NBCRemember the days when the major networks used to actually care about color in color TV? Remember when they'd announce their fall line-up and it would be peppered with a family sitcom starring a brilliant actor who happened to be black or not white? There was The Cosby Show, Family Matters—even back in the '60s and '70s there was Julia starring Diahann Carroll and The Jeffersons. Forget all Latino casts; it wasn't until 2002 that Sandra Bullock brought George Lopez to ABC (special mention to Nickelodeon for The Brothers Garcia in 2000). And well, shows starring Asian Americans, Native Americans or any other non-white Americans, nothing really comes to mind and that's a shame.
But as of late—at a time when I believe we are more socially conscious about diversity—the boob tube doesn't seem to represent that. It's not like I've stumbled upon a concept that no one else seems to notice. In fact, when deciding on the blog topic I decided to do a Google search to see what others were saying. It's very much a concern but yet little seems to be done about it. Not only that, experts cited in these research articles were those from minority rights groups like the NAACP. I want to hear from you, Mr. Network President! Why don't you feel there's a need to represent this ‘melting pot' of a country we all live in?
Luckily, we have great cable networks where a plethora of exceptional shows starring minority actors have found a home. And I don't take for granted those talented actors who have a home in network primetime – Sofia Vergara, Eva Longoria, Taye Diggs, Blair Underwood, Aziz Ansari, the cast of Outsourced, etc., but it shouldn't be the exception. And why is it that minorities are typically cast in supporting roles?
I don't mean to go all political on you. I love television. I'm in this very business because of my love for everything entertainment and I hate that I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with the major network primetime line-ups. I don't necessarily think that entertainment has to make a political or social statement but let it at least represent who I am, who my family is, who my friends are, and who this country is.