Black Tv Bethonie Butler by Bethonie Butler 9780762481521, 0762481528 instant download after payment.

Written by veteran TV reporter Bethonie Butler, Black TV tells the stories behind the pioneering series that led to this moment, celebrating the laughs, the drama, & the performances we’ve loved over the last 50 years. Beginning with Julia, the groundbreaking sitcom that made Diahann Carroll the first Black woman to lead a prime-time network series as something other than a servant, she explores the 60s & 70s as an era of unprecedented representation, with shows like Soul Train, Roots, & The Jeffersons. She unpacks the increasingly nuanced comedies of the 1980s from 227 to A Different World, & how they paved the way for the ’90s Black-sitcom boom that gave us The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air & Living Single. 

Butler also looks at the visionary comedians—from Flip Wilson to the Wayans siblings to Dave Chappelle—& connects all these achievements to the latest breakthroughs in television with showrunners like Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, & Quinta Brunson leading the charge. With photographs reminding readers of memorable moments & scenes, Butler revisits breakout performances & important guest appearances, delivering some overdue accolades along the way. So, put on your Hillman sweatshirt, make some popcorn, & get ready for a dyn-o-mite retrospective of the most groundbreaking & entertaining shows in TV history.