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Color by Fox: The Fox Network and the Revolution in Black Television
Following the overwhelming success of "The Cosby Show" in the 1980s, an unprecedented shift took place in television white executives turned to black dollars as a way of salvaging network profits lost to videocassettes and cable TV. Not only were African-American viewers watching disproportionately more network television than the general population but, as Nielsen finally realized, they preferred black shows. As a result, African-American producers, writers, directors, and stars were given an unusual degree of creative control over shows such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Roc," "Living Single," Martin, and "New York Undercover."
Locating a persistent black nationalist desire--a yearning for home and community--in shows produced by and for African Americans, Kristal Brent Zook shows how these productions revealed complex and contradictory politics of gender, sexuality, and class. Incorporating interviews with such prominent executives, producers, and stars as Keenen Ivory Wayans, Quincy Jones, Robert Townsend, Charles Dutton, and Yvette Lee Bowser, this study looks at both production and reception among African-American viewers. Zook provides nuanced readings of the shows themselves as well as the political and historical contexts in which they emerged.
Though much of black television during this time was criticized for being "trivial" or "buffoonish," Color by Fox reveals its deep-rooted ties to African-American protest literature, autobiography, and a collective desire for social transformation.
Locating a persistent black nationalist desire--a yearning for home and community--in shows produced by and for African Americans, Kristal Brent Zook shows how these productions revealed complex and contradictory politics of gender, sexuality, and class. Incorporating interviews with such prominent executives, producers, and stars as Keenen Ivory Wayans, Quincy Jones, Robert Townsend, Charles Dutton, and Yvette Lee Bowser, this study looks at both production and reception among African-American viewers. Zook provides nuanced readings of the shows themselves as well as the political and historical contexts in which they emerged.
Though much of black television during this time was criticized for being "trivial" or "buffoonish," Color by Fox reveals its deep-rooted ties to African-American protest literature, autobiography, and a collective desire for social transformation.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 25, 2016
I thought this book did a really good job at explaining the context behind several Fox shows (like Queen Latifah as a rapper), what separates a show with a black cast from a black production, respectability politics, colorism, and other issues I hear about (ie "Black people can be racist too!"). Usually, for pop culture books, they put all the burden on you to research everything before reading, but Kristal Brent Zook really put a lot of effort into this, with in depth cast and writer interviews, even analyzing when a laugh track played in an episode of Sinbad. While I haven't heard of some of these shows, Zook explained everything thoroughly (and in a VHS world where some of these shows were only aired once, if even picked up, I'm impressed at her being able to find these).
This book was depressing, as the title refers to a Revolution, but by the time the book came out, the writer laments the loss of most of these shows, saying that UPN and WB weren't good replacements for what Fox did for black television. Little would she know what would happen in the next decade.
Can we get a sequel?
This book was depressing, as the title refers to a Revolution, but by the time the book came out, the writer laments the loss of most of these shows, saying that UPN and WB weren't good replacements for what Fox did for black television. Little would she know what would happen in the next decade.
Can we get a sequel?
May 27, 2025
A terrific chronicling of a “boon era” for Black folks on television.
I first heard of this book when it was cited when talking about the FOX NETWORK and their numerous Black shows, then overnight zero Black shows.
The author in this book did extensive research and broke down exactly how most of the shows were given the go-ahead to be made in the first place.
Even as a kid, I’ve always looked forward to seeing “Black shows”, shows with primarily Black casts so when the Fox Network started having several shows I was down.
When Fox started canceling those shows it was baffling. I subsequently read why in media and this book recounts it all.
I’ll end by quoting a Review of this book by reporter Jonathan V. Last who stated it perfectly.
Last wrote the below March 28, 1999.
“But Fox wisely chose not to compete at all with the Big Three, but to aim at an undeserved audience: black America.
This gambit of network-wide counter-programming proved an unexpected success: By 1995, blacks, who are only 12 percent of the U.S. audience, were 25 percent of Fox's audience. However, blacks -- whom one producer referred to as the "Nike and Doritos audience" -- are, financially speaking, a low-yield audience who don't attract big-money advertisers. So even while Fox guaranteed its viability in the short-term by finding a foothold in the marketplace, the network seemed to weaken its viability for the long-term by closely linking its brand to a relatively undesirable demographic group.
In the early 1990s, however, Fox embarked on a not-so-subtle quest to change its identity and capture a wider and more commercially attractive audience. Many of its black shows were sacrificed to make space for such programs as Beverly Hills 90210, Party of Five, and Melrose Place. Fox once again defied the odds by smoothly trading its old core audience for a new, more profitable one. This TV stepchild is now recognized as the fourth major network.
Fox's success established a blueprint that has since been followed by two new start-up networks, the failing Paramount (UPN) and the thriving Warner Brothers' (The WB).”
Additional Info:
This book was published in 1999.
The United Paramount Network (UPN ) and The WB Television Network (The WB) both debuted in 1995 and in September 2006 merged to become The CW Network (The CW).
NOTE: The content in the book is three stars, but the extensive research and the fact that the book is highly used as a source earns it another star.
I first heard of this book when it was cited when talking about the FOX NETWORK and their numerous Black shows, then overnight zero Black shows.
The author in this book did extensive research and broke down exactly how most of the shows were given the go-ahead to be made in the first place.
Even as a kid, I’ve always looked forward to seeing “Black shows”, shows with primarily Black casts so when the Fox Network started having several shows I was down.
When Fox started canceling those shows it was baffling. I subsequently read why in media and this book recounts it all.
I’ll end by quoting a Review of this book by reporter Jonathan V. Last who stated it perfectly.
Last wrote the below March 28, 1999.
“But Fox wisely chose not to compete at all with the Big Three, but to aim at an undeserved audience: black America.
This gambit of network-wide counter-programming proved an unexpected success: By 1995, blacks, who are only 12 percent of the U.S. audience, were 25 percent of Fox's audience. However, blacks -- whom one producer referred to as the "Nike and Doritos audience" -- are, financially speaking, a low-yield audience who don't attract big-money advertisers. So even while Fox guaranteed its viability in the short-term by finding a foothold in the marketplace, the network seemed to weaken its viability for the long-term by closely linking its brand to a relatively undesirable demographic group.
In the early 1990s, however, Fox embarked on a not-so-subtle quest to change its identity and capture a wider and more commercially attractive audience. Many of its black shows were sacrificed to make space for such programs as Beverly Hills 90210, Party of Five, and Melrose Place. Fox once again defied the odds by smoothly trading its old core audience for a new, more profitable one. This TV stepchild is now recognized as the fourth major network.
Fox's success established a blueprint that has since been followed by two new start-up networks, the failing Paramount (UPN) and the thriving Warner Brothers' (The WB).”
Additional Info:
This book was published in 1999.
The United Paramount Network (UPN ) and The WB Television Network (The WB) both debuted in 1995 and in September 2006 merged to become The CW Network (The CW).
NOTE: The content in the book is three stars, but the extensive research and the fact that the book is highly used as a source earns it another star.
August 24, 2016
This was a very informative book. I am really surprised by how few people have read it. I learned a lot about African-American voices in TV before/without UPN. Usually, books about the media/media criticism try to fill page counts by talking about the history of the subject (women in TV, teen dramas, etc.) from the beginning of time, but Zook dived right into business. I give Zook a lot of credit because she wrote about one season wonders, interviewed people behind the scenes, and even wrote about shows that didn't get picked up. Given the (incredibly unjust) small footprints a lot of these shows had, I am very impressed.
June 19, 2020
Read this one for a college course and it has stuck with me.
November 1, 2013
Quick and informative history of the origins of FOX and how the catered to a neglected audience and then left them for the mainstream.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews