by Tara Pringle Jefferson
Let me start off by saying I have a three-episode rule when it comes to TV shows. If there’s a show that gets great buzz or my friends can’t stop talking about it or I can’t log onto Twitter without the live tweets clogging my screen, then I will usually give it three episodes to catch my interest and get me excited too.
I personally get excited whenever there’s a new show that deals with married folk.
When I first heard about Basketball Wives (go ahead and call me naive) I thought I was going to get a glimpse of “the women behind the men,” the wives of these athletes and how they hold down the fort when their husbands are on the road for seven game stretches.
This is not what I got. (Granted the show is executive produced by Shaunie O’Neal, whose recent very public divorce from Shaquille O’Neal might not make her eager to showcase love in all its glory.) Instead I got a bunch of sad, bitter women who…do what exactly? Pick fights and show up at parties to start more fights? I don’t get it. Maybe the real wives were too busy being wives to allow themselves to take part in the foolishness. I think I gave it maybe two episodes and shut it off quick.
When The Game premiered after a two-year absence, I was excited to see what Melanie and Derwin’s married life would be like. How would they handle Melanie’s demanding career as a doctor with Derwin’s equally demanding career as a football player? Turns out – that wasn’t even a factor since Melanie postponed her residency. It was all about the drama and the baby mama on the side, not about their quest to live happily ever after. I’m on episode two and I don’t know how much longer I’ll watch.
But even when we do get a “positive” Black couple on the screen, the writing, set, casting, plotlines, etc., are usually subpar. While I admire Tyler Perry for bringing Meet The Browns and House of Payne to a major network, the quality is not there. They regularly churn out several episodes a week, while other mainstream shows produce only one during that same time frame. They’re efficient, all right, but at what cost to show quality?
I’m well aware that this dearth of positive marriages on the small screen is not only limited to African-American couples. Marriage in general gets the short stick on TV.
But maybe a show about regular ol’ folks, without the extra drama and baby on the side, would be too boring. Who wants to watch an hour-long drama about parents trying to figure out where to send their kid to school? Or watch a couple sit down to do the weekly budget? Yawnfest, for sure. But didn’t The Cosby Show do it? What about The Fresh Prince? Moesha? (LOL)
BMWK family, I know TV (entertainment in general) needs to be, well, entertaining. What do you say – would a regular ol’ marriage (set in either a drama or comedy) make a hit show? What’s your favorite show revolving around a couple and/or their family?
Tara Pringle Jefferson is a freelance writer, blogger and PR professional living in Ohio with her husband and two kids. She’s also Managing Editor of BlackAndMarriedWithKids.com. Follow her on Twitter or check out her blog for more insights on love and family.
Christine Pembleton says
“Maybe the real wives were too busy being wives to allow themselves to take part in the foolishness.” exactly!
Shanae says
I second that @Christine A real wife that has kids to take care of and a marriage would not have time to play games with the likes of them.
yoyo says
I agree with both you. That show is filled with bitter, jealous women. All they do is drink and never spend any time with their kids. Jennifer is in total denial. She knows her husband is cheating on her because he told her, and she’s content to stay and put up with his foolishness. I hate for my nieces to watch that show because it portrays sistah’s as bitter, gold-digging, wild women, not to say there aren’t sistahs like that, but does it have to be in our homes on our televisions? Half of the so-called “Housewives” shows on tv are not even about homemakers….these women are either divorced, or were engaged, or are dating. So where does the “Housewife” or “Wife” part come in?
Will says
So far I have seen the first two episodes of The Game and to me it has lost itself after being off the air so long. It is almost a different show. Too much drama and not enough funny.
Michaelcovin says
The Game was not a great show when it was on the air before and it came back as is even worse. Basketball Wives is on TV because RHOA is on TV. They both are mess and people don’t respect marriage off Television so thus we have shows to view that don’t respect marriage on TV.
Donielle Michele says
I don’t watch television so I couldn’t tell you about either…lol! I have given up on tv (I watch movies though) until certain goals in life (ex. concentrating on my business and getting my boys in preschool<----why is this one so hard, lol) are met. I can say this, I am soooo tired of seeing tweets and Facebook statuses worshipping "The Game", LOL! I can't even log on at those times anymore....smh. I actually used to watch the Disney channel for cute family shows. I like Lizzy Maquire and That's So Raven. I have a little sister, don't judge me, hahahahaha!
dani says
i think it would make for good tv. we need a representation of a marriage w/o drama and i bet ppl would tune in. there are still ppl that want to see a positive marriage so they can feel like marriage is still a good thing and not just heartache and pain
Tracita linda says
I actually stumbled upon a show about ‘white’ married folks on ABC family by mistake, it’s cute, but I don’t know if it’s considered ‘popular.’ Check it out when you get a chance, it’s called ‘Still Standing’ and it’s about a Chicago couple with 3 kids. The husband is the chubby Homer Simpson-like funny guy and the wife is the attractive one who wants to remain the ‘cool mom’.
Harmony says
Garbage!!!!! These women aren’t even WIVES!
Aja Dorsey Jackson says
I think tv in general has changed so much that the family sitcom, Black, White or otherwise, is dying out. Tv is pretty much dominated by reality shows and cop dramas and in the reality show world, drama sells. There have been a few more family oriented reality shows like Run’s House, but I question whether a true family sitcom would even become extremely popular given what we have become used to.
Tara Pringle Jefferson says
@Tracita – I’ve watched that show (all the time actually when it was on Lifetime). It was good, don’t know if I’d call it popular either….
Georgiapeche says
I was completely lost about this post. What exactly are you looking for. You have to realize that it is all for entertainment purposes and yes it is boring for a television show to only show parents trying to figure out where to send there kids to school. Actually if you rewatched Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and Meet the Browns you would see everything that you are looking for. Also try are we there yet, it’s growing on me. I love the Cosby show, but it was mild and a little unrealistic. In real life marriage is not perfect and there is drama, there is baby mama’s ex wives, hateful females, and arguments within the marriage, everyday is not a happy day. While I agree that i questioned the “wife” part of basketball wives, I have to reiterate that it is for all purposes just entertainment. If you want to see more about wives holding down there athletic husbands try football wives. There’s the drama for entertainment and there are also women concerned about what will happen when there husbands retire from the field. I do agree that The Game should have gone a little further considering that 2 years have gone by, but I think they didn’t want to go to far in the future since we were left hanging in the first place and hopefully they will develop the characters more. So just try to use television for what it is an escape from reality and please watch everything possible because this is the first time in a while that we could even see our brown skin (besides BET and TV One) on our own television shows in a while. Support black television people.
Tara Pringle Jefferson says
I do support black television (all TV shows that have an interesting premise), hence my three-episode rule.
I can’t stand House of Payne or Meet the Browns. Sorry. I think the quality is horrible and the writing is trite. But I will sit there when my husband watches it and not raise a fuss. My problem with The Game is that there is ALWAYS a problem with Melanie and Derwin. And when things get tough, one of them is ALWAYS running for the door. I haven’t seen too much of Are We There Yet? but I will check that one out.
Undercovers is another show I should have included in the post. A drama about (married) (sexy) spies? Oh yes. But the show was sooooo boring. I fell asleep during the pilot, the second episode, the third episode, etc.
You wrote: “In real life marriage is not perfect and there is drama, there is baby mama’s ex wives, hateful females, and arguments within the marriage, everyday is not a happy day.”
I don’t think that showing a “real marriage” means drama 24/7. Isn’t marriage supposed to be happy more often than not? I mean, if six days out the week you’re cussing and fussing at each other, what’s the point of that seventh day? Not every marriage has spiteful baby mamas on the side, or screaming matches. Yes, there’s conflict but as a whole, we should see more of the love. 🙂
I love escapist TV, but is it too much to ask for witty, well-written dialogue, actors that give great performances, sets that don’t look like the walls are made of cardboard, and at least one couple who holds it down? Maybe….
Rbidi says
I agree about the Tyler Perry shows and I didn’t expect much from the Game since it was picked up by BET, and they haven’t really been known to do right by us in the past. Have you watched Parenthood on NBC? There isn’t a black couple on there, but there are two interracial couples, and the black male is very positive and its an overall great show. I remember when I used to have cable that they had a show called Lincoln Heights on ABC Family. That was a good black family show, with a positive married couple. I don’t know if it still comes on, but if so, you should check that out too.