Netflix's run of some of the UPN 00s line up made me think of how many Black shows ended bc of the 07 writer's strike (Girlfriends (on it's last season but only produced half the eps), Half n Half, All of Us, One on One, some I'm sure I don'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 '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's a plausible theory here. Lemme dig into this.

I hadn't really thought of this before beyond non-scripted just being cheaper/easier for producers and networks, but that writer's strike not only hit the industry heavily so everyone was more risk averse, but killed mad shows already in momentum.

We'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'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/marsisbored/status/1319042903013052421

EXACTLY! VH1 was MTV's classic rock channel.

Bravo & A&E were arts and entertainment channels (think more "Inside the Actor'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/hessowellspoken/status/1319044591455272963

Oh lemme be clear, I fully support WHY the strike happened, especially since the media landscape changed. I'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/undeadsinatra/status/1319045648897822721

And it'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'll circle back to this later...