Mike Hill—host of Start Your Day With Sharon + Mike and husband to The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Cynthia Bailey—took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the lack of Black male-centered television following the series finale of Insecure.
“We’ve had Living Single, Girlfriends and Insecure…shows about positive black women & their relationships with each other. Has there ever been a good, successful tv show about black men like this? (One that lasted at least 4 seasons?),” questioned Hill.
We’ve had Living Single, Girlfriends and Insecure…shows about positive black women & their relationships with each other. Has there ever been a good, successful tv show about black men like this? (One that lasted at least 4 seasons?)
— Mike Hill (@ItsMikeHill) December 27, 2021
Immediately, his mentions began to flood with replies including “MARTIN!?,” “This is like, every Black coming of age movie from the 90s,” and mentions of several shows including David Makes Man, The Game, One on One, Barbershop, Cuts, Noah’s Arc, In the House, and The Steve Harvey Show.
Another user mentioned NBC’s new series, The Grand Crew. “The Grand Crew on NBC focuses on four Black college educated Black men who live in Los Feliz and Silver Lake. Opens with Garrett Morris discussing the stereotypes people have about Black men, ‘layers, y’all! Our multitudes have multitudes!'” she wrote.
To overcome the unexpected outpouring of backlash, Hill continued, “Now that I think more about it, and I read some of your responses, this is problematic for me. Now I need to know ‘why’ there hasn’t been one. I do like where that show Johnson is going.”
For those unaware, Johnson is a new series on Prime Video’s Brown Sugar channel centered around four male Black best friends who all share the same last name and “navigate love, friendship, heartbreak and personal growth together.” The series is in its first season and stars Thomas Q. Jones (Luke Cage), Deji LaRay (Bosch), Derrex Brady (Any Day Now), and Philip Smithey (Dumped). Jones also serves as showrunner and D.L. Hughley has a recurring role.
In response to Hill, Jones shared a clip of the series and added his input, writing, “We dive into controversial topics in the Black community & open up dialogue to hopefully create understanding.”
All 10 episodes of our tv series @JohnsonBounce created by @DejiLaRay is streaming on the @BrownSugarApp now. Here is a quick clip that gives a little insight to the dialogue on the show. ??? #JohnsonOnBounce https://t.co/7cKy5bk5d4 pic.twitter.com/bakzb63lHt
— Thomas Q. Jones (@thomasqjones) December 28, 2021
Hill later mentioned the “brilliance” of Atlanta, posing the age-old question, “[Is] it that Hollywood won’t green light these types of shows or will we actually support it?” He clarified that his questioning was out of genuine concern, not hate, adding, “Once again, this ain’t a knock on any of the black women shows. I love & support them all. This ain’t why them & not us…it’s why not both?? I’m the last person to divide. Don’t you do it.”
This spirited discussion is one that’s constantly recycled in the Twitterverse, but in the meantime, check out the trailer for Johnson below and share your thoughts with us.