‘How to Die Alone’ is the latest in a series of new Black-led shows. So has the TV landscape really changed?

CNN
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Mel is in a bit of a mixed bag.

There are mice in his apartment. She hates her job and still misses her ex, who is also her boss. Moreover, he is broke and deals with identity theft to make ends meet.

And yet Natasha Rothwell’s character on “How to Die Alone,” her new show that wraps up its first season on Hulu this week, is relatable. She is a plus size black woman trying to do her best, looking for love and fulfillment. We’ve all been there.

“How to Die Alone” is the brainchild of Rothwell, who is also co-showrunner and executive producer. An alumnus of HBO’s hit comedy “InsecureRothwell stood out with his scene-stealing one-liners; Search for “growth” in any gif search and his face is visible“Do you know what this is?” (HBO, Max and CNN share parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.)

“How to Die Alone” is new, but it is part of a new wave of black-led drama comedies popping up on the small screen. Other recent offerings like Netflix’s “Survival of the Thickest” and “The Vince Staples Show,” as well as Hulu’s adaptation of “Queenie” and other shows over the past few years, have given this era of television a new era. Renaissance It’s reminiscent of Black TV’s heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.

But while more voices like Rothwell’s are finally stepping into the spotlight, the industry is still largely playing it safe.

“Yet in some ways we’re asking the question: Are white people going to like this?” said Aisha Durham, who studies Black popular culture at the University of South Florida.

Broadcasting and streaming have different business models, which means different types of programs

It’s true that black-led programming is becoming more prevalent on digital platforms, especially as streaming companies try to fill dedicated content sections on their services, said Naeemah Clark, a professor of film and television arts at Elon University in North Carolina.

Unlike broadcast television, which makes money by appealing to as many eyes as possible, streaming services target content that fills a specific niche, Clark said. So, if a user really likes stories about, say, a down-on-her-luck Black woman trying to make a living, the platform will have a selection of TV series or movies to scratch that itch. (See: the aforementioned “Insecure,” “Queenie,” “Survival of the Thickest,” and of course “How to Die Alone” — all unique in their approach to the similar trope).

This moment was spurred by the previous success of other Black creators and Black-led shows. Writers and showrunners like Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, and even Oprah Winfrey have paved the way for more Black voices, especially on television. So this moment may not just be a moment. Clark said it may just be the status quo.

“I think maybe we are living in a new reality,” he said. “Black people are getting television deals because other Black people have had success with television deals. Black people make decisions too; “They are now becoming decision makers who green light things.”

Networks and broadcasters still have issues when it comes to Black-led stories

None of this means that modern television is now a utopia where everyone can make a living; just see the space in between. Asian, Middle Eastern, or African stories in American popular culture. Durham said black-led shows on television apparently still need to place their black characters in the context of white characters.

CBS comedy series “The Neighborhood,” which begins its seventh season next month, juxtaposes a white family living next to a black family; a dynamic concerned with explaining blackness rather than merely displaying it.

“We are still trying to understand this aspect of the Black experience,” Durham said. “We wouldn’t want the same thing from a predominantly white show.”

And these are the shows that have been running the longest. CBS’s “Bob Hearts Abishola,” which aired its fifth and final season this year, is a sitcom about a white man who falls in love with and marries a Nigerian woman. “BlackishABC’s eight-season saga, which spawned numerous spinoffs, was the story of a man raising his children in an inherently white neighborhood.

Meanwhile, NBC’s short-lived series “Grand Crew,” about a group of black friends in Los Angeles, was canceled after two seasons.

Streaming services, on the other hand, tend to favor more “niche” stories (where the cast consists primarily of people of color), like the story of a Black female airport worker trying to find love. But they don’t necessarily take big risks.

Michelle Buteau, creator and star of Netflix’s “Survival of the Thickest,” spent the better part of a decade stealing scenes from various Netflix offerings before finally landing her own show. Max’s “Rap Fuck” was created by Issa Rae following the success of her previous show. Netflix’s “The Vince Staples Show” stars rapper Vince Staples. These are not new names; these are proven voices, in some cases with established fan bases.

The same idea can be applied to demonstrations. For example, Netflix acquired “First Wives Club” and “Average Joe,” for which the company produced its second season, only after both were successful on BET+.

“It’s still in the testing phase,” Durham said.

Even if a show passes this tentative stage, it may still be overshadowed. If the show doesn’t at least somehow appeal to white viewers, it will be left to very narrow niches, namely a BET+ or a niche group on Netflix, Durham said.

Yet the reality of the cutthroat television industry means that some shows, whether predominantly black or not, won’t make it. Cancellation trend of streaming services – in one case pulling a show before it was even published – is well documented. This isn’t just a streaming trend; Two-thirds of new network shows were canceled between 2009 and 2012 in their first season.

Black-led demonstrations are no different, and some might argue they are more likely to be dropped. Max’s “South Side.” STARZ’s “Run the World.” Freeform’s “It’s All Trash.” All were canceled after three seasons or less.

It has its advantages. Stories about the Black experience, whatever that means, are more diverse than ever, with more niche stories finding their way into the publication and expanding the publication’s range slightly. The aforementioned “Bob Hearts Abishola” on CBS is one of the only sitcoms to highlight the African immigrant experience. STARZ’s “P-Valley” showcases a quirky southern story. Even “How to Die Alone” finds new ways to explore Black womanhood in terms of greatness and desirability.

“There’s a breadth that black people don’t mean the same thing as straight African Americans,” Durham said. “The way we understand Blackness opens up in this new television environment.”

TV still has a ways to go to tell the stories of people of color. Meanwhile, there are shows like Rothwell’s.