Lifetime Tv Schedule

WILL there be more color in prime-time television this fall? Diversity watchdogs have reached the three-year mark since the television networks introduced the infamous 1999 lily-White primetime lineup, and, overall, most onlookers have drawn one conclusion: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Despite the much-hyped diversity initiatives designed to increase minority presence in the industry, the big four networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) are only offering one new Black-oriented show this fall, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, on Fox. To make matters worse, two major Black-oriented shows (The Steve Harvey Show and The Hughleys) were canceled last year. And, as quiet as it's kept, for the second year in a row, ABC, CBS and NBC are not offering a new Black-oriented series to the fall prime-time lineup. This means that Cedric joins the ranks on the big four's prime-time schedule with the only other two Black-oriented shows in existence, My Wife and Kids on ABC and The Bernie Mac Show on Fox.

And as bad as the situation is, it is made worse by The Bernie Mac Show's new time slot--a time slot that pits it against My Wife & Kids. Television analysts reason that the new time slot places both sitcoms in a vulnerable situation because the show that scores the lower ratings most likely will be canceled.

Calling the new competitive scheduling a "war" on Black programming, Damon Wayans, star of My Wife & Kids, has said that even if his show wins the rating's war, he's "not going to feel good about it."

According to NAACP president & CEO Kweisi Mfume, Wayans has very good reasons to be concerned about the overall plight of Blacks in network television, warning that the drought of Black representation in front of and behind the cameras shouldn't be taken lightly.

In an 18-month study, the NAACP found that "the scarcity of writers, show runners and casting directors changed little during the 2000-2001 season and corporate boards at the networks and/or their parent companies remain virtually all White."

As for the number of Blacks in front of the camera, the tally hints of a status quo at best, some say.

A multiethnic media coalition comprised of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition and others, recently released its annual "report card" on diversity in network television. According to the coalition, ABC and Fox made marginal improvements, whereas the diversity efforts of NBC and CBS have stalled.

"Full diversity in front of and behind the camera continues to be an elusive goal for the four networks," coalition chairwoman Karen Narasaki reported.

Despite the lukewarm diversity reports, the networks insist that progress has been made. ABC President Alex Wallau stated that the network will continue to add minorities to its staff and shows, as well as to encourage minority writers with grants and fellowships. In a released statement, CBS said that the network "will continue to do what we know is the right and positive thing." Fox noted that the network's 21 series have 18 minority writers. And NBC issued a statement, saying: "Last fall, every new series NBC put on the air had a diverse cast, and the same will be true for this fall for our five premiering shows."

Yet the number of shows with Black actors in leading roles remains pretty constant. Last year, 16 shows with Black actors in leading or recurring roles were canceled. This fall, the networks are offering 16 new shows with leading or recurring Black characters.

ABC has three new series with Blacks in major roles. In Less Than Perfect, comedian Sherri Shepherd throws punches with the best of them in a sitcom about the seedy side of television news. David Alan Grier is producer of a fictional morning talk show in Life With Bonnie. And in MDs, Aunjanue Ellis is part of a team of renegade doctors who do whatever it takes to provide quality health care.

CBS is trumpeting four new series with Blacks in major roles. In Hack, Andre Braugher portrays a cop who provides insider information to his crime-solving former partner. Marianne Jean-Baptiste co-stars in Without a Trace, a suspense and mystery series that focuses on an FBI task force out to locate missing persons. CSI: Miami co-stars Khandi Alexander as part of an elite team of crime scene investigators charged with finding the clues the bad guys leave behind. And in Robbery Homicide Division, Barry (Shabaka) Henley and Klea Scott are crime-solving detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department.

NBC also showcases Black talent with two new shows. Mykelti Williamson co-stars in Boomtown, a series that shows the L.A. crime scene through the eyes of cops, paramedics and reporters. In Hidden Hills, Dondre T. Whitfield and Tamara Taylor unearth the funny side of life in the suburbs.

And on Fox, Bill Bellamy co-stars as a Los Angeles cop with a taste for the wild side in Fastlane, and Ron Glass joins the cast of Firefly.

The big four networks' 2002 prime-time lineup also includes several returning shows with Blacks in prominent or recurring roles.

Returning shows on ABC include The Practice co-starring Lisa Gay Hamilton and Steve Harris; Garcelle BeauvaisNilon and Henry Simmons are back fighting crime in NYPD Blue; and comedian Wayne Brady returns in Whose Line Is It Anyway?

On CBS, Gary Dourdan returns on CSI: Crime Scene Investigators; Lynne Thigpen, Sean Patrick Thomas, John Amos and Roger Aaron Brown are back on The District; Della Reese returns in Touched by an Angel; Richard T. Jones is back on Judging Amy and Hattie Winston and Alex Desert are serving up the laughs again on Becker.

On NBC, Michael Michele and Sharif Atkins are back saving lives in the hit series ER; Michael Beach and Coby Bell return in Third Watch; Dule Hill is back on The West Wing; Jesse L. Martin and S. Epatha Merkerson return to Law & Order; and Ice-T returns to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Familiar faces are back on Fox this season as well. Class is back in session for Chi McBride, Sharon Leal, Rashida Jones and Loretta Devine on Boston Public; and Craig Lamar Traylor is back on the hit series Malcolm in the Middle.

UPN and the WB, networks known for their diverse shows, and for catering to the Black audience, also showcase a new colorful primetime lineup.

UPN introduces a modern version of the cult classic series The Twilight Zone, hosted by Forest Whitaker. Its new sitcom, Half and Half, finds two estranged half-sisters, Essence Atkins and Rachel True, trying to bond when they discover they live in the same building. And on the new series Haunted, Russell Hornsby is the trusted sidekick of a police detective who is haunted by lost souls.

The WB's new primetime lineup features Shemar Moore in Birds of Prey, a series spun from the Batman lore; and 2002 EBONY superbachelor Wesley Jonathan has a recurring role in the sitcom What I Like About You.

Cable television is offering a wide variety of special programs of interest to Black audiences. Showtime presents its original picture for all ages, Our America, and the original series Street Time co-starring Erika Alexander; Odyssey 5 co-star. Leslie Silva, and Jeremiah co-starring Malcolm-Jamal Lifetime Television presents For the People, with Lewis, and PBS launches the re-release of a digitally remastered Ken Burns documentary The Civil War.

Returning cable shows include Showtime's third helping delicious Soul Food, starring Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Rockmond Dunbar, Vanessa Williams, Malinda Darrin DeWitt Henson and Aaron Meeks. On Lorraine Toussaint returns in the critically acclaimed drama series Any Day Now; and Taraji Henson is a The Division.

African-American households in the U.S. watch more television in prime-time on average than all other U.S. homes across all age groups, according to Nielsen Media Research. And as the Black television viewing audience gets acquainted with this year's prime-time lineup, the NAACP is already looking ahead, focused on improving the status of Blacks in the industry, says president Mfume.

"Rather than to look away as if helpless, we choose to look forward, in hopes of changing the medium that so often changes us as a people and as a nation," he says. "Our ongoing fight for shared power is the first step on a long journey to create equal opportunity in the corporate, executive, production and talent ranks of television. On this issue we will not go away."

As a whole, television analysts agree that the fight for diversity is far from over, and whether or not Blacks will be singing the "prime-time blues" next year remains to be seen.

Stay tuned.

2002 Prime-Time TV Roundup

SUNDAY

8:00 (WB) Charmed
Dorian Gregory

8:30 P.M. (CBS) Becker
Hattie Winston, Alex Desert

9:00 P.M. (ABC) Alias
Merrin Dungey, Carl Lumbly

9:00 P.M. (NBC) Law & Order:
Criminal Intent
Courtney B. Vance

9:00 P.M. (Fox) Malcolm in the
Middle
Craig Lamar Traylor

10:00 P.M. (ABC) The Practice
Lisa Gay Hamilton, Steve Harris

10:00 P.M. (NBC) Boomtown
Mykelti Williamson

MONDAY

8:00 P.M. (UPN) The Parkers *
Countess Vaughn, Mo 'Nique,
Dorien Wilson, Yvette Wilson

8:00 P.M. (Fox) Boston Public
Chi McBride, Sharon Leal,
Rashida Jones, Loretta Devine

8:30 P.M. (ABC) Whose Line is it
Anyway?
Wayne Brady

8:30 P.M. (UPN) One On One *
Flex Alexander, Kyla Pratt

9:00 P.M. (UPN) Girlfriends *
Tracee Ellis Ross, Persia White,
Golden Brooks, Jill Marie Jones,
Reggie Hayes

9:00 P.M. (NBC) Third Watch
Michael Beach, Coby Bell

9:30 P.M. (UPN) Half and Half *
Essence Atkins, Rachel True, Telma
Hopkins, Valarie Pettiford, Chico
Benyman

10:00 P.M. (CBS) CSI: Miami
Khandi Alexander

10:30 (NBC) Crossing Jordan
Mahershala Karim-Ali

TUESDAY

9:00 (ABC) Life With Bonnie
David Alan Grier

9:00 P.M. (Fox) 24
Dennis Haysbert

9:00 (UPN) Haunted
Russell Hornsby

9:00 P.M. (WB) Smallville
Sam Jones III

9:30 (NBC) Hidden Hills
Dondre T. Whitfield, Tamara
Taylor

10:00 P.M. (ABC) NYPD Blue
Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Henry
Simmons

10:00 P.M. (CBS) Judging Amy
Richard T. Jones

WEDNESDAY

8:00 P.M. (ABC) My Wife & Kids *
Damon Wayans, Tisha Campbell-Martin,
George O. Gore II, Jazz
Raycole, Parker McKenna Posey

8:00 P.M. (Fox) The Bernie Mac
Show *
Bernie Mac, Kellita Smith, Camille
Winbush, Jeremy Suarez, Dee
Dee Davis

8:30 (Fox) Cedric the Entertainer
Presents *
Cedric the Entertainer

9:00 P.M. (NBC) The West Wing
Dule Hill

9:00 (FOX) Fastlane
Bill Bellamy

9:00 (UPN) Twilight Zone
Forest Whitaker

9:00 (WB) Birds of Prey
Shemar Moore

10:00 P.M. (ABC) MDs
Aunjanue Ellis

10:00 P.M. (NBC) Law & Order
Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha
Merkerson

THURSDAY

8:00 P.M. (Fox) 30 Seconds
to Fame
Craig J. Jackson

8:00 P.M. (UPN) WWE
Smackdown!
The Rock, Maven, Booker T.

8:30 P.M. (NBC) Scrubs
Donald Faison

9:00 P.M. (CBS) CSI: Crime Scene
Investigators
Gary Dourdan

9:30 (WB) Off Centre
Jason George

10:00 P.M. (CBS) Without a Trace
Marianne Jean-Baptiste

10:00 P.M. (NBC) ER
Michael Michele, Sharif Atkins

FRIDAY

8:00 P.M. (Fox) Firefly
Ron Glass

8:00 P.M. (WB) What I Like About
You
Wesley Jonathan

9:00 P.M. (CBS) Hack
Andre Braugher

9:00 P.M. (WB) Sabrina The
Teenage Witch
Bumper Robinson

10:00 P.M. (NBC) Law & Order
Special Victims Unit
Ice-T

SATURDAY

8:00 (CBS) Touched by an Angel
Della Reese

9:00 (CBS) The District
Lynne Thigpen, Sean Patrick
Thomas, John Amos, Roger Aaron
Brown

10:00 P.M. (CBS) The Agency
Rocky Carroll

* Denotes a Black-oriented series
All times are Eastern Standard

COPYRIGHT 2002 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group

Get Skiing &Snowboarding Packages. - Sponsored Link
Ad - View Package Specials &Book Now!