• SERVICES
    • CONSULTATION SERVICES
    • SCREENPLAY SERVICES
    • PITCHING SERVICES
  • Online Screenwriting Course
    • WORKBOOKS
  • UPCOMING EVENTS
  • BIO
    • CREDITS & MEDIA
  • SCREENPLAY VAULT
  • POLICIES & AGREEMENT
  • Blog
  THE PROFESSIONAL PEN: Script Consultant

THE BLOG

Why Starz is good for Black folks...

5/11/2016

0 Comments

 
​Let’s 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. Black folks also love to live in the past. For some reason, a generation of people who were barely alive are infatuated with A Different World. Modern day African-American artists are obsessed with Martin themes, especially those damn shapes from the maintitle sequence. And of course, since the Obamas got into the White House, black folks just can’t let go of The Cosby Show. (Well, many are due to other unrelated Bill Cosby factors that I shall not name…). With that being said, Networks and Showrunners get stuck in a cycle of failing nostalgia because face it, it’s 2016 and multi-camera comedies with soft music during the emotional climaxes just aren’t going to cut it. Let it go.
So who the hell gave Starz an effing clue?!? Give that person an award and allow them to speak through the cue music. We’d all love to believe that the genius is Showrunner 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) and Creator Courtney Kemp Agboh of the Network’s hit Power. And I’m sure to some extent it is. 50 lived(s) a relatable life as seen in Get Rich or Die Tryin. We were all pretty shocked by his acting skills. Many a person has tried to “play” themselves and ended up “playing” their acting career. He’s obviously got the mind of a mogul with his music, marketing deals and clothing lines. So, why not try his hand in TV?
 
But I’m not fooled by the name and the fame of 50 Cents’ Power (pun intended).  Someone at the Network had to give this show, and diverse audiences, a chance. That’s all it’s about. Major Networks don’t have much diverse programming because since the 90’s diverse programming hasn’t proven successful. Networks aren’t putting their money up on 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 likeable characters without the hooting and hollering of fanning church women and preachy themes found in many a Tyler Perry drama…dramedy…parody…Perrady (I feel like his content is in it’s own lane. A lane I’ll never drive in but still…)
 
Because of Power’s success, the Network became open to more programming for people of color. One of my fave shows at the moment (blog post to come) is Survivor’s Remorse. 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’t 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.  Oh, yeah, and it’s based loosely on his life. Though, there isn’t much playing of basketball in the show. Hmmm…
 
Anywho, this show is exactly what black audiences have been waiting on: comedy, family, character, and most of all “a lack of lame” (which we find in a lot of black comedies that can’t quite be as comical as they want because of Network demands. White comedy is not black comedy. You don’t have to like or understand it but you must know it’s a fact.) Survivor’s Remorse is cute but not annoying. And it’s funny without feeling like you’re watching a group of black-faced caricatures eating watermelon under a cool shade tree. (Yeah, I said it.)
 
Mike O’Malley, Showrunner, sums it up perfectly, “We have the freedom on a pay-cable network to tell stories where you’re not limited by subject matter, by whether or not it’s dinner-table talk. It’s just the freedom to see what it’s like behind the scenes.” (USA Today, August 2015). Note to Networks, freedom protects the no lame content zone. Get with it.
 
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’ll put my trust in Starz. Like All-State, I feel like I’m in good hands.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Shannan E. Johnson, CEO
    ​The Professional Pen

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    50 Cent
    American Crime Story
    Building Characters
    Characters
    Courtney Kemp Agboh
    Director
    Episodic Director
    Executive Producer
    Film
    Heath Ledger
    Movie
    Movie Review
    OJ
    OJ Simpson
    Pixar
    Power
    Screenplay
    Screenwriter
    Screenwriting
    Showrunner
    Starz
    Survivor's Remorse
    Television
    The Cosby Show
    The Professional Pen
    Trial
    Tv Show
    Tv Writer
    Up
    Whiplash
    Writer
    Writing
    Writing Team

    RSS Feed

What Pen Pals Are Saying

 As a growing writer, the feedback from The Professional Pen has been crucial in developing my project. The straight forward feedback opened my mind beyond my script. I was given advice about the genre, the world I created, raising the stakes, and character decisions, etc. It urged me to go back, rethink about those gray areas in which I already felt were weak to tackle them for a stronger, focused, and reassured execution. Over all, I like that I wasn't given solutions to my writing, but solid questions that challenged me. I most definitely recommend the services provided. Thank you! - Justin F. 

Contact Me

  • SERVICES
    • CONSULTATION SERVICES
    • SCREENPLAY SERVICES
    • PITCHING SERVICES
  • Online Screenwriting Course
    • WORKBOOKS
  • UPCOMING EVENTS
  • BIO
    • CREDITS & MEDIA
  • SCREENPLAY VAULT
  • POLICIES & AGREEMENT
  • Blog