is a Gothic horror television series that sees the Winchester brothers hunting and killing demons. The early seasons focus on storylines from Christian and Jewish theology, but episodes also explore American urban legends including Bloody Mary, Hook Man and Route 666.
In season 2, the episode “Crossroad Blues” delves into the legend of famous African American blues musician, Robert Johnson (here played by La Monde Byrd). Though not much is known about Johnson’s life, after his death he has become associated with the rumour that he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exchange for musical success. The title of the episode references one of Johnson’s songs, “Crossroad Blues”.
“Black Museum”. Black Mirror (2011-present), Season 4, Episode 6. Dir. Colm McCarthy. Netflix, first aired: 29 December 2017.
Watch the episode trailer here.
Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror is an anthology series that explores social issues and the rise of technology through a variety of genres including science fiction, dystopia and horror.
The season 4 episode “Black Museum” explores the intersection of race and technology through the horror of a remote museum whose collections include crime-related artefacts. The museum’s centerpiece is a holographic Clayton Leigh (Babs Olusanmokun), a Black man who was sentenced to death for the crime of murder despite his claims of innocence and evidence that undermines his conviction. While on death row, Clayton signed up to be an exhibition at the museum, resulting in a conscious holograph of him receiving the electric chair.
“Guilt Trip”. Two Sentence Horror Stories (2017-2022), Digital Series, Episode 1. Dir. J.D. Dillard. The CW, first aired: 17 October 2017.
Watch a trailer for the episode here.
Two Sentence Horror Stories is a critically acclaimed horror anthology series inspired by online microfiction. Each episode examines provocative cultural and social issues of our modern society using a two-sentence horror story prompt.
“Guilt Trip” is an early episode first published in the show’s digital series and using the following two-sentence prompt: “I keep my eyes on the road, heart pounding. Getting into this stranger's car was a bad idea.” The episode opens with a Black man, Jayson (Gentry White), who has been racially targeted by police. Jayson then accepts a lift home from a white woman, but it is revealed that her motives are deceitful as she plans to capitalise on his criminal record in order to frame him for murder.
"The Secret of Spoons". American Gods (2017-2021), Season 1, Episode 2. Dir. David Slade. StarzTV, first aired: 7 May 2017.
Watch a clip from the episode where Mr Nancy tells a story.
American Gods is an American fantasy television series adapted from Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name. The series follows Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), a convict who meets a mysterious stranger upon his release from prison and soon becomes entangled in the hidden world of “Old Gods” including Mr. Wednesday/Odin (Ian McShane) and Mr Nancy/ the Ghanaian trickster god Anansi (Orlando Jones).
The season 1 episode “The Secret of Spoons” begins with a sequence onboard a 17th-century Dutch slave ship and shows the arrival of enslaved Black people to America. The African god Anansi is also on the ship, and while one man prays to Anasai to set him free, Anasai warns the ship’s enslaved passengers of the racism and white supremacy they will encounter in America.
“Rosa”. Doctor Who (2005-present) Series 11, Episode 3. Dir. Mark Tonderai. BBC, first aired: 21 October 2018.
Watch a clip from the episode featuring Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King.
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series that centres on an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor. The Doctor is a Time Lord who travels the universe across space and time–often with a human companion–in order to save people and fight oppression. As an alien, the Doctor is also able to regenerate into a new incarnation, and to date since the series first began in 1963, 14 different actors have assumed the role, with the most recent being Ncuti Gatwa as the fifteenth Doctor.
Jodie Whittaker is the 13 Doctor, and in the episode “Rosa” she travels back in time with three human companions–Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), and Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill)–to 1955 Alabama. This is during the beginning of the American civil rights movement, and the Doctor and her companions are tasked with stopping a time travelling criminal who wants to prevent Rosa Parks (Vinette Robinson) and the Montgomery bus boycott. The episode examines racism and racial segregation in America during this period, and features fictional depictions of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King.
"The Ways of the Dead". American Gods (2017-2021), Season 2, Episode 5. Dir. Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield. StarzTV, 7 first aired: 7 April 2019.
Watch the episode trailer here.
American Gods is an American fantasy television series adapted from Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name. The series follows Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), a convict who meets a mysterious stranger upon his release from prison and soon becomes entangled in the hidden world of “Old Gods” including Mr. Wednesday/Odin (Ian McShane) and Mr Nancy/ the Ghanaian trickster god Anansi (Orlando Jones).
The season 2 episode, “The Ways of the Dead”, examines death and what the living can learn from those who have passed on. Part of the narrative takes place in New Orleans and explores Voodoo traditions that can connect with the dead. The episode also features the ghost of an African American man, Will James (Warren Belle), who haunts living Black people. James was a real person who lived in Cairo Illinois and was falsely accused of killing a white woman and then violently lynched.
“Replay”. The Twilight Zone (2019-2020), Season 1, Episode 3. Dir. Gerard McMurray. CBS, first aired: 11 April 2019.
Watch the episode trailer here.
Originally created by Rod Serling in 1959, The Twilight Zone is a television franchise that explores unusual or disturbing events through a range of genres including science fiction, fantasy, dystopia, black comedy and horror. Famously, characters are said to enter “the Twilight Zone” as they experience strange events.
The most recent revival of the show aired between 2019 and 2020 and is narrated by Jordan Peele, who also serves as executive producer. The episode “Replay” explores racism and violence perpetrated by law enforcement. Nina Harrison (Sanaa Lathan) discovers that when she rewinds her family’s old camcorder she has the power to turn back time. She uses the camcorder several times to try and change events involving a racist state trooper who keeps stopping her car and escalating the situation, however, regardless of how many times she tries to change the past she cannot stop tragic events unfolding.
“Demon 79”. Black Mirror (2011-present), Season 6, Episode 5. Dir. Toby Haynes. Netflix, first aired: 15 June 2023.
Watch a clip from the episode featuring the demon Gaap.
Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror is an anthology series that explores social issues and the rise of technology through a variety of genres including science-fiction, dystopia and horror.
The season 6 episode “Demon 79” is set in the English town Tipley in 1979 and follows the impact of the racist campaigns and anti-immigration politics of both the Conservative Party and National Front. Nida Huq (Anjana Vasan) is a sales assistant at the local department store who experiences racism and microaggressions at her workplace while the fascist National Front symbol is painted on the door of her flat. However, Huq manages to release the demon Gaap (Paapa Essiedu) who takes the form of a Black punk musician Bobby Farrell of Boney M and then encourages Huq to make her own human sacrifices. In 2024, this episode won the BAFTA for Best Writing: Drama.
TELEVISION SERIES
**The Cosby Show. Created by Bill Cosby, Michael J. Leeson, Ed. Weinberger. NBC, 1984-1992.
and
**A Different World. Created by Bill Cosby. NBC, 1987-1993.
**While the Cosby Show and its spin-off, A Different World, were points of debate amid African Americans due to their failure to acknowledge the ways intersectional oppression made Black success exponentially difficult in the US, they remained a highly influential series. However, when over 60 women came forth in 2014 charging Cosby with aggravated sexual assault and child abuse, the series' came under renewed investigation and criticism. As such, while we recognize the importance of these series, instead of providing trailers, we provide an overview of the Cosby Show sitcom, its impact, and Cosby's crimes.
Watch the Infamous Scene That Took the Cosby Show Off the Air.
Desmond’s. Created by Trix Worrell. Channel 4, 1989-1994.
Watch the full episode of Season 1, Episode 1 here.
Created and co-written by Saint Lucian-born British writer Trix Worrell, Desmond’s is a British sitcom that aired from 1989-1993. The show shares its location of Peckham, London with the earlier BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, but Desmond’s features a predominantly Black British Guyanese cast. Norman Beaton stars as Desmond Ambrose, a barber whose shop is the main meeting point for locals. In 1992, Desmond’s won the British Comedy Award for Best C4 Sitcom. Later, at the 1994 Royal Television Society Programme Awards, the show was awarded the Team Award while Beaton won the Best Comedy Performer Award for his role as Desmond Ambrose. To date, the series is Channel 4's longest running sitcom in terms of the total number of episodes produced, with 71 episodes.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Created by Andy Borowitz and Susan Borowitz. NBC, 1990-1996.
Watch the reunion trailer here.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American sitcom that stars Will Smith as a fictionalised version of himself. Smith is a teenager who is born and raised in West Philadelphia by his single mother, but who is sent to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle Bel-Air, Los Angeles. The show explores the different lives of poor and wealthy Black families in America, as well as racism experienced by all Black Americans such as police profiling. This is distilled through Smith’s character who experiences the effects of cultural and social mobility and how this world of affluence changes his own Black identity. The show also capitalised on the growing popularity of hip-hop and featured several Black guest stars including Naomi Campbell, Queen Latifah, Chris Rock, Heavy D and Oprah. In 2022, a reboot series Bel-Air was launched which explores similar class and racial issues facing contemporary Black Americans.
Everybody Hates Chris. Created by Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi. UPN and The CW, 2005-2009.
Watch the 'Meet the Family' trailer here.
Created by Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi, Everybody Hates Chris is a semi-autobiographical American sitcom loosely based on Rock’s experience as a teenager growing up in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The show takes place in the 1980s and stars Tyler James Williams as the teenage Chris Rock, Terry Crews as his father and Tichina Arnold as his mother. In 2006, Everybody Hates Chris was awarded the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Small Island. Directed by John Alexander. BBC, 2009.
Small Island is a two-part BBC drama series adapted from Andrea Levy’s 2004 novel of the same name. Naomie Harris and Ruth Wilson star as Hortense Roberts, a white, working-class girl from Yorkshire, and Queenie Bligh, a young Jamaican girl who has moved to England to escape economic hardship. The series follows their experiences, dreams and struggles in London and Jamaica during the Second World War and explores the diaspora of Jamaican immigrants in this period. Harris won a Royal Television Society Programme Award for Best Actress in 2010, and the series was also awarded an International Emmy for best TV movie/Mini-series.
Top Boy. Created by Ronan Bennett. Channel 4 and Netflix, 2011-2023.
Top Boy is a British drama thriller set on the fictional estate of Summerhouse in Hackney, London. It explores drug dealing, gang violence and poverty in London, and focuses on two drug dealers Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson). Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson were among the many UK rappers cast in the series, and the soundtrack also features songs from British grime, hip-hop and R&B artists including Ghostpoet, AJ Tracey, Central Cee and J Hus. The first two seasons aired on Channel Four, but when Channel Four decided to drop the show it was revived by Netflix following interest and support from Canadian rapper Drake. Top Boy has been met with critical acclaim and the show has won several BAFTAs including Best Drama Series, Best Scripted Casting and Best Supporting Actress for Jasmine Jobson.
American Horror Story: Coven. Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. FX, 2013-14.
Watch a clip of the episode featuring Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau.
American Horror Story: Coven is the third season of the horror anthology series American Horror Story created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The series is set in 2013 New Orleans and follows a coven of witches that trace their roots back to the Salem witch trials. Angela Bassett also stars as a fictional version of Marie Laveau, a famous Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo in the 19th century, and the role marks Bassett’s American Horror Story debut. A key theme of this season is oppression, and the episodes explore racism and the oppression of minority groups.
Black-ish. Created by Kenya Barris. ABC, 2014-2022.
Watch the Season 1 trailer here.
Created by Kenya Barris, Black-ish is an American sitcom that aired on ABC for eight seasons. The show focuses on the Johnson family, an upper class, well-off Black family who try to reconcile their desire to stay living in a wealthy, white suburb with also wanting to also celebrate their Black identity. Black-ish received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Outstanding Comedy series, and Tracee Ellis Ross, who plays the mother in the family, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy for her role as Rainbow “Bow”.
How to Get Away with Murder. Created by Peter Nowalk. ABC, 2014-2020.
Created by Peter Nowalk and produced by Shonda Rhimes, How to Get Away with Murder is an American legal drama and thriller. The show follows Annalise Keating, played by Viola Davis, who is a defense attorney and law professor at Middleton University in Philadelphia. Keating chooses five of her law students to intern at her law firm, and each season they become entangled in murder, directly or indirectly, and have to use their legal knowledge to cover up their crimes. Davis has been highly praised for her performance as Keating, and among her many accolades and awards she became the first Black woman to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Ghost Brothers. Produced by Pilgrim Media Group in association with Crybaby Media. Destination America TLC, 2016-2017.
The 2010s was a period that saw paranormal television shows reach the peak of their popularity, and among the many shows produced in this period, Ghost Brothers offered a fresh perspective on the traditional ghost-hunting format: the hosts were an all African-American group of ghost hunters whose investigations questioned “Are ghosts for real? And why is everybody white?”
The Ghost Brothers team consists of Dalen Spratt, Juwan Mass and Marcus Harvey who operate out of their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia with pre-investigation discussions often taking place in Harvey’s barber shop before they set out to explore haunted locations and local legends across America. The first episode, for example, sees the trio travel to Louisiana to investigate the Magnolia Plantation, where they explore the histories of the plantation's white overseers but also former slaves such as conjurer Aunt Agnes. To date there have been two spin off series, Ghost Brothers: Haunted Houseguests which aired in 2019 and Ghost Brothers: Lights Out (2021-present).
Insecure. Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore. HBO, 2016-2021.
Insecure is an American comedy drama series created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore and is partly based on Rae’s web series Awkward Black Girl released on YouTube in 2011. Rae stars as Issa who, along with her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji), is attempting to navigate life after University. The show explores, through humour, the awkward experiences facing modern day American women as well as examining contemporary racial and societal issues. The series has been met with critical acclaim and has received many accolades including three Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy for Rae’s performance, and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Oriji’s role as Molly.
Underground. Created by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski. WGN America, 2016-2017.
Created by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, Underground is an American period drama set in Antebellum Georgia that explores the Underground Railroad, an organised network of secret routes and safe houses set up by abolitionists to help people escape slavery. Jurnee Smollett stars alongside Aldis Hodge as part of the Macon 7, a group of slaves who attempt to gain freedom from the Macon plantation.
Although the show was met with high praise, it was cancelled after two seasons, leading to speculation that the subject matter of Underground was the reason for its cancellation. John Legend directly blamed media conglomerate Sinclair and their “far-right agenda” for the show’s cancellation, and further lamented that “in this particular moment in history, there is an urgent need to tell the powerful story of the Underground Railroad. Even today–in the 21st century–we rely on a sort of underground network of individuals and organizations willing to put themselves at risk to help those who are not yet seen as equals in the eyes of the United States government.” (Deadline).
Dear White People. Created by Justin Simien. Netflix, 2017-2021.
Dear White People is an American comedy drama created by Justin Simien and based on his earlier 2014 film of the same name. The show follows several Black college students attending Winchester University, a predominantly white fictional Ivy League institution, and explores how they navigate social issues, racism and other forms of discrimination. Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, DeRon Horton, and Antoinette Robertson star in the series, and typically each episode focuses on one particular character. On its initial release, Dear White People faced accusations that it was racist towards white people and received calls to boycott the series and Netflix. However, Simien rejected claims of racism, and the show has since been met with critical acclaim.
Watchmen. Created by Damon Lindelof. HBO, 2019.
Watchmen is a 2019 limited series superhero drama created as a sequel to the 1986 DC Comics series of the same name. The narrative takes place in present day Tulsa, Oklahoma, 34 years after the events in the comics. Merging superhero and science fiction elements with real events from history, the show follows racist violence perpetrated by a white supremacist group called the Seventh Kavalry while also shining a light on the historical Tulsa race massacre in 1921. The show received critical acclaim, and DeNeen Brown credited Watchmen as acting as a “catalyst” that helped the 1921 Tulsa massacre gain more attention in the lead up to the centennial of the riot. Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen are among the show’s ensemble cast, and in 2020 the series received the most Emmy awards for a show with 11 awards including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for King and Abdul-Mateen respectively.
Pose. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals. FX, 2018-2021.
New York’s ballroom scene in the 1980s and 1990s is the setting of Pose, an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals. The ballroom scene is an underground LGBTQ subculture in African-American and Latino communities, and over three seasons the show explores some of the struggles facing this community including homophobia, transphobia, racism and the HIV AIDS crisis. The show’s ensemble cast includes cisgender actors Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter and Dyllón Burnside alongside transgender actors Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Indya Moore and Angelica Ross, and the series' production team have claimed that Pose marks the largest transgender cast in a scripted series to date. Upon its release, the show received critical acclaim and in 2019 Billy Porter won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first openly gay Black man to be nominated for and win an Emmy in the lead actor category.
When They See Us. Created by Ava DuVernay. Netflix, 2019.
When They See Us is a four-part limited drama series that centres on the events of the 1989 Central Park jogger case and the five Black and Latino teenagers–later known as “the Central Park Five” –who were falsely accused of rape and murder. All of boys were convicted, but while Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana were sentenced to maximum terms for juveniles, Korey Wise was the only one sentenced to the adult prison system, and served 14 years incarcerated until all five were exonerated in 2022. The miniseries was created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay with input from the five men now known as the Exonerated Five, and follows the impact of the prosecution, conviction and incarceration upon the men and their families.
When They See Us was met with critical acclaim upon its release, and received several accolades including winning the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Limited Series. Jharrel Jerome, who was the only actor to play the teenage and adult version of one of the five, also won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. After its release, a companion special “Oprah Winfrey Presents When They See Us Now” aired featuring interviews with the cast, crew and the Exonerated Five.
Lovecraft Country. Developed by Misha Green. HBO, 2020.
Developed by Misha Green from Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel of the same name, Lovecraft Country is an American horror series that reimagines Lovecraftian horrors through the racist monsters and terrors of 1950s America. Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors star as Atticus "Tic" Freeman, an African American Korean War veteran recently returned back home in Chicago, and Letitia "Leti" Lewis, Tic’s friend who joins him on a road trip to uncover the mystery of his missing father and his family legacy in Ardham, Massachusetts. Lovecraftian monsters are woven into a narrative that also examines sundown towns, white supremacist groups and the 1921 Tulsa massacre. While the show received critical praise and several accolades, including the Critics' Choice Super Awards for Best Horror Series, the show was cancelled after its first season. In response, Green released her ideas and concepts for a second season titled Lovecraft Country: Supremacy.
Them (Season 1). Created by Little Marvin. Amazon Prime Video, 2021.
When the first season of Them (later titled Them: Covenant) premiered in 2021, it polarised critics and divided audiences. This American horror series follows a Black family as they move from North Carolina to an all-white suburban neighbourhood in East Compton in 1953, during the era known as the Second Great Migration. Soon, their new home becomes the epicentre for supernatural evil and real world racism. While some criticised the show for being “exploitative” and “Black torture porn”, arguing that unnecessary graphic violence undermining social commentary, Deborah Ayorinde and Ashley Thomas’s performances have been met with praise. A second season titled Them: The Scare followed in 2024, this time set in 1991 but similarly merging supernatural horror with real-world racism.
The Underground Railroad. Created by Barry Jenkins. Amazon Prime, 2021.
The Underground Railroad is a historical drama miniseries that adapts Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novel of the same name. The show employs magical realism to depict the historical Underground Railroad, which was a network of secret routes and safehouses, as an actual railroad that helped people escape slavery and gain freedom. Thuso Mbedu stars as Cora Randall, an enslaved woman on the run after escaping from Georgia and hoping to evade slave catchers with fellow runaway Caesar Garner (Aaron Pierre). Upon its release The Underground Railroad met critical acclaim and received several accolades including the Golden Globe Award for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film and the BAFTA for Best International Programme.
Yasuke. Created by LeSean Thomas. Netflix, 2021.
Created by LeSean Thomas and animated by Japanese animation studio MAPPA, Yasuke is an original net animation or web series loosely based on the historical figure Yasuke. Also known as the “Black Samurai”, Yasuke was an African warrior who served under Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga in 16th century Japan. This is an historical science fiction fantasy series that reimagines feudal Japan and creates an alternate reality where magic is real. A soundtrack album created by Flying Lotus was released to accompany the series in 2021, and features appearances from American musicians and rappers Thundercat, Denzel Curry, and Niki Randa. The series was nominated for Outstanding Animated Series at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards.
Zero. Created by Menotti. Netflix, 2021.
Zero is an Italian superhero television series that follows Omar/Zero (Giuseppe Dave Seke), a second generation boy of Senegalese descent who lives in a public housing estate in Milan. Omar’s shyness and feelings of being invisible soon transform into a superpower as he finds he is able to actually turn himself invisible, but only at times where he experiences heightened emotions. Omar’s new superpower also emerges as developers want to tear down his home and others in his neighbourhood, and the show explores racial and social issues facing Omar and his community as their homes are threatened.
Dreaming Whilst Black. Directed by Koby Adam, Joelle Mae David & Sebastian Thiel. BBC, 2021-present.
Dreaming Whilst Black (or Dreaming Whilst B\@*k) is a British comedy series written by and starring Adjani Salmon. The series focuses on Kwabena (Salmon), an aspiring filmmaker trying to navigate the gig economy whilst living with his cousin Maurice (Demmy Ladipo) and his cousin’s pregnant wife, Funmi (Rachel Adedeji). The series has been critically praised for its humorous and satirical perspective on diversity within creative industries, health inequality and discrimination, while it has received several accolades including nominations at the Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards and BAFTAs. In 2024 a second season was commissioned.
Interview with the Vampire. Developed by Rolin Jones. AMC, 2022-present.
Interview with the Vampire is an American Gothic horror television series that adapts Ann Rice’s book series The Vampire Chronicles. Sam Reid stars as the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt and Jacob Anderson stars as Louis de Pointe du Lac, who is turned by Lestat. The series explores race, abuse and queer themes present in Rice’s books, but also makes significant changes to the source material including changing Louis from a white plantation owner in the 18th century to a mixed-race Creole pimp working in early 20th century New Orleans. The series has been widely praised with Indiewire naming Interview with the Vampire one of the most essential LGBTQ TV shows of the 21st century. In 2024 the series won Best TV Drama, Best LGBTQ TV Show and Best Genre TV Show at the Dorian awards and the series has also received nominations at the Black Reel Awards, the Critics' Choice Television Awards and the GLAAD Media Awards.
Murder Is Easy. Directed by Meenu Gaur. BBC, 2023.
Written by Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and directed by Meenu Gaur, the 2023 BBC miniseries Murder is Easy is the most recent adaptation of Agatha Christie’s detective novel of the same name first published in 1939. This two-part series stars David Jonsson as Luke Fitzwilliam who travels to the village of Wychwood-Under-Ashe to uncover the identity of a murderer plaguing the village. In Christie’s novel, Fitzwilliam is a retired police officer, but in this adaptation revises his character and instead Fitzwilliam is a Nigerian attaché, making Jonsson the first Black actor to portray the lead detective in an Agatha Christie adaptation.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Created by Shonda Rhimes. Netflix, 2023.
Following the popularity and success of Netflix's historical romance series Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story was created as a prequel series that focuses on Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and presents an alternate history of her reign in late 18th century Britain. In Bridgerton’s alternate history of regency Britain, George III establishes racial equality and also grants aristocratic titles to many people of African descent because his own wife, Queen Charlotte, has African heritage. This prequel series was created by, written by, and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. The older Queen Charlotte is played by Golda Rosheuvel, and India Amarteifio takes the role of the younger queen.
Upon its release, Queen Charlotte was met with critical praise and received several accolades including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Period and/or Character Hairstyling and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series. The show is “fiction inspired by fact”, and while its racial diversity has sparked some backlash, Judy Berman highlights the relevance of the show to our own present day: “Rhimes’ reimagined 18th century England has much in common with the contemporary U.S. It’s a multicultural society, but one that is in the midst of a painful transformation” (Time).
The Other Black Girl. Developed by Zakiya Dalila Harris and Rashida Jones. Hulu, 2023.
Adapted from Zakiya Dalila Harris’s 2021 novel of the same name, The Other Black Girl is an American comedy drama and thriller. The show focuses on Nella Rogers (Sinclair Daniel), an editorial assistant at Wagner Books. Rogers is the only Black girl working at the company until Hazel-May McCall (Ashleigh Murray) is hired, and it soon becomes evident that there is something strange about the history of Wagner Books. Through these women and the unfolding mystery of their corporate employer, the series explores racism, sexism and microaggressions Black women experience in the corporate world. The show received critical praise for its blending of comedy and horror elements, and its fresh perspective on workplace struggles by spotlighting the struggles of Black women.
Doctor Who. BBC. The fifteenth Doctor: 2023-2025.
Watch the trailer for Season 14, the first season to star Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor.
The science fiction television series Doctor Who is a popular British institution. Since it first aired on the BBC in 1963, Britain has watched the time traveling adventures of the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being known as a Time Lord, and his human companion as they fight to save humanity from oppression and alien threats. Over the years, transitions between actors playing the Doctor have been written into the show through the concept of regeneration, where a new bodily incarnation (or new actor) of the Doctor is revealed. In 2023, Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa took up the prized mantle, becoming the fifteenth Doctor and the first Black actor–as well as the first openly queer actor–to assume the role.
While Gatwa’s casting was met with some racist backlash, Gatwa responded: “I wouldn’t be the only Black lead that’s taken over a sci-fi franchise that would have received that sort of treatment. Unfortunately, those are voices that exist in sci-fi fandoms—but they’re not the only voices…I just remember feeling a lot of warmth and love, being embraced into a big nerd family.” (Pink News).
Domino Day. Created by Lauren Sequeira. BBC, 2024.
Domino Day is a British fantasy television series commissioned by the BBC and set and shot in Manchester, UK. The show follows Domino (Siena Kelly), a powerful but solitary witch who discovers she is a Lamia–a witch who needs to feed off of the energy of others. In Manchester, she meets a coven of witches, and the show explores different traditions of magic including African witchcraft and voodoo as well as exploring aspects of colonialism and racial oppression. Upon its release the show was met with critical praise.
Supacell. Created by Rapman. Netflix, 2024.
Created and written by Rapman, Supacell is a British superhero television series set in modern-day South London. The show follows a group of five Black people who all share a family history of sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that disproportionately affects Black and African communities. Unexpectedly, this group all develop superpowers, which leads to them being pursued by a secret organisation that wants to control them. Supacell explores themes such as poverty, knife crime, racism and racial profiling and also helped to raise awareness of sickle cell disease. The show has been met with critical praise particularly in its fresh perspective on the very crowded superhero genre, and it has received several accolades and awards.
Queenie. Created by Candice Carty-Williams. Channel 4, 2024-present.
Based on Candice Carty-Williams’s 2019 novel of the same name, Queenie is a British television drama that follows Queenie Jenkins (Dionne Brown), a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in South London. Like the book, the series explores Black womanhood and Black British life through Queenie who finds herself in the middle of two cultures she belongs to, British and Jamaican, but not quite fitting into either.
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