10 TV Shows That Are Black Family Heirlooms

 I saw a recent post on Instagram about song's that have been passed between generations like family treasures. Song's from the 60's on down that people instantly recognize and sing their heart out to, no matter how old they are.

So taking inspiration it got me thinking about TV shows that fall in the same category. The one's I use to watch my grandparents or my parents, or that they watched during their heyday and passed down. Or the TV shows that raised me giving me hints about life before I understood them. That I will pass down to my kids once their old enough.

Its a comprehensive list that I nailed down to 10. So before folks starting asking about this show or that show, I plan to do a few more. Without further ado here's 10 TV shows passed down like family heirlooms.

The Heat of the Night

If you ask most Millennials, they will share fond memories of watching In The Heat Of The Night during the middle of the day with a grandparents. The TV series based on the 1967 film of the same name and starring Archie Bunker himself. Debuted on NBC in 1988 running through 1992, before moving to CBS in '92 finishing out the series in 1995.

In the meantime it became a syndicated favorite that spanned generations.

Living Single 

The mid-90's Fox ensemble sitcom hit that actually inspired Friends. Living Single is known for its iconic theme song and the friendship and sisterhood the show was built around. Many Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers watched the show during its heyday, as they were living life relating to the characters.

Their millennial and Gen Z children watched as well, especially as we got older and understood some of the life stories. Now thanks to the power of streaming. Older Gen Alpha's are learning and loving this classic sitcom.

The Jeffersons

Well we're moving on up, everyone knows the opening words to the iconic theme song. This long-running 1970's sitcom produced by Norman Lear and was a spin-off from All In The Family. Was watched by my grandmother when it aired, and my mother as child/teenager.  There is not a time I do not remember this show being on air, whether through syndication on local or cable TV and now streaming.

The story of a successful Black family in their high rise apartment, and their interactions with other tenants in the building. Will continue to span generations.

Law & Order

The original Law & Order aired in 1990, and ran until 2010. 20 years for the children of day one viewers to grow up and watch the show, and then run it back and watch episodes they may have been too young for. The long-running spin-off series Law & Order: SVU is the real family heirloom.

Debuting in 1999 and still airing on NBC. SVU has become a rerun hallmark on cable TV especially the USA network. Giving the show opportunities to reach new generations.

My Wife & Kids

An updated new millennium version of The Cosby Show, My Wife and Kid's which turns 25 next month is a modern day classic. Starring Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell, the sitcom followed a upper middle class family navigating parenthood in the early 2000s.

It ran for five seasons and was a favorite amongst many Boomers and X'ers raising the kids, and the millennials the same age as the kids. It became even more popular in syndication and when it premiered on Nick At Nite in the early 2010's. Streaming came along and it has gained even more fans.

Moesha

The mid 90's hit which was one of the first successful sitcoms for the fledging UPN network. Following a L.A. teenager played by r&b singer Brandy, the sitcom followed her adventures as a teenager navigating high school and college.

This is another sitcom with an iconic theme song , which I believe gained a resurgence and popularity through social media. Which in turn led a new generation towards the show and Millennial parents saying "I loved that show". Forging a newfound love for the sitcom.

A Different World

A spin-off of The Cosby Show, premiering in 1987 A Different World showcased life on a HBCU campus. Many members of Gen X and elder Millennials credit the sitcom for being their inspiration to attend a HBCU. Actually many Gen Z kids attend HBCU's today because of this sitcom.

It has been shown by parents who attended those schools to their kids. To give them an idea of the culture at HBCU's. In turn creating bonding moments, even the 2010s sitcom Grown-ish you can see the fingerprints of A Different World. 

With Netflix producing a legacy sequel series. A whole new generation will fall in love with Hillman College, and watch the OG sitcom with their older relatives.

Good Times

Another Norman Lear sitcom with a infectious theme song. This sitcom followed the Evans life as they navigated living in the Cabrini Green projects.  It ran for 6 seasons and left a legacy behind. Syndication has kept the Good Times train humming along for 50 years.

My parents watched it faithfully, I've watched it multiple times through the years. And my younger cousins love the sitcom as well. A testament to how much the show has been passed down through generations.

Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

Go to a Karaoke night and you just may hear someone rapping the intro to Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. The 90's sitcom was the catalyst for Will Smith becoming a Hollywood superstar. The six season sitcom has become a TV and in this age Phone/tablet favorite.

Whether you first watched it 1990 on NBC, caught it on your local station, or TBS and Nick At Nite when they ran it repeat every night. HBO Max or Hulu, the show is one for the ages.

Martin

There's always a debate about the funnier and more influential Black 90's sitcom Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air or Martin. While my money is on Martin, there's non denying the impact both had still to this day. My younger cousins who born after the sitcom had been off the air for more than 5 years love Martin and quote it likes it a current sitcom.

The memes, the fact its still talked about on podcasts, and the YouTube and social media clips still get thousands of likes and comments. Shows how much the sitcom is loved and how it transcends generations. Many father and sons and mom and daughters, sometimes grandparents and their grandchildren will sit in front of the TV and laugh at the sitcom. As if they've never heard the jokes before.

 

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10 Well Loved Shows I Havent Watched

 

If you follow my blog you know I've seen alot of movies and TV shows. Of course there is so much content out there you can't watch everything. So I decided to compile a list of 10 show's old and fairly new that are beloved and I've never seen. Hopefully I'll get to some of these one day.

10. Succession

A modern era drama about the big business of wealthy people, death, taxes and inheritance as a family awaits the demise of a media mogul and the family's patriarchy. Now that is drama as we've just seen with the Murdoch family (which the family in the series is loosely based on.) I've heard the show is also funny and has high praise from critics to common folks. I think I thought the show was about the stock market more than family drama, so I didnt give it a chance. It's on my list to watch so maybe one day.

9. Chicago Fire

First I knew Chicago Fire has been on the air for a while, I had no idea it debuted in 2012 and is now entering it's 14th season. I've never really been into TV shows about fire departments, and thats the likely reason I haven't tuned into this NBC staple.

8. Curb Your Enthusiasm 

Larry David's HBO series which debuted in 2000 and across several years just ended it's 14th season in 2024. The largely improvised mockumentary style show about the nitty gritty days of life, I probably would really enjoy if I turned it on. I just havent made my way to turning it on yet.

7 Schitt$ Creek

Starring comedy legend Eugene Levy, his son Dan Levy, Annie Murphy and Catherine O'Hara more famously known as the mom from the Home Alone films. The quartet play a formerly wealthy family who must rebuild their lives in a small hometown they own after losing everything. It's relatively unknown network Pop TV's most popular show. Has gained a cult following and won several awards, and yet I've never watched it.

6 Sons Of Anarchy

This FX drama about a motorcycle club that dabbles in criminal enterprise and alot of family drama was extremely popular during it's original run from 2008-2014. I know alot of people loved it but past knowing Peggy Bundy was in it, and seeing a few clips. I couldn't tell you anything about Son's Of Anarchy.

5. Big Bang Theory

Working in I.T. the assumption is that I'm well intuned in "geek" culture. While I enjoy superheroes and sci-fi properties that is furthest from the truth, which maybe why I never really watched Big Bang Theory. These social akward brianics are on another level in geekdom, and remind me several socially awkward people I've worked with over the years. So in my mind there's no need to watch the show, cause I know real life people like the characters.

4 How To Get Away With Murder

Every Thursday evening in the late 2010's my wife was in front of the TV, immersed in Shondaland. How To Get Away With Murder alongside Scandal were two of her favorite shows during their airings. And I always was watching something else while it was one. My understanding is the show was dramatic, high stakes, and soap operaish. With rapid fire witty dialogue and storylines you just never knew how they would end. Even with all that hype, I always passed on it.

3. The Office

A show that made the mockumentary style sitcom popular in the mid 2000's, well into the 2010's and beyond. Helped make Steve Carell a star and is still very relevant today. Never seen a single episode, seen plenty of clips and memes though. I will admit dry humor shows are hit or miss to me and sometimes I just don't give them a chance. Which I think is the case here despite all the good reviews the show has.

2. Better Call Saul

This one I consider kind of a oxymoron. I loved Breaking Bad and think it's one of the greatest TV dramas ever. As for Better Call Saul never gave it two minutes of my time. My wife said it's just as good as Breaking Bad, but I think since the character of Saul on the OG show. I could take or leave, I didn't see the point of him having his own show and I never tuned in.

1. Homicide Life On The Streets

One of the greatest cop TV dramas ever, filmed in my hometown of Baltimore and I've never seen it. In my defense the show debuted in 1993 on my 7th birthday, and it wasn't a show I should have watched nor 7 year old me would care for. As the years passed I just never sat down and watched it and it took a while to make it to streaming. It's sitting in my peacock queue waiting for me to press play.

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A Rant: Iconic Theme Songs, Bring Them Back

 It's September which means it's time for a new fall TV season. While fall TV is not a big of a deal as it once was. It is a staple in the media and living room landscape. Giving new television shows a chance to reach audiences, while old favorites return to the air for new stories to tell. 

While we gear up for this season, I wanted to touch on an issue Hollywood has had for the last 15 years or so. TV shows today especially sitcoms, do not have noticeable theme songs that one can instantly associate with the show.

I know the economics of the industry likely played a part in this. As a 30 second to minute and some change intro, cuts into time available for an ad. So today you get cold opens that go right into the show, or if you do get a theme song it's a little instrumental jingle. That's all we get. However it is detrimental to the shows branding and particularly for new shows, the ability to grab an audience attention and draw them into the series.

It's time Hollywood, streamers, broadcast  and cable networks get's it's head out its ass. Hire some damn composers to make music with lyrics, spend a couple hours filming intro's and slap them on the beginning of series. Even show's that may not necessarily be considered classics, are still revered today because they had catching theme songs.

Even classic shows the Fresh Prince, Golden Girls, Friends, Martin, Family Matters, Full House, and Living Singles of the world. While they were great shows, the theme songs that were catchy and instantly associated with them. Gives them additional life, making people who weren't even born during these shows original run. Feel connected to them and enamored with them.

Hollywood, bring back TV theme songs. It's way overdue, the industry needs it. Creators and producers need them if they ever want their shows to have longevity decades down the road. And the fans need them, we need some new tunes to hum and sing to.

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How To Make It In America Gone Too Soon

 

This past weekend marked 15 years since a hidden gem on HBO debuted How To Make It In America. The show was one of those very under the radar gritty type shows that catered to a specific audience, with the most famous cast members being the guy who bagged Stifler's Mom in American Pie in Eddie Kaye Thomas, Luis Guzman who is one of those actors you see in movies and go oh him. And lastly rapper Kid Cudi, and the funny thing is these actors all played supporting roles. Two guys you likely never heard of in Bryan Greenberg and Victor Rasuk led the cast.

Set in New York City the series followed Greenberg's character Ben who is one of those guys who can't get out of his own way, he's an artist and is floating through life. Then there's his buddy Cam played by Rasuk, who is another guy floating through life hopping from one hustle to another. After a series of events that lead them to realize things aren't going right, they decide to start a clothing line focusing on jeans inspired by the 1970's that they dubbed Crisp.

What followed in subsequent episodes was a story of friendship, entrepreneurship, drive, hope, and the hustle needed to be successful. It was a relevant commentary on life in the 2010's and the young millennial drive to bet oneself and make something happen. The main characters were ambitious and yet naive, and at times in over their heads but didn't quit. 

The story, the characters and the vibe of the show made you care, but after season 2 ended on a high not both for the characters and the show with things looking on the up and up. HBO decided to unceremoniously cancel the show. And just like that everything it built was gone.

Now 15 years later the show is still relevant, maybe more than ever. Fashion sense and style is probably more ingrained in pop culture more than ever. During the show's run facebook was the most active social media app, now we have instagram and tik tok and the rise of influencers. Social Media influencers have 3 traits the show touched on, entrepreneur spirit, creativity, and the hustle. Most people want to be influencers yet don't know about the hustle and the brand awareness you need to build on your own before getting to that status. They have found a new way to make it in America.

Since the series debut it truly has gotten harder to survive in America, let alone make it. So you need that inspiration to help you push forward when life seems like you're constantly hitting a wall. In just two short season's this hidden gem may have been ahead of it's time and yet has left a profound impact on anyone who has seen it. It truly was gone too soon. 

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5 Shows I Was Late To The Party On

 

In anticipation of the latest season of Amazon Prime's Reacher series, I finally watched the first two seasons. The series has been in my queue in what seems like forever, I just wasn't in a rush to get around to watching it until now. Once I finished season 2, I started thinking about other show's I took some time to watch. With that, here are 5 shows I was late to the party on.

5. Cold Case

Cop procedural's are a genre of television I really don't watch. I'll watch Law & Order SVU here and there, I enjoyed underrated shows like Shades Of Blue and Graceland. Other than New York Undercover, The Wire, and 9-1-1 (although I am a good 3 seasons behind at this point), most cop shows I just never tuned in and can't explain why. When Cold Case debuted in 2003 I was 17 years old, so I definitely wasn't watching it. 

Then around 2011-2012 when cable was still in it's juggernaut era, I caught some reruns and thought damn this show is good. I enjoyed the mystery aspect, along with the different era's and music represented for those era's. I fell off from the show and then during the height of the pandemic watched the show again....fell off again, and now that it is on Max I've been working my way through all 7 seasons.

4.Key and Peele

Key and Peele debuted in 2012 on Comedy Central and to be honest, I just watched and finished all 5 seasons of the series last fall. I've seen the clips online, knew the jokes, and seen the meme's I just never sat down and actually watched the show. Funny enough this Mike Tyson skit which was a play on this wild yet hilarious Mike Tyson video I somehow never saw before in my life until last year, convinced me to give the show a try.

I'm glad I did, the show was very funny clearly taking inspiration from shows like In Living Color, MadTV (where both got their start), and of course Chappelle Show. They perfectly captured that era of politics and pop culture, and actually had some very good commentary on where the world was headed at the time that came true. If you're like me and never saw the show, give it a chance.

3. A Million Little Things

A Million little things debuted in the fall of 2018 on ABC, at that time all my TV in my feelings viewing were reserved for the NBC drama This Is US. A couple of people I know said if I enjoyed that show, I would enjoy A Million little things as well. Then during the pandemic, new things to watch are getting thin so I gave the show a shot. I binged watched the first couple seasons of the show in anticipation of the third season finally being released in November of 2020.

Just like This Is Us, this show will hit you in the feels especially being around the same age as the characters in the show it got real. When it ended in 2023 someone was cutting onions as it ended. 

2. Animal Kingdom

                                                 

Heist films and TV shows are one of my favorite genres in that medium. So I'm not sure how I waited so damn long to finally start watching Animal Kingdom. Debuting in 2016 on TNT, the drama series followed a family that are criminal masterminds in the art of heists, all with their own issues and essentially controlled by their overbearing and ruthless mom/grandmom Smurf (Ellen Barkin). It was a high stakes, tense show with plenty of action and family drama.

My wife started watching the show soon as it aired, and kept telling me check it out and I was on a I'll get around to it mentality. Then probably 2019ish right before season 4 aired, I gave the first season a try and basically every chance I had to watch a episode I took it. That's how good the show was, running for six seasons it finished in 2022 and damn I miss that show.

1. Gotham

For Batman to be my favorite comic book character of all time, I absolutely took my sweet time watching this show. In my defense when it debuted on Fox in the fall of 2014, I was working two jobs preparing for a wedding and to buy my first house. So watching this wasn't a priority, in fact I think I watched a couple of episodes when I could but just fell off from it. A season or 2 later, my wife started watching the show and kept telling me I'm missing out. I wasn't in a rush to watch the show though.

It was always in the back of mind to watch, and I finally did last year thanks to tubi. Gotham is a interesting take on the Batman mythology, giving Batman, Jim Gordon and essentially his entire rogues gallery a origin story. It take's inspiration from the films and The Batman Animated Series in storylines, character presentation, and the city of Gotham itself which is a character in the series. Yet still provides it's own spin on the legendary character and associates. The last season kind of tailed off, but if you are a Batman fan check it out.

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