Have you ever sat and watched a popular Black TV show from the 90s and thought to yourself “whatever happened to this show’, “this show was cancelled before its time” or “this show never got the recognition that it truly deserved”? Yep, I’ve been there too and I wanted to shed some light on those Black TV shows from the 90s that either ended abruptly (some with no rhyme or reason), cancelled while the show was at its peak or ended without a proper send off. Strap yourselves in and take this journey back to the 90s with me! Warning: I’m getting ready to unlock a lot of memories with this one!
Living Single (1993-1998 FOX Network)
It breaks my heart having to add Living Single to the list but here we are. Living Single was such an amazing show and there’s not a show I can relate to more as an adult! By season 5, FOX didn’t care about this show anymore. Only 13 episodes were ordered and filmed. Because the network canceled the show, Living Single gave us one of the worst series finales of ALL time! Max getting pregnant by Kyle via “sperm bank”?! What the hell was that?! LOL!!
ROC (1991-1994 FOX Network)
What made Roc stand out is that the four principle characters were all accomplished stage actors. Because of this, the second season was live in front of an audience (which has not been done in a while at the time). Roc was nominated for an Emmy in 1992 and Charles S. Dutton won an Emmy for his role as Roc Emerson. Ratings resulted in the abrupted cancellation of this show, however, I feel as though more effort could’ve went behind pushing this show (Roc can be streamed on BET+).
New York Undercover (1994-1999 FOX Network)
Admit it, you wish Natalie’s was a real nightclub too! New York Undercover was an amazing show that brought something unique to the world of Police TV Shows! Detectives JC and Torres were cooler than a fan but let’s be real, the show was DOOMED once Detective Torres was killed off in Season 3. By the 4th season, after 3 main characters not returning, it lost steam, resulting in the cancellation of the show! The good news is that episodes air on Friday nights on BET!
South Central (1994 FOX Network)
South Central was a PG TV show version of Boyz N the Hood and it was fantastic!! However, after only 10 episodes in, FOX pulled the plug on the show. Liiiike, did they even give this show a chance??? FOX cited poor ratings as to why the show was axed but we know the truth, it was too “real’ for that network.
In Living Color (1990-1994 FOX Network)
Okay so are you starting to notice this pattern with FOX Network? Yep, me too. On Season 4, Keenan Ivory Wayans was only on 3 episodes (as host) and that was due to the back & forth battle behind the scenes over censorship (even though they gave him the power to poke fun at any and everything). When they couldn’t come up with an agreement, Keenan stepped down. Marlon left with him and by the end of Season 4, the entire Wayans family had no affiliation with the show. Still sucks how they did him.
Moesha (1996-2001 UPN)
Moesha just couldn’t keep her foot out of her mouth and it’s very cringey watching Moesha through adult eyes but let me stick to the topic. By season 6, the ratings dropped (mainly due to Uncle Frank being Dorian’s Father) and instead of giving us a proper season 7 sendoff, they leave us with a cliffhanger that we are still trying to figure out 20 years later: where is Myles?! Who was pregnant!?
My Brother & Me (1994-1995 Nickelodeon)
Goooo Punch!! Sorry, I had to say it!! My Brother and Me had soooooo much potential! My Brother & Me was the first TV show on Nickelodeon to feature a predominately black cast. I also loved that the Mom was a Delta and the Dad was a Que! The show was green lit for a second season. However, due to vison disagreements between producers and creators, the network pulled the plug. A very young Amanda Seales was also on this show!
The PJ’s (1999-2001 FOX/WB)
The PJ’s was just another example of Eddie Murphy’s creative talent. I would’ve been just fine if this were your typical cartoon animation but Eddie collaborated with Will Vinton ClayMation and created a masterpiece! However, what made the PJ’s stand out is the reason it was cancelled. With clay animation, it takes two months to produce one episode, on top of that, it was very expensive to develop these episodes. Unfortunately, that and the declining ratings resulted in the show getting canceled in 2001.
Out All Night (1992-1993 NBC)
From the same team that brought you “The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air”, I bring you “Out All Night”. This is another show that may have flown under a lot radars. It starred Patti LaBelle as a singer who ran a Nightclub in LA. The main cast was pretty star studded including Vivica A. Fox, Morris Chestnut, Duane Martin and a very young and adorable Tahj Mowry! This show had the formula to be successful but unfortunately no one cared, resulting in the cancellation. At least Auntie Patti Blessed us with an amazing theme song!
In The House (1995-1999 NBC/UPN)
Okay, I was soooooo torn on which cast picture I wanted to use for In The House, but after thinking about how they treated Debbie Allen & Jeffery Wood after the relaunch of In The House on a new network, I had to go with the OG crew! I absolutely loved In The House. It was lighthearted, funny and not to mention the oh so sexy LL Cool J was on the show!!! By season 3, UPN wanted to make the show more “adult oriented”, resulting in writing off Debbie Allen (she left due to creative differences) and Jeffery Wood. The show lasted 2 more seasons after the relaunch. Reruns are aired on Aspire and HBO Max.
That’s it yall! Do you all remember these shows??? I hope I unlocked several memories for y’all LOL!!
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