Terri J. Vaughn: Black Sitcom Scene Is No Laughing Matter

EXCERPT FROM CLUTCHMAGONLINE.COM -- What do Tichina Arnold, Tasha Smith, Malinda Williams, Regina King, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jasmine Guy all have in common? That’s a pretty straightforward question. Many would reply “they’re all successful African-American actresses” to that. Here’s another one: What other factor bind all these women together? Not as easy a question. Terri J. Vaughn knows the short answer to that, and for good reason. In 2007, Vaughn produced a documentary, Angels Can’t Help But Laugh that brought all of the aforementioned thespians (and more) together to deconstruct and vent over a common problem: the subjugation of black women in Hollywood. As you can tell from the names above, these aren’t tyros in the industry. These are the deacons and elders of the church; their resumes are on point. “We need more opportunities, we need more varieties of things that show our fullness and if the powers-that-be don’t give us the opportunity, then we have to create them ourselves,” Vaughn said about her film. “I know that our community wants to see us in different roles, in different situations. They don’t want to see the same thing and the same ol’ people.” Call her bitter, but she may have a point. In 1990, Fox was floundering in the television sitcom sector before they launched a slew of shows that catered to the African-American demographic. “In Living Color” became steady competition to  “Saturday Night Live” and was groundbreaking with its satiric focus on Black subject matter. “Martin” came along shortly thereafter and was adored in many households and is regularly in many people’s conversation as one the best black sitcoms in the 90’s. Then along came “The Simpsons” and “MADtv“. “Roc” and “Living Single” were also highly regarded shows that were apart of the rising popularity of Fox television in that period. But by 2000, there was just a dash of African-American sitcoms on Fox. In 1995, a year after “In Living Color” was canceled, The WB Television Network was started. The WB, as it was called, crafted most of its first sitcoms (Wayans Brothers, The Parent ‘Hood and Sister, Sister) to target the black audience. Once viewership picked up, “7th Heaven” and “The Steve Harvey Show” and “The Jamie Foxx Show” were added to the network’s slate. Then “Dawson’s Creek” came along and established another identity for TheWB. By 2002, Black sitcoms were nonexistent on the network. CONTINUE READING..