The Golden Globes airs tonight and tv shows starring Black women are on my mind. Here’s a list of the tv shows I enjoyed in 2016 and hope to see more of in 2017.
Insecure
Insecure stars Issa Rae, the star of the Youtube series Awkward Black Girl. The show follows Issa and her best friend Molly played by Yvonne Orji. The pair of besties struggle to balance dating and career. Their hilarious antics remind me of my good girlfriends and much of what we go through on a regular basis. If you’re looking for something that centers on Black millennial women (+ upper/middle class), then by all means, check out the first episode below.
Being Mary Jane
I didn’t start to watch Being Mary Jane until my little sister cosigned it. My older sister cosigned it first, but I’m not going to lie. I kinda expected her to like a show starring Gabrielle Union as a career woman breaking the (racialized) glass ceiling. I didn’t want to watch a show about a single Black woman chasing love in all the wrong places because I’m tired of sending that message to Black women.
I’m happy to say that this is not that show. This is a show about a woman who refuses to compromise in her dating life or her career. She is going to go after it all and yes it’s hard, but that doesn’t mean you choose better. Check out the trailer.
Chewing Gum
My best friend put me on to Chewing Gum, a British show that stars Michaela Coel, a recent BAFTA award winner. In the show, Coel plays Tracey, a religious teen whose African mother instills in her daughters the tenets of evangelism and sexual purity. Tracey, sexually frustrated and hopelessly awkward, goes on a quest to get to know what’s good (and bad) about getting it on. If you’re looking for a comedy and Insecure just isn’t awkward enough for you, watch the trailer for Season 2 below.
How to Get Away With Murder
I have loved How to Get Away with Murder since Annalise Keating first waltzed into her law classroom as an intimidating professor. Played by Viola Davis, Annalise embodies a level of bad bitch typically not seen on television, let alone with a Black woman character. Viola Davis does not disappoint, however, the show revolves around several characters including Michaela Pratt played by Aja Naomi King.
If you’re into murder mysteries and enjoy watching people get read for filth, Annalise and her team of law students do not disappoint. You’ve got a few seasons to catch up on, so don’t hesitate.
Scandal
This wouldn’t be a list about Black women on television if it didn’t include Scandal starring Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope. Admittedly, I don’t get as excited about this show as I used to. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think you should give it a watch.
Olivia Pope is the ‘fixer,’ whose team of badass political consultants keeps Washington D.C. on fleek. The twist here is that Olivia has a relationship with the married Republican president of the U.S. If you like love stories and political intrigue, check out the season 6 trailer below. Scandal returns to TV on January 19th on ABC.
>> Check out the 2018 TV Shows list here <<
