It’ll be another couple of weeks before we know for sure which of the current UPN and WB shows will return next fall on merged mini-network The CW, but as PopWatch predicted in March, most of UPN’s shows with predominantly African-American casts (and audiences) are likely to fall by the wayside. So says San Francisco Chronicle TV columnist Tim Goodman, who lists the likely survivors in his blog and his column. Exceptions will probably include the critically acclaimed Everybody Loves Chris and Girlfriends, the shows with the most chance to attract racially diverse audiences. Diversity is the key word, he says, which is why shows with ethnically diverse casts (like the low-rated Veronica Mars) are most likely to make the cut. (By the same logic, a show like Reba may get axed as well; CW apparently does not stand for Country & Western.) In other words, Goodman says, niche appeal is out, appeal to the broadest possible audience is in. That sounds nice, but I bet it’ll please neither African-American audiences, who will see some of their favorite UPN shows vanish (Eve, One on One, Half and Half), nor the family audiences who watch Everwood (still in peril) and Reba on the WB.
But hey, you’ll still be able to watch WWE wrestling, Beauty and the Geek, and America’s Next Top Model, as well as culty faves like Gilmore Girls (but without the folks who created it) and Smallville. Hot gals and muscular guys, now there’s something for everyone.
Girlfriends is seriously and has always been one of the most underrated tv shows on television. The girls are always giving very emotional and serious acting performances. I dont know why the people at EW dont give a hoots about girlfriend, its one of the most hyped about shows in the African American community, which clearly EW doesnt give a rats butt about. But I along with many african american will be desperately destraught if girlfriends doesnt make the leep to the CW. I mean girlfriends is one of UPN’s top rated shows, shame on them for sacrificing this show simply because it is a predominately african american cast..
Tracee Eliss Ross is a better actress a million times over then Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, and any of the other bimbo female actors out there who get the undeserved credit.
LONG LIVE GIRLFRIENDS!!!!!!
Black or not UPN’s shows suuuuucked except for Veronica Mars and Everybody Hates Chris.
Long live Smallville!
Sorry for the black shows, but…
What’s “Gilmore Girls” without Amy Sherman-Palladino?!!?!?!?!?!?!?
Well, starting watching now, ladies and gents, while another great show goes down the drain.
(sigh)
I’m certainly not advocating cancelling black shows, but there ARE other channels those shows can go–BET or that new digital cable channel, TVO. Also, I have watched some of these shows and to be honest, they’re just the same old tripe I see on other channels, only with black people. But what I can’t believe, is that Everwood would be cancelled. That show is brilliant. It needs to survive. And it does have a black guy on it, if that helps.
We have to stop looking at this as a black issue and look at as a quality issue. “Everybody Hates Chris” is very good. The rest of the sitcoms on UPN — including “Girlfriends” — are actually painful to watch. These shows are not FUNNY — and that’s a big problem when you’re billed as a comedy. And calling “Gilmore Girls” a culty show is even funnier — isn’t it the #1 show on the WB? Some cult.
The garbage should be cancelled I for one couldn’t be happier
Bye Bye Girlfriends The Parkers and the other so called Black television programs. Everyone love’s Chris is the only true comedy on the network. Good damn riddons
The show is called everyone hates Chris, but I love the show so that what I say when refering to the show.
smallville
mondays
8pm she said, he said (nick lachey/lindsay sloane)
8:30pm flirt (wayne brady at a women´s mag)
9pm girlfriends
9:30 the game (girlfriends spin off)
tuesdays
8pm gilmore girls
9pm palm springs (k.williamson teen mistery drama)
*renew everwood in case palm springs doesnt work
wednesdays
8pm america´s next top model/beauty & the geek/america´s next top model
9pm veronica mars
thursdays
8pm smallville
9pm aquaman
fridays
8pm wwe wrestling
saturdays
8pm movies
sundays
7pm veronica mars encores
8pm everybody hates chris
8:30 aliens in america (singlecamera high school comedy)
9pm supernatural
UPN has sucked ever since Enterprise went off
First, BET stands for Black Embarrassment Television. Second, it’s TV1. Third, it’s not about whether or not black shows have a home on other networks because obviously they don’t, or this wouldn’t be a problem. Two networks fought over “Arrested Development”, no one’s fighting over “Girlfriends”. BET isn’t interested in quality programming. All they want to do is degrade black people and encourage us to be illiterate. TV1 doesn’t have enough money to produce originally scripted shows. The black community deserves to have black shows with black casts. I don’t have a problem with diversity, but white shows are not held to that standard of having to diversify their casts to attract wider audiences. Hollywood needs to wake up and realize that black people (people of color)uh, exist in tv land and deserve quality programming. AND as far as advertisers go, black people do more than eat at McDonalds and buy sneakers and cars.
I said it before and I’ll say it again. UPN’s line up of Black shows started out VERY WEAK but the haters need to shut up because several have gotten increasingly better. For example, Half & Half and Girlfriends. Sure its easy to love Veronica Mars and Chris–they started strong and remains so but don’t Black audiences deserve to see shows that represent their reality AND get the opportunity really grow and develop. EW has given Girlfriends plenty of love over the years. I remember when I read about the show in the magazine a couple of years ago and they called it the Black Sex and the City. Girlfriends is almost at the end of its run anyway…they have run out of good storylines as most sitcoms do. What can you say? The real tragedy is that future Black shows will no longer have a home cuz UPN was the only place willing to give them a chance.
BTW, Whatever happened to Taye Digg’s show?!
I for one couldn’t care less, even though I’m black myself. Besides Everybody Hates Chris, the majority of UPN comedies just aren’t that good. There’s a reason why they’re not too popular, because they suck and all look and sound the same. Well, Girlfriends and Eve are actually ok shows, so they have a good chance to survive, but everything else I highly doubt. In my opinion, The Bernie Mac Show is better than any of them, but Fox mishandled that show so badly, no wonder it might be cancelled soon. I’m glad they decided to reject Chris so UPN would pick it up, because lord knows how bad Fox would’ve butchered that show.
chocolatespirit is right about one thing. BET just sells out black people and cares about little else. The only legitimately good show on the network is Comic View, because it rivals any stand up show on Comedy Central. Otherwise, that network could die for all I care. chocolate also makes another good point. There used to be a time when black sitcoms having an Afrocentric perspective was merely an element. Now, it seems like it’s the only element, with most of UPN’s shows relying too heavily on that than good writing and likeable characters. I still enjoy old episodes of Fresh Prince and Different Strokes, but vomit at UPN drivel like Cuts.
And to doubleh, Kevil Hill got cancelled last season. The pilot was interesting, but the series afterward wasn’t too great (but it did have a conclusion). Still, it was better than crap like Love Inc. and Cuts.
So the deathknell is sounded for the black sitcoms on UPN. Good. Outside of “Everybody hates Chris”, the shows are awful and appeal to the lowest denominator. Girlfriends is a barely passable show. It should have been in an 1 hour drama format. But since it was a black show, sitcom format. Every other show on that day is awful. I am glad they will come to an end. But I am sad because now there will be fewer African-Americans on TV. And yes, BET is a travesty of biblical proportions. It has NEVER lived up to any expections that the black viewing audience had. No original programming, underpaid workers, minstrel type shows; in fact the only person to benefit from BET was the owner. He sold BET to Viacom for a fortune.
Nuff said.