Brothers starring Michael Strahan: Is this really the best black TV we’ve got?

in Sports TV by griffn — August 17, 2009 at 2:02 pm | 2 comments

So I’m checking the new fall TV schedule, and once again I see a staggering lack of black shows on the networks, but more so this year than usual. Even the CW has given up on black TV. The last two shows standing are The Cleveland Show– a cartoon about a black family voiced and written by white guys– and Brothers, a sitcom starring Michael Strahan and Apollo Creed.

I said, Michael Strahan and Apollo Creed. Doing comedy. If that combination sounds bad on paper, I can assure you the reality is much, much worse. Check out the trailer FOX put out for this. Yes, these are the clips FOX chose to promote the show. It’s not an attack ad from NBC.

Here’s the thing about comedy. It’s really, really hard. Think about the funniest guy you know, the one who constantly has you and your boys rolling. That dude would die on television. It’s easy to drop a hilarious joke every half hour or so, it’s hard to drop nothing but jokes for a half hour. The people who can do it spent years honing their craft with rent money on the line. So while Michael Strahan is a fairly humorous fellow on the panel of a sports show, he will not be entertaining in a sitcom format. It’s amazing that people who get paid to make television can’t see that.

Tags: Apollo Creed Brothers Carl Weathers comedy CW FOX Michael Strahan sitcom television The Cleveland Show

Author:

I'm a young black man with a 401(k) plan.

2 Comments

negrostotle
2009-08-17
14:24:45
The fact that the underlying premise of this post was an actual episode of Fresh Prince (guest starring D.L. Hughley as Will's friend who was a comedian) makes this that much sadder. If other people understood that "funny with friends" doesn't equate to "funny on 30 minute sitcom" back in 1992, why has Fox not yet received the message?
Shaq vs (Good Television) | Forbes Avenue
2009-08-24
21:42:45
[...] For the most part, the show is a total waste of time. Literally. The actual competition doesn’t take place until 45 minutes into the show. The rest of the time is full of fake interviews, uncomfortable trash talk between strangers, and scenes of Shaq “training” in the sport of the week. Shaq vs lacks suspense and is generally poor television, but… I am not sure that I won’t watch it again. I’m a die-hard sports fan and the gimmick is good. At the very least, its gotta be better than this. [...]