85 Top Shows to Binge for Black History Month

Synopsis: Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson -- described as hilarious and socially aware at the same time -- bring their hit comedy podcast to HBO for... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jessica Williams, Phoebe Robinson

Synopsis: Family life in a black neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Starring: Marla Gibbs, Hal Williams, Alaina Reed-Hall, Jackée Harry

Synopsis: Seeking to address the failures of the comedy landscape and entertainment industry to include vital voices, this narrative series set in a limitless magical reality... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, Skye Townsend, DaMya Gurley

Synopsis: In a feudal Japan of the future, a young warrior sets out to avenge the murder of his father, encountering life-altering lessons in brutality, love,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kelly Hu, Ron Perlman, Samuel L. Jackson, Phil LaMarr

Synopsis: Spencer James is a rising high school football player and A student at South Crenshaw High, but when coach Billy Baker recruits him to join... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bre-Z, Greta Onieogou, Michael Evans Behling, Jalyn Hall

Synopsis: A look inside the chaotic, hopeful and sometimes absurd lives of judges, prosecutors and public defenders as they work with bailiffs, clerks and cops to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Simone Missick, Wilson Bethel, Marg Helgenberger, Jessica Camacho

Synopsis: From executive producers Ahmir Questlove Thompson, Tariq Black Thought Trotter, Shawn Gee and Alex Gibney, each episode of this series focuses on a groundbreaking song... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, John Legend

Synopsis: This unscripted documentary series presents an exclusive look into an academic year at suburban Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School. Students, teachers and... View Full Synopsis

Synopsis: Two cousins work through the Atlanta music scene to better their lives and the lives of their families. Earn Marks is a young manager trying... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz

Synopsis: New evidence comes to light in the abduction and murder of approximately 30 African American children and young adults occurring over a span of two... View Full Synopsis

Synopsis: BET's first hourlong scripted drama is a follow-up to the same-titled TV movie that premiered on the network in the summer of 2013. The series... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gabrielle Union, Omari Hardwick, Lisa Vidal, Richard Roundtree

Synopsis: A man takes an irreverent and honest approach to parenting and relationships.

Starring: Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones, Iman Benson, Ravi Cabot-Conyers

Synopsis: Kate Ashby was raised in Britain by her adoptive mother, Eve, but was born in Rwanda and was rescued as a young child from the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Goodman, Michaela Coel, Tyrone Huggins, Lucian Msamati

Synopsis: Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) has it all: a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids and a big home in a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner

Synopsis: CW and Greg Berlanti expand the footprint of their DC Comics universe with this exploration of the intersection between family life and being a superhero.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams

Synopsis: "Black Monday" chronicles the 31st anniversary of the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street. To this day, no one knows exactly... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Don Cheadle, Andrew Rannells, Regina Hall, Paul Scheer

Synopsis: Taken from her West Africa village and dragged in chains to the coast, 11-year-old Aminata Diallo is sold into slavery. After a horrific ocean crossing... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Shailyn Pierre-Dixon, Lyriq Bent, Greg Bryk

Synopsis: Cantankerous Robert "Granddad" Freeman is the legal guardian of his grandsons, 10-year-old revolutionary Huey and 8-year-old Riley, a product of contemporary rap culture. After moving... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Regina King, John Witherspoon, Gabby Soleil, Cedric Yarbrough

Synopsis: Jerrod and his therapist-in-training girlfriend, Maxine, are intelligent, ambitious and ready to take the next step to building a fulfilling life by moving in together.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jerrod Carmichael, Loretta Devine, David Alan Grier, Lil Rel Howery

Synopsis: The sketch-comedy show, starring comic Dave Chappelle, follows the tried-and-true formula of similar shows that preceded it. Chappelle performs a stand-up routine that leads into... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dave Chappelle

Synopsis: The stirring romance of a couple is told in segments of a single day.

Starring: Joy Bryant, Henry Simmons, Richard Roundtree, Terri J. Vaughn

Synopsis: Tracey Gordon, a religious, Beyoncé-obsessed 24-year-old, is fast to find out that the more she learns about the world, the less she understands.

Starring: Michaela Coel, Robert Lonsdale, Danielle Isaie, Susan Wokoma

Synopsis: The South Side of Chicago carries daily danger, and the smallest and simplest of decisions can have life or death consequences for the residents. Life... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jacob Latimore, Alex R. Hibbert, Yolonda Ross, Shamon Brown Jr.

Synopsis: At the Nail Artisan of Manatee County salon in Central Florida, five diverse, hardworking manicurists try to make ends meet in a staid economy while... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Niecy Nash, Jenn Lyon, Judy Reyes, Carrie Preston

Synopsis: "David Makes Man" is a drama series created by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney ("Moonlight"). Set in South Florida, this lyrical coming-of-age story centers... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Isaiah Johnson, Travis Coles

Synopsis: Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, this Netflix-original series follows a group of students of color at Winchester University, a predominantly white... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, DeRon Horton, Antoinette Robertson

Synopsis: Denise Huxtable is in "a different world" -- predominantly black Hillman College -- in this popular "Cosby Show" spinoff. A sophomore, Denise shares her quarters... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Dawnn Lewis

Synopsis: Hip-hop artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon, has always ruled unchallenged, but a medical diagnosis predicts he will be incapacitated in three years,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Trai Byers

Synopsis: An American adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name, "Euphoria" follows the troubled life of 17-year-old Rue, a drug addict fresh from rehab... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Angus Cloud, Jacob Elordi

Synopsis: Inspired by the life of Isaac Wright Jr., "For Life" is a fictional serialized legal and family drama about an imprisoned man, Aaron Wallace, who... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nicholas Pinnock, Indira Varma, Joy Bryant, Dorian Missick

Synopsis: Will Smith more or less plays himself in this good-natured NBC sitcom. As the show's popular theme song explains, fictional Will's mom sends him away... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Will Smith, James Avery, Daphne Maxwell-Reid, Alfonso Ribeiro

Synopsis: An ensemble sitcom focusing on a mixed batch of black women who face life's tests and triumphs together. From dating to divorce and friends to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White, Reggie Hayes

Synopsis: In the early 1960s, infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson returns from 10 years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles; with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Forest Whitaker, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy

Synopsis: Florida and James Evans struggle to raise their kids - irrepressible artist JJ, voice-of-reason Thelma, and politically active Michael - in a Chicago housing project.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Esther Rolle, John Amos, Jimmie Walker, Ja'net DuBois

Synopsis: The Greenleaf family, which runs sprawling Memphis megachurch Calvary Fellowship World Ministries, appears to be a loving and caring clan. Beneath the surface, though, exists... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lynn Whitfield, Keith David, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Hawthorne

Synopsis: The Johnson family's eldest daughter is taking her first steps into the real world as she heads off to college. "Grown-ish" explores the first trappings... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Yara Shahidi, Trevor Jackson, Diggy Simmons, Marcus Scribner

Synopsis: In Savannah, Ga., the Cryer family is the enviable face of success and wealth. At least that's how it appears from the outside. But within... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Schneider, Tika Sumpter, Renee Lawless, Aaron O'Connell

Synopsis: Rob, a record-store owner in the rapidly gentrified Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, revisits past relationships through music and pop culture while trying to get... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Zoë Kravitz, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, David H. Holmes, Jake Lacy

Synopsis: Hip-hop music first developed in the United States in the 1970s and has steadily grown in popularity in the decades since then. This docuseries traces... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Shad, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool Herc

Synopsis: Annalise Keating (Oscar- and Tony-winning actress Viola Davis), a brilliant, charismatic and seductive professor of defense law, teaches a class called How to Get Away... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Viola Davis, Billy Brown, Jack Falahee, Aja Naomi King

Synopsis: After being sexually assaulted in a nightclub, Arabella's life changes irreversibly and she is forced to reassess everything, including her career, friends and family.

Starring: Michaela Coel, Weruche Opia, Paapa Essiedu, Marouane Zotti

Synopsis: This series provides a platform for the many members of the comedic Wayans family. Popular recurring sketches include Homey D. Clown, the Homeboy Shopping Network,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, Kelly Coffield Park, Tommy Davidson

Synopsis: Modern-day black women might be described as strong and confident; in other words, just the opposite of Issa and Molly. As the best friends deal... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales

Synopsis: "We're moving on up, to the East Side, to a deee-luxe apartment in the sky ... ." This spinoff from "All in the Family" is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Mike Evans, Damon Evans

Synopsis: "Aw, here it goes!" Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell were among the original cast members of the popular Nickelodeon sketch-comedy series "All That" when they... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell

Synopsis: Fresh faces Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in this 30-minute sketch comedy series, leaving no stone unturned -- whether satirizing the president or spoofing... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele

Synopsis: Spending 15 years in prison didn't transform Tray, but everything else sure seemed to change. After he is released on good behavior, he returns to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tracy Morgan, Taylor Mosby, Dante Hoagland, Ryan Gaul

Synopsis: Six black 20-somethings -- four women and two men -- share their lives and loves in a Brooklyn brownstone. A trio of women share one... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Erika Alexander, Terrence "T.C." Carson

Synopsis: Set during the final days of slavery in 19th-century Jamaica, follow the trials, tribulations and survival of a plantation slave and her odious mistress.

Starring: Tamara Lawrance, Hayley Atwell, Jack Lowden, Leo Bill

Synopsis: Atticus Black joins his friend Letitia and his Uncle George to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jonathan Majors, Courtney B. Vance, Jurnee Smollett, Michael Kenneth Williams

Synopsis: Luther is a brilliant but emotionally impulsive detective who is tormented by the dark side of humanity while hunting down murderers. Once the self-destructive detective... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Idris Elba, Ruth Wilson, Dermot Crowley, Michael Smiley

Synopsis: Stand-up comedian Martin Lawrence drives this irreverent sitcom as a sexist, cocky and wisecracking radio station talk show host. His girlfriend and eventual wife, Gina,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Tichina Arnold, Tommy Ford

Synopsis: This gritty, action-packed drama follows the evolution of Luke Cage (Mike Colter), a man with super strength and unbreakable skin caused by a sabotaged experiment.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mike Colter, Simone Missick, Rosario Dawson, Alfre Woodard

Synopsis: Rainbow Johnson recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the '80s and the constant dilemmas she and the family members had to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tika Sumpter, Christina Anthony, Arica Himmel

Synopsis: Moesha Mitchell is a teenager juggling school, friendships and romance. Previously the female head of the household, she is learning to love and trust her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brandy Norwood, William Allen Young, Marcus T. Paulk, Lamont Bentley

Synopsis: Following the death of her father, resourceful Precious Ramotswe uses her inheritance to open the first female-owned detective agency in Botswana and soon finds herself... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose, Lucian Msamati, David Oyelowo

Synopsis: "On My Block" follows a quartet of bright, street-savvy friends who are navigating their way through high school, including all the of the triumph, pain... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sierra Capri, Jason Genao, Brett Gray, Diego Tinoco

Synopsis: Inmates and correctional officers inside the Oswald State Correctional Facility, nicknamed "Oz," battle for power and survival amid warring factions and explosive acts of retribution.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, Harold Perrineau, Eamonn Walker

Synopsis: Host Sam Jay and her guests talk about current cultural issues.

Starring: Sam Jay

Synopsis: Thurgood Stubbs lives with his wife, Muriel, in the Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs housing project, where he is the superintendent. This animated comedy follows the adventures of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Loretta Devine, James Black, Michael Paul Chan

Synopsis: "Pose" is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons and ferocious house mothers of New York's underground ball culture, a movement that gained notice in the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Billy Porter, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore

Synopsis: It appears James "Ghost" St. Patrick has it all -- a drop-dead gorgeous wife, a stunning Manhattan penthouse, and the power and success that come... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Omari Hardwick, Lela Loren, Naturi Naughton, Joseph Sikora

Synopsis: A sequel to the series "Power." On his own for the first time, Tariq St. Patrick Tariq navigates his new life, in which his desire... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Rainey Jr., Mary J. Blige, Gianni Paolo, LaToya Tonodeo

Synopsis: The Pynk is a popular strip club in Mississippi, where intrigue abounds when the mysterious Autumn is welcomed by Mercedes, the dancer, and Uncle Clifford,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Brandee Evans, Nicco Annan, Shannon Thornton, Elarica Johnson

Synopsis: "Queen Sugar" tells the story of the estranged Bordelon siblings in Louisiana. At the center of the family are Nova, a journalist and activist; Charley,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Kofi Siriboe, Nicholas L. Ashe

Synopsis: A single mother must hide her young son's superpowers to protect him from exploitation while investigating their origins and her husband's death.

Starring: Alisha Wainwright, Ja'Siah Young, Jazmyn Simon, Sammi Haney

Synopsis: A 1977 miniseries based on Alex Haley's book tells the story of African teen Kunta Kinte, brought to America to be enslaved, and the generations... View Full Synopsis

Starring: LeVar Burton, Ed Asner, Georg Stanford Brown, Maya Angelou

Synopsis: Junk dealer Fred Sanford runs roughshod over his son and partner, Lamont, in a groundbreaking sitcom. Fred's moneymaking schemes routinely backfire, and he does just... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, Whitman Mayo, LaWanda Page

Synopsis: "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes is the creative mind behind this ABC drama. Olivia Pope, a former media consultant to the president, is ready to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kerry Washington, Guillermo Díaz, Darby Stanchfield, Katie Lowes

Synopsis: When 15-year-old black cyclist Brenton Butler dies in a hit-and-run accident -- with a white police officer behind the wheel of the vehicle -- Jersey... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Regina King, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Russell Hornsby, Beau Knapp

Synopsis: Bashir Salahuddin plays a character named Sherman McDaniels who hosts a fictional musical variety show called Sherman's Showcase. McDaniels takes viewers on a ride through... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bashir Salahuddin, Diallo Riddle

Synopsis: Because conversations never stop, sometimes one gets more than just a haircut while visiting a barbershop. "The Shop," co-executive produced by NBA superstar LeBron James,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: LeBron James, Maverick Carter

Synopsis: Based on the real-life experiences of London's West Indian community between 1969 and 1982.

Starring: John Boyega, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes

Synopsis: Star's life in the foster system didn't dull her dreams, but it did give her the strength to pursue them. Committed to following the path... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Queen Latifah, Brandy Norwood, Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny

Synopsis: Looking to atone for her past and reconnect with her estranged family, Jessica Pearson -- a recently disbarred powerhouse attorney -- leaves her New York... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gina Torres, Morgan Spector, Bethany Joy Lenz, Simon Kassianides

Synopsis: This drama takes viewers into the housing estates of East London. There is tension between the drug gangs that operate almost openly and those who... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kano, Ashley Walters, Shone Romulus, Micheal Ward

Synopsis: Charlie is a struggling DJ and eternal bachelor. He gets a final chance at finding success, plotting to rebuild his music career, at the same... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Idris Elba, Piper Perabo, JJ Feild, Frankie Hervey

Synopsis: A semi-autobiographical series created by Lena Waithe, "Twenties" follows Hattie, an aspiring screenwriter and queer Black woman in her 20s, and her two straight best... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jonica T. Gibbs, Christina Elmore, Gabrielle Graham, Sophina Brown

Synopsis: Driven by the dreams of a courageous blacksmith named Noah, some plantation slaves in 1850s Georgia band together to attempt a daring escape. The fight... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Adina Porter, Alano Miller, Aldis Hodge, Christopher Meloni

Synopsis: Based on the celebrated graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the exciting and dark "Watchmen" takes place in Tulsa, Okla., 34 years after... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Jean Smart

Synopsis: In 1989 a jogger was assaulted and raped in New York's Central Park, and five young people were subsequently charged with the crime. The quintet,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Kenneth Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman

Synopsis: In early 1990s New York, Bobby Diggs strives to unite a dozen young black men who are torn between music and crime but eventually rise... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ashton Sanders, Shameik Moore, Dave East, Siddiq Saunderson

Synopsis: Wu-Tang Clan became a household name in rap/hip-hop circles soon after releasing its seminal debut, "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," in 1993. To celebrate its... View Full Synopsis

Starring: RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck