I miss UPN. The 1990's had great black shows and music

I don't agree with your description of the Cosby show...black is diverse it's not always ghetto, hood, or inner city. Cosby was a black show that showed a different side of black social class.

"The Cosby show was a show about a family that just so happens to be black" whoa whoa whoa. That show was blacker than you think. Just because they had more money doesn't mean they werent black

Black'ish, Atlanta, and Insecure don't hit the same as the throwback shows 😭

Just came to say REST IN PEACE to Thomas “Tommy” Ford, Lamont “Hakeem” Bentley and Yvette “Andell” Wilson

They use black shows to built up there network then basically gentrified

The Huxtables just weren't stereotypical black but they were black

WTF u mean Cosby's were family who just happened to be black? -incorporation of dancing and singing -strong HBCU influence -strong black female co-star who really ran the family -father who took no mess from the children threatening to take him out if unruly -competition between Theo and Cockroach to be on a black dancing tv show -an accident with none other than STEVIE WONDER, giving him another media platform -a spinoff where daughter goes to Hilman -Pam and her friends -jazz music with theme by Grover Washington, Jr. -mentions of travels to Port-au-Prince (look it up on the map if you can't figure it out) -strong black families with black spouses Most black families I knew were more like the Cosbys than Martin and the Fresh Prince. Seriously? Being black does not mean us taking out a horn and blaring it to the world. There are many different forms of expression of a culture. Just because we're not running around acting a fool does not make us any less BLACK. I quit listening after that bullsh*t. -A Boogie Black Man

I hate when people say the Cosby Show wasn't a black show lol. The Cosby's was Black af and spawned another super black show in a Different World. Just because they didn't constantly push being black down your throat, don't mean it wasn't a black show.

One on One, Bernie Mac Show, Sister Sister, and everybody hates chris was my shit.

Shout out to Kelsey Grammar for producing a ton a late 90s and 2000s black shows

As an African, seeing African Americans on TV inspired me alot as well as other Africans. Facing so much struggling in our land gave us hope seeing other black people do amazing things. Love and family was what people wanted to see

They always cancel the shows we love.

BOUNCE TV is trying to recapture a lot of 90s Black Magic.

“In The House”, “Roc”, “Under One Roof” so many great shows back then

Everybody Hates Chris was my show. It doesn't even get reruns anymore smh

They were replaced by ratchet reality shows. Smh

I'm glad to grow up in a time of Black dads that were doctors, young Black people in college, that were rich etc. It mattered. Watching these kids grow up on... whatever this is they watch just hits different.

Moesha, the Parkers, Girlfriends, Martin, Living Single, Fresh Prince define my past tv line ups and my present streaming playlist😁😁😁😁

I object to the idea that the Huxstables weren’t Black people. They were upper middle class Black people which seems to upset Black commentators. I don’t know why. The Huxstables had Black art on the walls of their home for their children to look up to. It was the first show to work MLK into a script credibly. Future Black sitcoms failed at this simple idea. It was the first sitcom to put HBCUs as part of Black life on the air. Hell Dr. Huxstable is wearing a TUSKEGEE sweater in a video! Black characters on television didn’t do that before. Black music of all genres was seriously highlighted on the show. Not one child in that house listened to hard White rock; not even Denise who looked like she should have. The Civil Rights struggle was worked into a script where Theo had a write a paper on the 1963 March On Washington. He came to discover his parents and grandparents were there and they told him the eye witness history of that event. The Huxstable family was down for the struggle. A scene like that has never been replicated to my knowledge. Grandfather Huxstable fought in WW2 and isn’t that an illustration of a black history. The children never brought home a White love interest; so someone taught them Black was beautiful. This show also showed a Black family of different hues without drama as it fought colorism too which is missed by everyone. The Cosby show was very Black but on a more sophisticated level that has to be acknowledged. Black from the Blackness of Claire chewing out Vanessa for going to see the Wretched without permission to going to church to worship and not to bury Chuckles The Clown. The Cosby Show is about Black people being Black people. Period.

Thank God for Netflix picking up most of these great shows to introduce them to a new audience.

They took down the black sitcoms and replaced them with reality television shows like "Love and Hip Hop" and Dramas like "Power" so that black people can feel depressed instead joyful.

This basically answered all our questions on why there’s no longer any black sitcoms for us. So sad 🤦🏾‍♀️

Kenan and Kel was the wayans Bros of Nickelodeon now thats a die of laughter tv show

The 90s and early 00s were truly a golden era for Black television-sooooo many black actresses/actors got the chance to showcase their talents. Truly was a blessing to be alive during that period

Man UPN had the best shows. I miss those days

I'm a white, English guy from Hereford, UK and the death of Lamont Bentley still troubles me. God damn, I love him as Hakeem.

I miss those days. A lot of these shows were actually my favorite as a child.

It always pisses me off when people don't even mention the slew of '80s sitcoms such as "227," "Amen," and "Gimmie a Break!" There were more black sitcoms than just "The Cosby Show" during that time and some even predated "The Cosby Show."

Smart Guy was the shit to, off the intro song alone 😂😂

I get so sick of Tyler Perry’s shows straight trash!

My favorite show of the 90’s was “New York Undercover”

Once 'The CW' took over, the whole channel went to trash!

The Cosby Show was actually a very black show. The music(tons of jazz), the artwork(ellis wilson) the guest stars (Lena Horne, Nancy Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie). Cliff stayed with HBCU sweats. The men even wore kente neckties. They just didn't play into stereotypes. But the show was one of the blackest as far as showing our. culture

Wayne's brothers, Fresh Prince of Bel-air, and Family Matters were my favorite shows growing up.

The Bounce channel is bringing back Everybody Hates Chris starting in October

I've been telling people this. It was obvious what they did to UPN.

Let's not forget that Living Single's concept was stolen to make Friends. Historically our works have been imitated and reimagined in non-Black scenarios and somehow reach more people, become more popular and get more clout even though it's not better than the original

I loved the fact that most of those shows’ plot had absolutely nothing to do with drugs, street life, or race. Sometimes they would have episodes about those things but it wasn’t overly saturated like things are today. They were shows that showed little black kids like me that a normal life was possible if you work hard and that it’s ok to speak properly. My mother was a single-parent in college. These shows helped me visualize what she was working towards and understand why we couldn’t be hood rich.

I remember when all those shows were cancelled. That was the beginning of the end of me watching television.

Viacom ruins everything they touch

Those 90s sitcoms also raised the youth that came up in a household without a genuine family or parents even....

UPN shutting down was the one of the saddest days of my childhood 😔 no kizzy

Back when you had to get a copy of the newspaper to see what was coming on tv!

Essence Atkins hit the nail on the head about how these networks work. Most adults who think outside the box know these things are done by design and keep working because we don't own our own networks like we should. Honestly, I don't think there is any of these shows won't be still running if we had our own.

The wayans bros. Was my shit

Why didn’t you say anything about my wife and kids

This is probably one of the best video essays I've watched on your channel. Very informative video. More videos like this one would be great 😎👍

I miss those days.

Wayans Bros didnt even get a final episode... Smfh

The 1990s-mid 2000s were definitely the golden age of black sitcoms.

It's crazy how most of these shows are on Netflix now lol

I really miss Everybody Hates Chris!

After smackdown left upn, Smackdown was never the same

We need black sitcoms like we had in the late 90s and early 2000s more than ever

Girlfriends had 8 seasons, two seasons longer than Sex and the City (a show it was often compared to). So much success yet they were not allowed to have a proper finale and still haven't been given a movie.

I watched all those shows with so much pride! Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

Awww. I watched ALL of these shows. Every single one.

yooo, thanks for making this! I always wondered what happened. grew up watching UPN and a lot of black television.

I think your timing is impeccable because we need shows like these back

BounceTV reminds me a lot of how upn use to be in the 90’s.

Moesha, Martin, The Parkers, Girlfriends, and One on One. 👌🏿👌🏿

Thank you for the quality content Comedy Hype ❤️💯

Thanks for the information. I needed that!

Every network has used Black entertainment to build itself up, underpays that talent, then moves on. *SWRIL Films* in Atlanta is the new version of this.

Damn this just made me sad. The steve Harvey show, the Jamie Foxx show, girlfriends, moesha, the parkers, all of us, half and half, eve, game I watch all of them! It sucks cause alot of these shows didn't get they proper send off especially when that Hollywood strike happen. I miss seeing ppl that look like me, remind me of my story on TV. Now tv I fill with housewives who look plastic, yelling and fighting each other and overly sexual contents. I know it's black shows out there but imo it's not the same. I miss the essence of the 90s and 00s

Well, all I know is this one thing for certain.... I will always be thankful for my time at UPN. All of us that worked at the UPN station here in Atlanta absolutely LOVED working there together. We were like a family. Everyone genuinely liked one another and they treated us so well. Viacom gave us THE BEST all catered Christmas AND New Years Eve parties and each of us always got individual Christmas gifts plus a nice end of year Christmas bonus check too.... I worked in Master Control which is the heart of a TV station. Our job was to edit the shows and keep everything on air. So those of us on the overnight shift crew couldn't leave to go to the Christmas party....so Viacom would bring the party to us every year by sending a catered dinner to the station for us and each of us got a nice bottle of champagne with crystal championship glasses/flutes for and other gifts for working on New Years. The promotional parties were the absolute best too. The private employee only and celebrity events were amazing!!! I met several of the stars on those shows and WB and still have the pictures of all those good memories to this day. I especially loved that they held private screenings for us to all the Paramount/ Viacom new movie release premiere's to view first before the general audiences did. I met so many good people there I worked with.... many of whom I'm still friends with today....even met and dated one of my dearest boyfriends there. I left on 99 and to this day I still can't say enough good things about my employment season at UPN Atlanta. It was first full-time job that kicked off my career in radio/tv broadcasting. And it by far was one of the best jobs in television I ever had during the decade long stint I worked in television here in the Atl. So I don't care what anyone says....UPN had some of the best classic black tv shows to date. And Viacom was took damn good care of us who were employed there... black, white and anyone otherwise. So Big Up to UPN and Viacom! 🙌💜🙌

Hate to say this but even black people don't ever talk about homeboys in outer space

Rest in Peace, Merlin "Romeo" Santana.😥

Moesha at its height was the most watched show in Black and Hispanic homes. Edit: Comment got some people in they feels. That’s the stat that was given back in the 90’s.

Where is Half and Half?! That one really hurt when the took it away. 😪😭

This is so good, inspirational, solid. Good work, man. UPN was the last tentpole for Black stardom before streaming - someone play that One on One theme again

90s kids had so much representation! Great time growing up and I’m happy Netflix is picking up many of these shows to provide the same sense of pride in younger generations. Great video.

So just for my clarity, upn and wd/wb aren’t Black owned? They just had majority Black shows which were initially successful but later got further investment - buy in, from bigger money then turned away from focussing on Black shows which eventually declined in viewing numbers? Have I got that right in a nutshell?

Great video, we tend to get nostalgic, and wonder what happened, not knowing what took place behind the scenes.

I like how he skipped over Homeboys in Outer Space. 🤣🤣🤣

SO TRUE about the Monday-Friday situation. Every one of those sitcoms was great, but who watched UPN every night? That network provided some much needed entertainment for black audiences but UPN itself just seemed all over the place.

Yooo One on One used to be My Ish I remember as a kid staying up late just waiting for it to come on, Damnnnn those was the good old days #90Babies Anyway to anybody that’s watching this remember y’all, Keep Going & Be Safe 🤟🏾💯

Outstanding, well-crafted video, brotha!!

Good job covering this story!

You have no idea how black sitcoms shaped my life. I mean, im biracial(black and white) but man did I love them growing up. Family Matters being my alltime favorite. TV now is just LAME

This is why we need to starting owning networks #blackownership The 90s shows had great stories and actors/actresses

Your best video essay yet!

This is why I loved channels like WB, Kids WB, UPN etc... As a black man some of these classics were my favorites. Like One on One, the Wayan Brothers, etc.

Malcom & Eddie 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I miss the 2000s sometimes. UPN is one of the reasons why. I remember being a teenager mainly watching WWE SMACKDOWN! but before it would come on, an episode of one of these shows would be on and I’d watch it waiting for SMACKDOWN! to come on. Then when it was over another episode from one of these shows would come on and if it was summer or WWE moved to Friday’s I’d stay up a little to watch one of these shows. Good times.

Malcolm and Eddie was indeed the gem of that era.

There used to be a recurring joke about UPN and WB being tv networks as a black hole in space with being “ all black with no stars” 😆

I guess I was UPN's target audience. I literally watched black sitcoms, Buffy, Star Trek and WWE

Always wondered what happened to these shows Thanx💯

The content on here is really good 💕

As a puertorican kid growing up in the 90s when I thought "American" I automatically thought of fresh prince of bel air, family matters, martin among other shows that were syndicated in PR, my theory is that "the man" seeing how black Americans were becoming the face of America to the world decided to put a stop to this, I remember telling my mom that I wanted the will smith haircut and she laughed and said you can't have that hair cut your hair is "dead" and his hair is "alive" and I was confused and I got mad because I didn't wanna have "dead" hair 😂

starting to become such a fan for these mini-documentaries/breakdowns. keep em coming, we love to see them 💯

So many, positive, light hearted Black comedies in the 90's and early 00's. Now, nothing smh....Honestly, it's our fault. We should have had our own networks to begin with. All of our Black celebrities could have pulled their resources together instead of begging and degrading themselves for a damn gig. We as Black Americans have the skill and intelligences to create another Black Wall Street/Harlem, we just flat refuse to put our egos aside and work with one another. We developed a self-fish, bravado mentality which allows WS to take advantage and exploit our communities. I personally try to get brothas together in my city so that we can invest in real estate but it's always petty nonsense that kills the venture. Black America should not be in the dire situation we are currently in 2020 especially in the entertainment industry.

Comedy Hype you are the shit. Thanks for all your content.

Thank you for the information. Blessings

"The cosby show was a family that just happened to be black" WOW. But whining Matin dressing in drag is black?

Never thought of it that way. The CW was gentrified.

Bro good ass content you provide, keep doing you're thang man

These shows were a huge part of my childhood