Shadow And Act has compiled our list of the 2010s’ Top 50 television series led by Black talent.
Check out our list below and let’s talk about your favorite shows of the decade in the comments!
50. Marlon
Logline: A loving (but immature) father with a larger-than-life personality is committed to co-parenting his two kids with his very-together ex-wife but for Marlon family really always does come first–even if he’s the biggest kid of all.
49. Raven’s Home
Logline: Though Raven Baxter is psychic, she would’ve never guess she’d be a single mother living in an apartment with her twins, Nia and Booker Baxter, her best friend Chelsea and Chelsea’s son, Levi.
48. Sherman’s Showcase
Logline: Like a sort of companion to Documentary Now, Sherman’s Showcase is a comedy chronicling the history of a fictional, popular variety show.
47. Giants
Logline: Giants chronicles the journey of three friends who share a firm commitment to living life on their own terms. But, when unable to escape conflicts of identity, sexuality and mental health–each character reaches a sobering turning point that forces them to either give up or fight for their lives.
46. Empire
Logline: A hip-hop mogul must choose a successor among his three sons who are battling for control over his multi-million dollar company, while his ex-wife schemes to reclaim what is hers.
45. Being Mary Jane
Logline: The life of a young Black woman, her work, her family, and the popular talk show which she hosts.
44. First Wives Club
Logline: A TV adaptation inspired by the 1996 comedy of the same name, which revolved around three divorced wives who share a common past.
43. K.C. Undercover
Longline: An outspoken and confident technology wiz and skilled black belt discovers that both her parents are spies and expect her to follow in their footsteps.
42. Wu-Tang: An American Saga
Logline: The show tracks the Wu-Tang Clan’s formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs, who strives to unite a near dozen young, Black men that are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories.
41. grown-ish
Logline: A spinoff of ABC’s “black-ish,” Zoey Johnson is off to college and must live outside the nest, dealing with drugs, sex, and relationships along the way.
40. Bigger
Logline: A woman living in East Atlanta wonders if there is something bigger and better in life.
39. Styling Hollywood
Logline: Stylist and interior designer Jason Bolden and husband Adair Curtis of JSN Studio make the magic happen on the red carpet and at home for A-listers.
38. All American
Logline: When a star high school football player from South Central is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High School, two separate worlds collide.
37. The Get Down
Logline: A ragtag group of teenagers run wild in the streets of the Bronx in the late 1970s.
36. Black Lightning
Logline: Based on the DC Comics series, a crusading school principal gets back into action as the iconic electrical superhero.
35. Black Earth Rising
Logline: Kate is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide whose adoptive mother, an international lawyer, faces a case that will shake their lives.
34. On My Block
Logline: A coming-of-age story about four bright, street-savvy friends navigating their way through high school in the gritty inner city of South Central Los Angeles. Dealing with the challenges of getting their friend out of a gang and friendships turning into romance, the danger is constant.
33. Power
Logline: James “Ghost” St. Patrick, a wealthy New York night club owner who has it all, catering to the city’s elite and dreaming big, lives a double life as a drug kingpin.
32. Dear White People
Logline: At a predominantly white Ivy League college, a group of Black students navigates various forms of racial and other types of discrimination.
31. Claws
Logline: A look at the life and crimes of five women who work at a Florida nail salon.
30. Seven Seconds
Logline: Tensions run high between African American citizens and Caucasian cops in Jersey City when a teenage African American boy is critically injured by a cop.
29. Top Boy
Logline: Two London drug dealers ply their lucrative trade at a public housing estate in East London.
28. Godfather of Harlem
Logline: Bumpy Johnson makes his way in Harlem during the 1960s after spending time in prison.
27. Chewing Gum
Logline: The life of Tracey and the mishaps of her neighborhood, friends and family, and of course, her boyfriend.
26. Snowfall
Logline: A look at the early days of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles during the beginning of the 1980s.
25. The Passage
Logline: When a botched U.S. government experiment turns a group of death row inmates into highly infectious vampires, a young girl might be the only person able to stop the ensuing crisis.
24. The Carmichael Show
Logline: The show features stand-up comedian Jerrod Carmichael as he navigates through life with his therapist in-training girlfriend and his heavily opinionated family.
23. Pitch
Logline: A young pitcher becomes the first woman to play in the Major Leagues.
22. Time: The Kalief Browder Story
Logline: After his arrest at age 16, Kalief Browder fought the system and prevailed, despite unthinkable circumstances.
21. Super Soul Sunday
Logline: This inspirational series features programs that nourish the mind, body and spirit while offering insights into living one’s best life.
20. The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Logline: Professor Gates describes the history of the African American people by talking to historians, authors, and the people who made history.
19. Greenleaf
Logline: The unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, dark secrets and lies.
18. Insecure
Logline: Insecure follows the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman.
17. Survivor’s Remorse
Logline: Through a combination of God-given talent and Boston grit, Cam Calloway and Reggie Vaughn have achieved fame and fortune that neither could have imagined growing up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Boston. But success comes with its own challenges, and the cousins and confidantes wrestle with the rewards of money, stardom, love, and occasionally, the guilt of having “made it.”
16. black-ish
Logline: A family man struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood.
15. Surviving R. Kelly
Logline: A six-part series about the controversial R&B star R. Kelly which features several women making allegations of abuse by him.
14. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Logline: Harvard educator Henry Louis Gates, Jr. hosts this enlightening PBS series that examines “the DNA of American culture” through an extensive discovery of the ancestors of today’s celebrities.
13. American Crime
Logline: A three-season anthology series that examines race, class, gender and other constructs and how they intersect in society.
12. Scandal
Logline: A former White House Communications Director starts her own crisis management firm only to realize her clients are not the only ones with secrets.
11. American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson
Logline: An anthology series centered around America’s most notorious crimes and criminals, the first season revolved around the O.J. Simpson trial.
10. How to Get Away With Murder
Logline: A group of ambitious law students and their brilliant criminal defense professor become involved in a twisted murder plot that promises to change the course of their lives.
9. Underground
Logline: With the country on the brink of the Civil War, the struggle for freedom is more dangerous than ever. Underground tells the story of American heroes and their harrowing journey to freedom, with legendary Harriet Tubman blazing the trail.
8. Pose
Logline: Pose looks at the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in New York: the rise of the luxury universe, the downtown social and literary scene and the world of ball culture.
7. Euphoria
Logline: A look at life for a group of high school students as they grapple with issues of drugs, sex and violence.
6. This Is Us
Logline: A heartwarming and emotional story about a unique set of triplets, their struggles and their wonderful parents.
5. Atlanta
Logline: Based in Atlanta, Earn and his cousin Alfred try to make their way in the world through the rap scene. Along the way they come face to face with social and economic issues touching on race, relationships, poverty, status and parenthood.
4. Queen Sugar
Logline: Queen Sugar follows the lives of three siblings, who move to Louisiana to claim an inheritance from their recently departed father–an 800-acre sugarcane farm.
3. David Makes Man
Logline: A young prodigy living in Florida looks for a way out of his poor neighborhood.
2. Watchmen
Logline: Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.
1. When They See Us
Logline: Based on a true story, five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they’re falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.
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