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Black History Month TV Calendar 2021

Between curated streaming selections and network and cable premieres, February highlights include a wealth of movie and TV viewing options that celebrate Black artists and heritage.

by RT Staff | February 2, 2021 | Comments

TAGGED AS: ABC, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Video, BET, CBS, Comedy, discovery, Drama, FOX, Freeform, FX, HBO, Hulu, NBC, Netflix, OWN, PBS, The CW, TV, VH1

Networks and streaming services are honoring Black History Month with slates full of films, TV series, documentaries, and specials that speak to the Black experience. Nearly every streamer offers a massive hub celebrating Black excellence both in front of and behind the camera with many titles available from their permanent collections.

We’ll also see the network and streaming premieres of series like The Equalizer, starring Queen Latifah, and Young Rock, based on the life of Dwayne Johnson; movies like the Zendaya and John David Washington two-hander Malcolm & Marie on Netflix and LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya’s Black Panther film Judas and the Black Messiah on HBO Max; and PBS documentaries like The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song and Independent Lens and American Masters installments.

Read on for the month’s best TV and streaming highlights.

STREAMING

Netflix, Black Lives Matter

The original Netflix content debuting in February alone — Malcolm & Marie, mother-daughter dramedy Ginny & Georgia, the second season of Tiffany Haddish’s stand-up comedy showcase They Ready — is worth a look, but then there are the dozens of the streaming service’s features and series available to watch (Orange Is the New Black, Dear White People, When They See Us, 13th, Quincy, Da 5 Bloods, #blackAF, Beyonce’s Homecoming), plus currently streaming titles like Moonlight, Fruitvale Station, and CW drama All American.

Amazon Prime Video, Amplify Black Voices

Amazon’s curated page will feature collections according to three major themes: Black Joy in week 1, Black Love in week 2, Black History Makers in week 3 and Black Girl Magic in week 4, and all of the titles will celebrate the voices of Black actors, producers, writers, and filmmakers. Recent original titles include Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, Tessa Thompson in Sylvie’s Love, and Regina King’s One Night in Miami. Check out films from King’s own recommended watchlist, which includes Blindspotting, If Beale Street Could Talk, Poetic Justice, Selma, and The Color Purple. Amazon also offers classics like Coming to America, Soul Food, and more.

HBO Max, Black History Is Our History

The Warner Bros.–backed streaming service is offering hours of curated programming — including films, documentaries, biopics, original programming, and animation that focus on the Black experience — via a central programming hub. Watch celebrated documentaries like John Lewis: Good Trouble or Say Her Name: The Life And Death of Sandra Bland and original programming like Charm City Kings, Lovecraft Country, Watchmen, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Euphoria. Check back throughout the month for new adds, including Chewing Gum, Drumline, Love & Basketball, and Training Day, which will all join the streaming service in February.

Hulu, Celebrating Black Stories

Hulu promises a “not-just-for-February collection” of inspiring Black artists, talent, voices, and visionaries. A series hosted by Craig Robinson, Your Attention Please introduces the audience to “Black makers, thinkers, creators, and doers who are shaping the future of Black history,” and they’ll be able to peruse hubs for documentaries and biopics, popular TV shows starring Black leads, and content from the minds of Black creatives. Highlights include films like Sorry to Bother You and Ali, sketch comedy series like Sherman’s Showcase and Key & Peele, sitcoms like Living Single and black-ish, dramas like Underground and Little Fires Everywhere, and more.

FEBRUARY CALENDAR

Monday, Feb. 1

Sew the Winter to My Skin (2018) Crackle [movie]

Love & Hip Hop: It’s a Love Thing, 8 p.m., VH1

Tuesday, Feb. 2

- - Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready: Season 2 (2021) Netflix

Friday, Feb. 5

Malcolm & Marie (2021) Netflix [movie]

Saturday, Feb. 6
10th Annual NFL Honors, 9 p.m., CBS
Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina: Didn’t We Almost Have It All, 10 p.m., Lifetime [movie]

Sunday, Feb. 7

67% The Equalizer: Season 1 (2021) 10 p.m., CBS