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Netflix& #39;s run of some of the UPN 00s line up made me think of how many Black shows ended bc of the 07 writer& #39;s strike (Girlfriends (on it& #39;s last season but only produced half the eps), Half n Half, All of Us, One on One, some I& #39;m sure I don& #39;t remember...
... and reality/non-scripted pushed to the forefront - so was that the final breaking point of the Black storytelling streak that started in the & #39;90s? Flava of Love started the year before the strike, and that was the beginning (IMO) of the Black reality show era.
... I think there& #39;s a plausible theory here. Lemme dig into this.
I hadn& #39;t really thought of this before beyond non-scripted just being cheaper/easier for producers and networks, but that writer& #39;s strike not only hit the industry heavily so everyone was more risk averse, but killed mad shows already in momentum.
We& #39;ve JUST seen the kind of Black line ups on network TV that existed pre-strike these last several years. The amount of Black led shows was already in decline, especially on the major networks, but yeah... I think the strike was the bullet
Man, WB and UPN used Black viewers to build the networks (as had Fox) and then summarily escorted us out like they& #39;d been slumming it. A mess. Then Fox went for the white men and CW for the suburban teens
https://twitter.com/marsisbored/status/1319042903013052421?s=21">https://twitter.com/marsisbor... https://twitter.com/marsisbored/status/1319042903013052421">https://twitter.com/marsisbor...
https://twitter.com/marsisbored/status/1319042903013052421?s=21">https://twitter.com/marsisbor... https://twitter.com/marsisbored/status/1319042903013052421">https://twitter.com/marsisbor...
EXACTLY! VH1 was MTV& #39;s classic rock channel.
Bravo & A&E were arts and entertainment channels (think more "Inside the Actor& #39;s Studio" and less housewives)
TLC was The Learning Channel
Discovery was BBC-affiliated w/ nature docs instead of Shark Week
https://twitter.com/hessowellspoken/status/1319044591455272963?s=21">https://twitter.com/hessowell... https://twitter.com/hessowellspoken/status/1319044591455272963">https://twitter.com/hessowell...
Bravo & A&E were arts and entertainment channels (think more "Inside the Actor& #39;s Studio" and less housewives)
TLC was The Learning Channel
Discovery was BBC-affiliated w/ nature docs instead of Shark Week
https://twitter.com/hessowellspoken/status/1319044591455272963?s=21">https://twitter.com/hessowell... https://twitter.com/hessowellspoken/status/1319044591455272963">https://twitter.com/hessowell...
Oh lemme be clear, I fully support WHY the strike happened, especially since the media landscape changed. I& #39;d just never stopped to trace that line between dearth of Black scripted programming and the strike.
https://twitter.com/undeadsinatra/status/1319045648897822721?s=21">https://twitter.com/undeadsin... https://twitter.com/undeadsinatra/status/1319045648897822721">https://twitter.com/undeadsin...
https://twitter.com/undeadsinatra/status/1319045648897822721?s=21">https://twitter.com/undeadsin... https://twitter.com/undeadsinatra/status/1319045648897822721">https://twitter.com/undeadsin...
And it& #39;s similar to how labels changed how they signed and backed new artists and releases after taking such a hit from file sharing and digital bootlegging so I get it.
Ok. I have some more research to do re: the convergance of the runaway success of Flava of Love (S1 was Spring 06, S2 Fall 06. There were 7 total spinoffs through 09), the UPN WB merger ( Fall 06), and the strike (07 -08). I& #39;ll circle back to this later...
