Black TV Sitcoms
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Black Sitcoms
The History Of Black TV Sitcoms

So, what are black sitcoms? A television situation comedy with a cast that is comprised of mainly black actors and/or comedians best describes what a black TV sitcom is. As a matter of fact, many of the most successful sitcoms on TV were the black sitcoms that aired during the 70's and 80's. Popular black sitcoms like Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons received rave reviews continued to be successful for many years after their pilots were aired on television. In 1972, during Sanford and Son's premier, ads were taken out stating that Red Foxx, the star of Sanford and Son, was NBC's answer to All in the Family's, Archie Bunker.

Speaking of All in the Family, one of televisions most successful sitcoms of all time had one of TV's most successful spin-offs of all time, a black television sitcom called The Jeffersons. The Jefferson's would end up being the longest running black sitcom in television history, lasting for 11 years. Norman Lear who adapted Sanford and Son as well as All in the Family from BBC TV shows also created the characters of George and Louise Jefferson to be Archie Bunker's neighbours in All in the Family. But when George Jefferson's dry cleaning business became more successful they moved to a posh Manhattan apartment which is how The Jefferson's began. This black sitcom revolved around the home life and their relationships with the Jefferson's live-in housekeeper and neighbors.

The black sitcom Sanford and Son gained popularity very quickly among all races of people as well as receiving fantastic reviews. In the 70's, Sanford and Son was rated in the top 10 television shows for four seasons. The sarcastic Fred Sanford (Red Foxx), who lived with his son Lamont, made a living selling junk. Besides selling junk, Fred was always talking friends and family into one money making scheme after another which never failed to backfire on him. It was always up to his son Lamont to help him pick up the pieces or bail him out of jail. Sanford and Son ran for 6 fantastic seasons.

With superior television sitcoms like The Cosby Show premiering in 1984, the success of black sitcoms would continued to progress well into the 80's and the 90's. During the 80's, The Cosby Show was called "televisions greatest show" by TV Guide and it was solely responsible for bringing sitcoms back to the NBC network. The Cosby Show along with All in the Family are the only American television shows that have been rated #1 in the Nielsen Ratings for 5 consecutive years. Only two other black sitcoms, The Jeffersons and Family Matters have had a longer run on TV.

The Cosby Show dealt with the day-to-day living of the Huxtable's, a well-to-do African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York. Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) a doctor and his wife Clair (Phylicia Rashad) a lawyer gave us tons of laughs as they raised their 5 children in a rather unique way - with LOVE!. The Cosby Show used comedy to deal with serious issues and subjects as you might expect with funny man Bill Cosby controlling the TV shows content. Bill Cosby has always used his real life experiences in his comedy. It wasn't any different with this fantastic black sitcom.

These are just a sample of the many black sitcoms that became success stories over the years. Black television sitcoms were very helpful in bring understanding about African-American culture to the other races. They helped bring forth the reality of the issues that African Americans faced to the forefront in a time when there was a great deal of distrust among the races. They helped people see that we are the same underneath, with many of the same issues and problems. as everyone else and have the same ups and downs in life as well. We can only hope that the television networks continue to produce such high quality black TV sitcoms now and in the future!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Neil Gerstein is an expert author who writes about multiple topics. You can read some of his articles here:
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