Black Sitcoms - Good

I LOVE TV. I actually get offended when people call it the "idiot box". TV has a lot to offer, you have educational shows and documentaries, you have movies which provide a nice get-away from your life and you have sitcoms which provide some laughter. I will admit I am a huge fan of "Black Sitcoms". I'm sure it has something to do with being Black and I enjoy watching people who look like me on TV.

I have started a series where I will rank and describe all the Black TV shows I know. This week I will start with the "Good Shows". Keep in mind, the list is only my opinion and the shows I can actually remember (I'm sure I left some off) and I'm sure you may or may not agree (post comments and we can discuss!), but stay tuned for Okay Shows, Horrible Shows, Historically/Culturally Significant, The Forgotten or Forgettable, and Show's I've Never Heard Of (hopefully I will post them every week).

Good Black Sitcoms
	227 227 was about the tenants of building 227, with Mary (Marla Gibbs) as the star. This show was funny and depicted the normal life of a middle class working Black family. It was great not to see Black people living in the projects (re: Good Times). Of course, Sandra (Jackee Harry) stole the show as a "sexy vamp".
	Amen Did you know Amen took place in Philly? Yup, so I will admit a little bias in this classification. Amen is about Deacon Frye (Sherman Hemsley) and church "executive board" and the mishaps they get into each week. My favorite character, of course, was his daughter Thelma (Anna Maria Horsford) who pines after the Rev.
	Barbershop: The Series This show was funny, smart and urban (not black, but urban as in city life). It was WAY BETTER than the movie Barbershop, with better acting and better writing. Of course, Showtime is buggin' and no one knows if it's coming back to TV. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
	The Bernie Mac Show Bernie Mac's show was good. I will admit I wasn't a weekly fan, but enjoyed it when I stumbled across it. With the untimely death of Bernie Mac, I'm sure the show will be propelled to greater admiration.
	The Boondocks Shining and unflinching mirror on Black America, the Boondocks is at times hard to watch but always hilarious. Based on the syndicated cartoon strip by Aaron McGruder the show tells the tale of three black youths who now live in the suburbs with their grandfather.
	The Cosby Show This show transformed what American thought of Black Americans (even if many believed it was a fairytale - I mean a Black doctors and lawyers, you gotta be joking). But everyone wanted to be part of the Cosby Clan. My favorite will always be the rebellious Denise (Lisa Bonet).
	A Different World A spin-off of The Cosby Show, A Different World was wonderful! I think it was a large force in the increase enrollment of HBCU's during the 80's and early 90's. When I was 12, I was all set to attend Hillman College, until my parents informed me it didn't actually exist.
	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air "In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spend most of my days..." Everyone knows the lyrics to the theme song (or should I say rap). It was the first time I saw "rich" Black people on TV and I loved it.
	The Game I know the CW is trying to get rid of this show but I really like it (they moved it to Friday nights @ 8:30pm without promotion).The show gives us an inside glimpse into the world of professional footballers (not soccer). Oh and the drama is great! P.S. - the show was a spin-off from Girlfriends.
	Girlfriends They tried to peg this as the Black Sex and the City, but that was not the case. Compared to Sex and the City this show was way more conservative. Girlfriends showcased the lives of four middle class (maybe upper middle class) Black women in LA. My favorite girlfriend was Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), I could totally identify with her geekiness (love of holidays, sing-a-longs, and awkwardness).
	Good Times Who doesn't remember the iconic episodes where Penny gets burned by the iron, JJ gets shot, and Florida screams "damn, damn, damn". Certainly all good times, right? (yes, I'm being sarcastic). The daily going-on's of this housing-project family, jumped the shark when the parents left (did I mention I hated Keith).
	Living Single Who doesn't love a sitcom about friends? We have the the strong black woman, Khadijah (Queen Latifah), the bougie chick Regine (Kim Fields), lawyer and moocher Max (Erika Alexander), and the lovable Synclaire (Kim Coles). It was a fun show, but kind of jumped the shark after Synclaire and Overton got married.
	Noah's Arc Now, I haven't seen a full episode of this show, but I hear it's HOTT! It's about four gay friends in LA and deals with their lives and loves.
	The PJs When this show first aired I loved it! It starred Eddie Murphy and centered around residents of a Detroit housing project. The jokes were funny and it was claymation!
	The Parent 'Hood This show was a modern Cosby Show. It is about a upper middle-class Black family and each episode ends with a kind of moral lesson. My parents really liked it and made us watch it every week.
	The Proud Family Now, I don't watch this show, but it's a POSITIVE black cartoon for the kiddies. How can you not like it?
	Sanford and Son Starring Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford (the G stands for Great Black Show List!) and his son Lamont Sanford (Demond Wilson). Foxx was great in the role and you will laugh out loud each show!
	Sister, Sister This show aired during my teens and oh how I loved it! I wanted cool clothes like the twins and a fun bedroom (I shared a bedroom with my younger sister and it was not fun). The twins (Tia and Tamera Mowry) were separated at birth and met by chance and started living together with their legal guardians.
	South Central This show was real! I remember watching and thinking wow, I've never seen a sitcom showcase such real characters and situations (rather, network TV). I'm from the East Coast, so it was nice to get a glimpse into the Black West Coast life. Unfortunately, it was cancelled before it got a chance to blossom.
	Roc My parents LOOOVED Roc! They totally loved it. The show also did a LIVE episode each season (they would include a current event to prove it was live) and had some "very special episodes". Great acting and interesting story lines.
	That's My Mama My Dad talks so fondly about this show (maybe he just likes saying "That's My Mama" - it is fun to say) that I had to add it to the list. I've seen a couple shows, but I'll take my Dad's word for it and say it was good. Oh yeah, the show had a catch phrase "Wooooooo, WHEE!! I got it, I got it, and I got to report it!"
	What's Happening!! Who can forget the catch phrases: "Hey, Hey, Hey!" and "Ooh, I'm tellin' Mama!" Everyone enjoyed the tales of Raj (Ernest Thomas), Dwayne (Haywood Nelson) and Rerun (Fred Berry), three teens from Watts.

* Shows are in alphabetical order
* If you think I should add something, let me know!

UPDATE

I was told I should add The Wire to the list of Good Sitcoms. I'm not quite sure it fits in the category. It certainly had a predominately Black cast (minus season 2), it still lacks the second requirement, laughter. Yeah, the show had some laughs (more like the laugh to stop yourself from crying type), but not enough to call it a sitcom. But maybe I should create a drama list of Black shows!? Oh wait, that would probably be a very short list. Can you think of any Black drama shows?

UPDATE - AGAIN [Dec. 8th]
It was brought to my attention (via. a comment) I forgot to put The Jefferson's on the list. My bad. The Jefferson's should totally be on this list. If I ever get around to truly updating this list, I will add it properly... until then...