{"id":288,"date":"2016-05-11T06:31:33","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T06:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/?p=288"},"modified":"2022-07-24T17:54:32","modified_gmt":"2022-07-24T17:54:32","slug":"why-starz-is-good-for-black-folks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/2016\/05\/11\/why-starz-is-good-for-black-folks\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Starz is good for Black folks…"},"content":{"rendered":"
Let\u2019s just face it; Networks have a hard time with African-American programming. \u00a0There is a thin line between comedy and shucking-and-jiving. The line becomes even thinner between drama and gospel stage plays. Black folks also love to live in the past. For some reason, a generation of people who were barely alive is infatuated with A Different World<\/em>. Modern-day African-American artists are obsessed with Martin<\/em> themes, especially those damn shapes from the main title sequence. And of course, since the Obamas got into the White House, black folks just can\u2019t let go of The Cosby Show<\/em>. (Well, many are due to other unrelated Bill Cosby factors that I shall not name\u2026). With that being said, Networks and Showrunners get stuck in a cycle of failing nostalgia because face it, it\u2019s 2016 and multi-camera comedies with soft music during the emotional climaxes just aren\u2019t going to cut it. Let it go.<\/div>\n
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So who the hell gave Starz an effing clue?!? Give that person an award and allow them to speak through the cue music. We\u2019d all love to believe that the genius is Showrunner 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) and Creator Courtney Kemp Agboh of the Network\u2019s hit\u00a0Power<\/em>. And I\u2019m sure to some extent it is. 50 lived(s) a relatable life as seen in\u00a0Get Rich or Die Tryin<\/em>. We were all pretty shocked by his acting skills. Many a person has tried to \u201cplay\u201d themselves and ended up \u201cplaying\u201d their acting career. He\u2019s obviously got the mind of a mogul with his music, marketing deals, and clothing lines. So, why not try his hand in TV?<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not fooled by the name and the fame of 50 Cents\u2019\u00a0Power<\/em> (pun intended).\u00a0 Someone at the Network had to give this show, and diverse audiences, a chance. That\u2019s all it\u2019s about. Major Networks don\u2019t have much diverse programming because since the \u201990s diverse programming hasn\u2019t proven successful. Networks aren\u2019t putting their money upon a chance. But Starz did. And I want to know who took that chance. He or she is the real MVP. The Network Executive along with the Creators and Producers built a show filled with drama, action, plot twists, and likable characters without the hooting and hollering of fanning church women and preachy themes found in many a Tyler Perry drama\u2026dramedy\u2026parody\u2026Perrady (I feel like his content is in its own lane. A lane I\u2019ll never drive in but still\u2026)<\/p>\n

Because of\u00a0Power\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0success, the Network became open to more programming for people of color. One of my fave shows at the moment (blog post to come) is\u00a0Survivor\u2019s Remorse<\/em>. And yes, another big name got another Starz show in the door and on the docket: Lebron James and business partner Maverick Carter. I can\u2019t think of anything in his past that proves he can make a great show with the exception of the simple fact that he can afford to do it.\u00a0 Oh, yeah, and it\u2019s based loosely on his life. Though, there isn\u2019t much playing of basketball in the show. Hmmm\u2026<\/p>\n

Anywho, this show is exactly what black audiences have been waiting on: comedy, family, character, and most of all \u201ca lack of lame\u201d (which we find in a lot of black comedies that can\u2019t quite be as comical as they want because of Network demands. White comedy is not Black comedy. You don\u2019t have to like or understand it but you must know it\u2019s a fact.) Survivor\u2019s Remorse<\/em>\u00a0is cute but not annoying. And it\u2019s funny without feeling like you\u2019re watching a group of black-faced caricatures eating watermelon under a cool shade tree. (Yeah, I said it.)<\/p>\n

Mike O\u2019Malley, Showrunner, sums it up perfectly, \u201cWe have the freedom on a pay-cable network to tell stories where you\u2019re not limited by subject matter, by whether or not it\u2019s dinner-table talk. It\u2019s just the freedom to see what it\u2019s like behind the scenes.\u201d (USA Today, August 2015). Note to Networks, freedom protects the no-lame content zone. Get with it.<\/p>\n

Lebron James has a deal with Warner Bros. to develop TV, film, and online content. 50 Cent has a two-year exclusive TV pack with Starz to develop more shows through G Unit Film & TV. Courtney Kemp Agboh also has her own overall deal with Starz. So it looks like there will be more diverse programming to come. And guess what? I\u2019ll put my trust in Starz. Like All-State, I feel like I\u2019m in good hands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Written by: Shannan E. Johnson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s just face it; Networks have a hard time with African-American programming. There is a thin line between comedy and shucking-and-jiving. The line becomes even thinner between drama and gospel stage plays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,156,147],"tags":[49,50,48,164,165,142,125,187,92,43,185,13,186],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-filmmaking","category-screenwriting","category-the-business","tag-50-cent","tag-courtney-kemp","tag-curtis-jackson","tag-entertainment-business","tag-entertainment-industry","tag-hollywood","tag-lebron-james","tag-power","tag-screenwriting","tag-starz","tag-survivors-remorse","tag-the-professional-pen","tag-tyler-perry","entry"],"acf":{"featured_image":{"ID":615,"id":615,"title":"Starz logo","filename":"Starz-logo.jpeg","filesize":4029,"url":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/2016\/05\/11\/why-starz-is-good-for-black-folks\/starz-logo\/","alt":"Starz Logo","author":"2","description":"","caption":"","name":"starz-logo","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":288,"date":"2022-07-24 17:54:13","modified":"2022-07-24 17:54:19","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":225,"height":225,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo.jpeg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo.jpeg","medium_large-width":225,"medium_large-height":225,"large":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo.jpeg","large-width":225,"large-height":225,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo.jpeg","1536x1536-width":225,"1536x1536-height":225,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo.jpeg","2048x2048-width":225,"2048x2048-height":225,"post-thumbnail":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Starz-logo.jpeg","post-thumbnail-width":225,"post-thumbnail-height":225}},"show_featured_content":true,"post_image":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":617,"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions\/617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.orgosco.com\/theprofessionalpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}