13 Shows Literally Anyone Should Make Starring Black Women

    Drama, comedy, period pieces and even a remake of Pride and Prejudice. FREE IDEAS! You're welcome.

    by
    Bim Adewunmi
    by Bim Adewunmi

    Culture Editor, BuzzFeed UK

    ,
    Gena-mour Barrett
    by Gena-mour Barrett

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Hi! Are you a TV writer who struggles to diversify your cast and/or TV ideas? Have you written several shows and somehow, by sheer coincidence, they all seem to star white dudes?

    Netflix UK
    Netflix UK
    Netflix UK

    We get it. It's hard.

    Well, never fear! We did a little digging, and it turns out it's actually not that hard to write TV shows starring black women. In fact, we came up with 13!

    Be assured, dear friends, there is ~literally~ no reason for the limited number, and scope, of people of colour on our TV screens. None. We checked.

    And yes, we know this list is imperfect in many ways. It just shows what is possible when you give "diversity" and "inclusion" more than five minutes of thought (or you could just host the 9,746th discussion panel on the subject and keep wringing your hands). This is simply one attempt at correcting a deliberate and pernicious multi-generational fuck-up. Do better, everyone. Jeez.

    1. Love Is...

    Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed / Thinkstock

    Genre: Comedy

    Channel: BBC Three (12x30 mins)

    Synopsis: Jessica and Ama are two ex-school rivals who meet (and clash) several years later, at a wedding convention. When they discover their weddings are scheduled for the the same day, the two re-engage in an intense battle – a race to have the perfect wedding.

    Cast Credits

    Ashley Madekwe — Jessica Flowers

    Michaela Coel — Ama Boakye

    2. The Script

    Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed / Getty Images

    Genre: Crime thriller

    Channel: HBO (8x60 mins)

    Synopsis: Det. Natasha Adeyemi and Det. Rachel Kuria are specialist police officers assigned to a serial murder case in which the murderer kidnaps and tortures their victim, leaving behind only a "suicide" note at the scene. As the murders intensify, the detectives combine forces to find out what links the victims – and to catch the culprit.

    Cast Credits

    Sophie Okonedo — Detective Natasha Adeyemi

    Angela Griffin — Detective Rachel Kuria

    3. Dirty Weekend

    Susie Wokoma / Gena-mour Barrett / BuzzFeed / Prisma

    Genre: Comedy

    Channel: Channel 4 (4x45 mins)

    Synopsis: Karen and Kemi are two friends who go to Barcelona for the weekend after Karen is laid off suddenly and gets a healthy severance package. Once there, they meet a cute Spaniard. But is Francesc all he seems...?

    Cast Credits
    Susie Wokoma     – Karen

    Adelayo Adedayo – Kemi

    4. Room Service

    Sian Butcher / BuzzFeed / Getty Images

    Genre: Comedy drama

    Channel: Channel 4 (6x30 mins)

    Synopsis: Jen and Abby are sisters who, with the help of an inheritance from their dad, move back to Blackpool to set up their dream business: a boutique B&B. They balance the usual demands and dramas of being new business owners while dealing with the grief of losing their much-loved dad, ex-partners who keep turning up, and the travails of living with your baby sister again. As they settle into their new lives they receive a surprise guest – their long-lost mother… Will they forgive her, or is it too little, too late?

    Cast Credits

    Zawe Ashton — Jen

    Cush Jumbo​ — Abby

    5. The City

    Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed / Getty Images / Thinkstock

    Genre: Police procedural/Drama

    Channel: Amazon Video (10x60 mins)

    Synopsis: Set in the mid-1970s in NYC, Robin, Veronica, and Angela are three good friends in a rare position: they’re New York City cops. The three women bond over the trials and tribulations they face as black, career women – both on the job, and at home.

    Cast Credits

    Nicole Beharie — Robin

    Anika Noni Rose — Veronica

    Yaya Dacosta — Angela

    6. Valentina

    Rebecca Hendin / BuzzFeed / Getty Images / Thinkstock

    Genre: Romantic/family drama

    Channel: Netflix (10x60 mins)

    Synopsis: Simone and Tia are madly in love. Two years into their blissful romance, they decide to have a baby, but when Simone discovers she’s unable to get pregnant, the tension of conception threatens to tear them apart. They start their family by adopting Valentina (a delicious brown baby actor) from the Dominican Republic, and discover that love comes in all kinds of packages.

    Cast Credits

    Gabrielle Union — Tia

    Tika Sumpter — Simone

    7. Nailed It

    Sian Butcher / BuzzFeed / Getty Images

    Genre: Romantic/family drama

    Channel: Netflix (10x60 mins)

    Synopsis: Just as Frankie has achieved her dream of owning and running her own nail salon in Birmingham, things start falling apart: the pipes freeze and the newest member of her staff walks out on her first day. When there's a leak from upstairs, Frankie goes to investigate and finds her hunky neighbour Sam, who makes her life a whole lot more complicated...

    Cast Credits

    Antonia Thomas — Frankie

    Arinze Kene​ — Sam

    8. Ruby And Pearl

    Sian Butcher / BuzzFeed / Getty Images

    Genre: Science fiction

    Channel: AMC (10x45 mins)

    Synopsis: Ruby is a super-intelligent high schooler who discovers she has magical powers when an incident with a school bully results in a mild but terrifying earthquake at school. When Ruby meets the mysterious Pearl, an older girl who seems to possess the same gift, she agrees to help Ruby hone her extraordinary powers.

    Cast Credits

    Quvenzhané Wallis — Ruby

    Amandla Stenberg — Pearl

    9. Cornrowed

    Gena-mour Barrett / BuzzFeed / Thinkstock

    Genre: Ensemble comedy

    Channel: BBC Two (12x30 mins)

    Synopsis: It’s no easy feat running a salon in Camberwell for more than 15 years, and owner-manager Joy runs a tight ship with master braid stylist Temi, natural hair expert Andrea, award-winning colourist Hope, and over-eager new apprentices Shanice and Sade in tow. Along with an assortment of local characters (their regular is Melba, a former soap opera star who still thinks she's A-List), the women live their lives, loves, and mistakes in the salon that grew them.

    Cast Credits

    Caroline Chikezie — Joy

    Wunmi Mosaku — Temi

    Michelle Tiwo — Andrea

    Shvorne Marks — Hope

    Pearl Mackie — Shanice

    Alisha Bailey — Sade

    Josie d'Arby — Melba

    10. The One

    Sian Butcher / BuzzFeed / Getty Images

    Genre: Drama

    Channel: BBC Two (6x45 mins)

    Synopsis: Darcy ​and ​Rossalyn work at a high stakes London law firm, and soon come to realise they are both seeing the same (waste)man, Frank – the guy they both thought was “The One.” They dump him and form a surprising friendship.

    Cast Credits

    Thandie Newton — Darcy

    Carmen Ejogo — Rossalyn

    Michael Fassbender — Frank

    11. Order Up!

    Sian Butcher / BuzzFeed / Getty Images

    Genre: Drama

    Channel: NBC (23x30 mins)

    Synopsis: Cheryl is an aspiring actress who leaves her small Oklahoma hometown for Hollywood to pursue her dreams of becoming a superstar. Arriving with barely any money and no friends, Cheryl manages to secure a job at Shay’s Diner. There, as she struggles to become a star, she meets a host of different characters, including kooky British college student and soon-to-be roommate, Dina.

    Cast Credits

    Keke Palmer — Cheryl

    Vivica Fox — Shay

    Michaela Coel — Dina

    12. Hidden

    Jamie Jones / BuzzFeed / Getty Images / BBC Pictures

    Genre: Drama

    Channel: ITV (8x60 mins)

    Synopsis: When Samantha is tragically killed in a motorcycling accident, the Cookes' lives are drastically changed. As the remaining Cookes – father, Patrick and daughter Gena – slowly rebuild their lives, they soon uncover some devastating secrets about the wife and mother they thought they knew. Precisely who was Samantha Cooke?

    Cast Credits

    Diane Parish — Samantha Cooke

    Idris Elba — Patrick Cooke

    Dionne Bromfield — Gena Cooke

    13. Pride And Prejudice

    Jamie Jones / BuzzFeed / Getty Images

    Genre: Ensemble comedy

    Channel: BBC One (6x55 mins)

    Synopsis: Austen’s classic is brought back to screen for a new generation. At Longbourn, Elizabeth and her sisters are at the age when country balls and marriage are on the horizon, and their mother will not rest until her daughters are wed and settled. When Lizzie meets Fitzwilliam Darcy she is struck by his proud and superior demeanour. Only the reciprocal attachment between Darcy’s best friend Charles and Lizzie's older sister Jane keeps her (barely) civil—especially hard when faced with Miss Bingley’s snooty disapproval. Meanwhile her younger sisters Lydia, Kitty and to a much lesser extent, Mary are taken in by the charms of Wickham who is not all he says he is, considering his past with Darcy and his younger sister Georgiana.

    Cast Credits

    Claire-Hope Ashitey — Elizabeth Bennet

    Freema Agyeman — Jane Bennet

    Sharon D. Clarke — Mrs Bennet

    Natalie Gumede — Caroline Bingley

    Susie Wokoma — Lydia Bennet

    Vanessa Barbiye — Kitty Bennet

    Bunmi Mojekwu — Mary Bennet

    Adelayo Adedayo — Georgiana Darcy

    Marianne Jean-Baptiste — Lady Catherine De Bourgh

    John Boyega — Fitzwilliam Darcy

    Malachi Kirby — Charles Bingley

    Franz Drameh — George Wickham