In the October 2007 issue of Ebony there's an interesting article by Bryan Monroe that attempts to choose the Top 25 Black TV Shows of all time.
The Ebony editors looked at over 100 shows over 60 years of television. Some of the shows that didn't make it were Room 222, The Mod Squad, Julia, That's My Mama and Being Bobby Brown. Readers also weighed in on www.ebonyjet.com
And now, the envelope please:
1-The Cosby Show
2-A Different World
3-Living Single
4-The Jeffersons
5-In Living Color
6-The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
7-Sanford and Son
8-Martin
9-Good Times
10-Soul Train
11-Girlfriends
12-Soul Food
13-The Bernie Mac Show
14-227
15-Showtime At The Apollo
16-What's Happening
17-The Steve Harvey Show
18-Grey's Anatomy
19-Amen
20-New York Undercover
21-Fame
22-Roc
23-The Flip Wilson Show
24-The Jamie Foxx Show
25-Diff'rent Strokes and Family Matters (tie)
Top 3 Black Talk Shows or Daytime Shows
1-The Oprah Winfrey Show
2-The Arsenio Hall Show
3-Judge Mathis
Top 3 Black Animated Shows
1-Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
2-The Jackson 5ive
3-The Boondocks
The only beefs I have with the list is that Julia should have been on it, The Flip Wilson Show should have been ranked much higher than number 23, and I think Martin should have been ranked much lover than number 8. I don't think it's the same quality level as A Different World, The Cosby Show, Living Single or The Jeffersons.But then again, I'm just now finding out about this poll.
Gotta renew my subscription to Ebony ;)