http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-ca-blackfamilies30-2008nov3
0,0,6866514.story

Where are TV's Obama-like characters?
Some prominent creative forces behind shows that featured black families
see a tougher road ahead.

By Greg Braxton

November 30, 2008

Long before he set out for the White House, Barack Obama sought to adjust
the colors on America's TV sets.

Four years ago, fresh off his star-making keynote address at the Democratic
National Convention, Obama challenged the television industry to live up to
its responsibility as the country's "most powerful media" and accurately
reflect the nation's population. "TV ought to reflect the reality of
America's diversity and should do so with pride and dignity, not with
stereotypes," he told the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. But as
Obama prepares to move into the White House in January, he and his family
will be hard pressed to find blacks like themselves represented on any of
the major networks -- ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox.

In fact, not only will they have great difficulty locating any black family
in a leading role on the networks, they also will see it's nearly
impossible to find a scripted comedy or drama that features a young person
of color in a central role.

Although the networks' prime-time slates are packed with more than a dozen
comedies and dramas revolving around family life or involve characters who
are related (from " Brothers & Sisters," to " Two and a Half Men," to
"Dirty Sexy Money"), almost all of them have predominantly white casts. A
black family has not anchored a network series since "The Bernie Mac Show"
left Fox in 2006.

Whether the presence of a popular African American president and his
charismatic family will affect the racial dynamics of prime time is an
intriguing question. The subject is an uncomfortable one for the networks,
as most high-ranking network executives and diversity heads declined to
talk about the issue.

And people in the black creative community disagree about the prospects --
some even saying Obama's presence may actually raise the bar for their
work.

The only African American family regularly on prime time network television
is on CBS' " The Unit," where Dennis Haysbert (who played a U.S. president
on Fox's thriller "24") plays the leader of an elite special ops force. And
while an increasing number of blacks and other minorities has scored
regular roles on series (" Grey's Anatomy," " Heroes," " Fringe," "Heroes,"
"Lost"), those performers are largely relegated to supporting or minor
roles.

Though the development season is in full gear, there does not appear to be
on the horizon a series that would take up the cultural torch of "The Cosby
Show," the groundbreaking comedy featuring what conservative commentator
Karl Rove on election day called "America's First Family." The only African
American family that would anchor an upcoming major series is animated --
"Cleveland," a spinoff of Fox's " Family Guy."

(Two other black family shows are on cable -- ABC Family's acclaimed but
struggling " Lincoln Heights" and TBS' "House of Payne," which is popular
but blasted by critics who say it contains broad characters and offensive
stereotypes.)

Instead of answering inquiries, CBS, ABC and Fox submitted statements
declaring their commitment to diversity while pointing out their individual
progress.

CBS' chief of diversity, Josie Thomas, would not comment. Thomas is based
in New York, while the network's prime-time shows are produced in Los
Angeles. She is not involved or consulted on casting decisions.

Other executives point to the ratings failure of series with predominantly
minority casts or central characters such as last season's Latino drama "
Cane" on CBS, that network's "City of Angels," ABC's "Daybreak," NBC's
"Whoopi" and "The Tracy Morgan Show."

TV historian Tim Brooks, who co-wrote "The Complete Directory to Prime Time
Network and Cable TV Shows," said: "Audiences can relate to diversity, but
it's still difficult for families in the suburbs to immerse themselves in
that world. TV is still struggling with dramas with a black setting."

Still, Paula Madison, executive vice president and chief diversity officer
for NBC Universal, said the landscape of television is likely to undergo a
dynamic change: "Obama in the White House will expand and broaden the
conversation about diversity in ways we don't even recognize. I see him as
an African American who is more global in perspective and experience. His
experience is different than most African Americans, and that will force a
different kind of conversation."

Some prominent African American creative forces behind comedies that
featured black families see a tougher road ahead. They say Obama's
presidency may present even stiffer challenges for the black creative
community.

Ali LeRoi, executive producer of the CW's " Everybody Hates Chris," about a
black family in the 1980s, said that though family shows inspired by the
comedy of Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Bernie Mac and others have been
mainstream hits, they're seen as "anomalies" by network executives.

Meanwhile, some writers and producers who have pitched series to the four
major networks featuring black families say they have met repeated
resistance from executives who claim shows centered on black people will
not attract mainstream audiences.

"I've pitched these projects with main black characters and have been told,
'We just can't see that,' or, 'No one will watch that,' " said Felicia D.
Henderson, creator of "Soul Food," a drama about a black family based on
the popular movie of the same name. The series, which premiered on Showtime
in 2000, ran for five seasons.

Added Henderson, now a co-executive producer on Fox's "Fringe": "My work
experience is that I've had no luck getting a series going that are
centered around people like me. It was impossible for dramas. Now it's
difficult in comedy."

Veteran producer John Forbes said he sparked a flurry of interest several
years ago at NBC when he and his partner developed "Fox Hills," a drama
about an upper-middle class black family straddling in two worlds -- the
affluent and the struggling.

"Everyone seemed to be very excited," said Forbes, the executive director
of the Black Hollywood Education & Resource Center. "It went all the way to
the top. Then one key executive said they couldn't give it the green light
because they were afraid of being blasted by the NAACP if the series was
canceled."

Now the real pressure will be on black writers and creators to step up
their standards, said D.L. Hughley, who starred for several years in the
family comedy "The Hughleys" before his current stint as the host of CNN's
"D.L. Hughley Breaks the News."

Hughley said the election of Obama "has challenged us as artists. Just
because there's a black president won't mean the next day we won't have
significant challenges in the community. And we will have to speak with a
cadence that the rest of the country will accept."

Part of that challenge will be creating dramas, comedies and characters
that will draw large audiences across the board such as "The Cosby Show."
Cosby and others have said producers looking to imitate that show's formula
did not stay faithful to the emphasis on integrity, family and education.

Added "Soul Food" creator Henderson: "I hate to say it's our own fault. As
black producers and writers got their own shows, the visions and premises
became hipper and cooler. It became more specific. There was nothing left
for general audiences."

Braxton is a Times staff writer.