5 Black Shows Netflix Should Have Invested in Instead of ‘Friends’
Written by Jovania Pierre
It took me awhile to understand the cult following behind Friends. My college roommate turned best friend would recite scenes verbatim and I listened to her spew lines, dumbfounded. She convinced me to start the show and I finished ten years of television in a few months. The obsession with the show makes sense: a group of twenty to thirty somethings figuring life out and conveniently living in the same apartment complex is the kind of content millennials are attracted to. It’s relatable enough that we can laugh at ourselves through the show yet it provides us with a space to escape our problems and focus on theirs.
As a fan of the show, I can still admit there are better suited options for Netflix to have invested $100 million. Sure, it has an excellent replay factor and a good amount of quotables. However, there are plenty of other shows we 90’s kids have only had the opportunity to catch on cable reruns.
Here are five beloved Black television shows that could have served as a better use of Netflix’s investment.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The laugh out loud quality of Fresh Prince of Bel- Air is unmatched. For six seasons, the show delivered content that did more than make us laugh. It challenged contemporary television narratives by going as far as highlighting drugs, gun violence and the absent father storyline. Will’s breakdown episode still gets to me no matter how many times I’ve seen it. I’d like to have the option to turn to that episode whenever I want to because sometimes you just need a good cry.
Girlfriends
The group dynamic of Maya, Lynn, Toni and Joan is one we don’t see too often. Girlfriends created a space for Black women to exist as we are without limiting us to a specific mold of how we should look or act. Girlfriends was a source of self-affirmations for Black women that gave us 8 seasons of quality content on sisterhood, Blackness and being yourself. Joan reminding us “I’m Black and I went to therapy” are the type of timeless quotes we need to be able to rewatch at an instant.
The Wayans Bros.
Despite its short run, The Wayans Bros provided consistent laughs in a way that didn’t take itself too seriously. The lightheartedness of the show was refreshing after a day at school. You knew you could count on their antics to give you a good laugh. Singing the theme song with my brother was a signature bonding moment of our childhood and it’d be nice to sink back into those memories with a Wayans Bros. binge watching session.
Living Single
I feel it’s worth mentioning Living Single premiered in 1993 and Friends in 1994. There seems to be an ongoing comparison that minimizes Living Single to the Black version Friends — which is FAR from true. What is true is that it did set the precedent for television programming showing young adults navigating New York City and falling back on their squad through the woes of relationships and careers. Too bad for Netflix though — Hulu picked up the show earlier this year.
Family Matters
Just this morning, I overheard my coworkers giggling because some said, “Did I do that?” Naturally, I chuckled. They were surprised I got the reference. While I still have plenty of 90s movies to catch up on, the same can’t be said for television. Even after 20 years, the references from the show remain prominent. That’s enough reason to give those who’ve only been able to catch reruns on cable the chance to pick it up from season one.
The list could go on and on with Black television gems we were blessed with in the 90s and early 2000s. What others would you add to the list?
Jovania Pierre is a food, drink and culture writer based in New Jersey.
