What To Watch
A Celebration of Black Television: 24 Essential Series to Stream Now
Relax, relate, and release.
By Tudum Staff
May 29, 2026
24 Best Black TV Shows to Stream on Netflix - Netflix Tudum
In the second season of Black-ish, ad exec and father Andre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) reflects on how his childhood pastime greatly impacted his life.
“I made best friends with my TV,” he says. “Watching TV expanded my world.”
As Netflix celebrates the legacy and evolution of Black television, we’re reflecting on the stories and characters that have shaped culture, expanded perspectives, and created lasting connections across generations.
They include comforting family sitcoms, action-packed thrillers, young adult dramas, and engrossing retellings of real-life events. Some are classics that have been beloved for decades, and others are recent releases that have become must-watches in their own right.
Whichever you watch first, be sure to also follow the advice of Debbie Allen’s iconic therapist character in A Different World and “relax, relate, and release” as you stream.
Beauty in Black
Crystle Stewart (Acrimony) and Taylor Polidore Williams (Snowfall) lead this drama, created by Tyler Perry, about two very different women from two very different worlds. When exotic dancer Kimmie (Williams) applies for a scholarship to the Beauty in Black hair school in order to change her lot in life, she becomes entwined with the company’s clever spokesperson, Mallory (Stewart), who married into the ultra-wealthy, ultra-corrupt Bellaire family. The two clash again and again as Kimmie falls into Mallory’s high-stakes world plagued by kidnapping, blackmail, and murder. The series’ third and final season is on the way.
The Bernie Mac Show
"When it comes to raising children, I believe in give and take — I give orders, and they take 'em,” says Bernie Mac in this early aughts sitcom based on his stand-up acts. In it, Mac and Kellita Smith play Bernie and Wanda, a married couple in Chicago who suddenly take in the three kids of Bernie’s sister. Mac broke the fourth wall throughout the show’s five seasons, which are packed with cameos by Chris Rock, Billy Crystal, Angela Bassett, Matt Damon, Sugar Ray Leonard, Shaquille O'Neal, and more.
Black-ish
Meet Andre Johnson (Anderson), a driven advertising executive and the patriarch of a Black family who lives in a wealthy white suburb of Los Angeles. Along with his wife, anesthesiologist Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), Andre works to keep his kids — played by Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Marsai Martin, and Miles Brown — rooted in their culture amid racism, family strain, and generational gaps. Created by Kenya Barris (You People), the eight-season sitcom’s circle also includes Jenifer Lewis, Deon Cole, Laurence Fishburne, Raven-Symoné, and Daveed Diggs.
Dear White People
Based on the 2014 film of the same name, this absurdist comedy series follows a group of Black students at a predominantly white Ivy League college as they navigate cultural bias, social injustice, and an ever-shifting political landscape. When radio show host Samantha White (Logan Browning) catches a group of students hosting a party with a racist theme, she works to hold them accountable, but then her fellow members of the Black student caucus doubt her credibility after they learn about her potentially controversial new relationship. Brandon P. Bell (Traitors), DeRon Horton (Burning Sands), and Antoinette Robertson (The Blackening) also star.
A Different World
Welcome to Hillman College. This groundbreaking sitcom follows campus life at a fictional historically Black college in the late ‘80s and early ’90s — it became so popular that HBCU enrollment rose by 26% during its run. That’s thanks in part to its memorable characters, with Lisa Bonet, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Cree Summer, Dawnn Lewis, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Darryl M. Bell, and more making up the student body, and Glynn Turman, Sinbad, and Lou Myers among the faculty and staff. Lena Horne, Patti LaBelle, Halle Berry, Tupac Shakur, and Debbie Allen (who also directed and produced the bulk of the episodes) also make appearances. Stream these six seasons ahead of the sequel series, which arrives Sept. 24 when Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), the youngest daughter of Dwayne Wayne (Hardison) and Whitley (Guy), enrolls at her parents’ alma mater.
Family Reunion
The McKellan family travels from Seattle to Georgia for a family reunion and is reminded of just how nice it is to have the help of extended family. Drawn in by matriarch M’Dear’s (Loretta Devine) home cooking and a robust Black community full of new friends, Moz (Anthony Alabi) and Cocoa (Tia Mowry) decide to move across the country with their four children. However, living with Moz’s parents means facing their Southern scrutiny and old-fashioned opinions on the couple’s modern parenting practices.
FOREVER
You always remember your first. Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.) are childhood friends who reconnect as teenagers while juggling the demands of high school, parental pressures, and the intensity of young love. Over the course of eight episodes, they experience the highs and heartbreaks of their first real relationship and develop a powerful bond. Set against the backdrop of 2018 Los Angeles, the acclaimed adaptation of the Judy Blume classic comes from creator Mara Brock Akil (Girlfriends, The Game). Find out what’s in store for Season 2 here.
The Game
Tia Mowry plays Melanie, an aspiring doctor who gives up her medical school plans when her boyfriend Derwin (Pooch Hall) becomes a pro football player with the San Diego Sabers. The show sees Melanie adjusting to her new life in the world of professional sports — befriending the other players’ wives and girlfriends, fending off relentless groupies, and doing whatever it takes to help her athlete secure the best business deals. Watch the first three seasons of this Girlfriends spin-off, also created by Mara Brock Akil (Forever).
The Get Down
A vibrant, music-filled ode to the advent of hip-hop and the rise of disco, this series from Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis is dazzling. Set in 1977, the film follows Zeke Figueroa (Justice Smith), an orphaned poet from the Bronx. He pines for his friend Mylene (Herizen F. Guardiola), a teen set on being a disco singer despite her strict father’s refusal. Zeke’s world is ripped wide open when he meets Shaolin Fantastic (Shameik Moore), a graffiti artist, breakdancer, and wannabe DJ, who introduces Zeke and his friends to the “get down” scene led by Grandmaster Flash (Mamoudou Athie). There, Zeke discovers a new form of poetry: rapping.
Girlfriends
“My girlfriends, there through thick and thin, my girlfriends, there for anything,” goes the theme song of this 2000s sitcom, starring Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White, and Jill Marie Jones. They play close Los Angeles friends who challenge and support each other through life's many triumphs and disasters — at work, with partners, and among each other. Reggie Hayes, Jenifer Lewis, and Yvette Nicole Brown are also among the cast of the eight-season series, created by Mara Brock Akil (Forever).
HIS & HERS
There are two sides to every story: his and hers. Tessa Thompson stars in this twisty psychological thriller series as Anna, an Atlanta news anchor who lives in haunted reclusion, fading away from her friends and career. Her estranged husband is Jack (Jon Bernthal), a detective. When a body is discovered in her sleepy North Georgia hometown, Anna and Jack compete to solve the case — with each believing the other is a prime suspect. The six-episode adaptation of Alice Feeney’s novel also features Crystal Fox as Anna’s mom — the other half of a strained and complicated mother-daughter relationship.
Man on Fire
After battling his own demons, former Special Forces soldier John Creasy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is uniquely qualified to take on the evildoers at the heart of this action-packed adaptation of A.J. Quinnell’s bestselling book series. Suffering from PTSD after an operation went wrong, Creasy takes a job in Brazil at the request of his old friend, Paul Rayburn (Bobby Cannavale). After a bomb detonates in Rayburn’s apartment building, Creasy must protect Rayburn’s teenage daughter, Poe (Billie Boullet), while also tracking down those responsible for the act.
Martin
As the titular character says, “get to steppin’” and stream all five seasons of this iconic sitcom. Martin Lawrence plays Martin Payne, a radio DJ in the Detroit area with his own show. While talking about relationships or interviewing celebrity guests, Martin maintains a brash and macho public persona — a characteristic that’s a point of contention between him and his girlfriend, Gina (Tisha Campbell). The comedy also includes Carl Anthony Payne II, Thomas Mikal Ford, Tichina Arnold, Tracy Morgan, and David Alan Grier in the cast.
Miss Governor
In Tyler Perry’s first Netflix comedy series, Terri J. Vaughn stars as the ambitious Antoinette Dunkerson, Mississippi's first Black lieutenant governor. While attempting to manage her family’s (now very public) antics and see eye-to-eye with her sexist boss, Antoinette is determined to find her stride amid political chaos. Perry fans will be happy to see familiar faces from past projects, including Jo Marie Payton (Meet the Browns), Karon Riley, and Robert Craighead (Too Close to Home). Jade Novah, Drew Olivia Tillman, Tré Boyd, and Dyon Brooks round out the ensemble cast.
Nemesis
Power franchise creator Courtney A. Kemp’s eight-episode heist thriller tells the story of what happens when two men on opposite sides of the law — expert jewel thief Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel) and brilliant police detective Isaiah Stiles (Matthew Law) — grow increasingly obsessed with each other’s talents. As Wilder pulls off a series of elaborate robberies, Stiles begins to fear he’s finally found a worthy opponent. But what, exactly, does that say about him?
The Parkers
Starting college is hard enough; doing so with your mother as a fellow student is a whole different thing. This Moesha spin-off sitcom stars Countess Vaughn as Kim Parker, who enrolls at a Los Angeles community college with her mother Nikki (Mo’Nique), who decides to go back to school alongside her daughter. Once you start watching this five-season series, you’ll soon be singing the catchy theme song (recorded by Vaughn) and saying a drawn-out “Hey” — Nikki Parker style — to the handsome Professor Stanley Oglevee (Dorien Wilson).
Raising Dion
How do you raise a superhero? Widowed mom Nicole Warren (Alisha Wainwright) grapples with that exact question after discovering that her young son, Dion (Ja’Siah Young), has developed superpowers. As she struggles to protect him and keep his abilities a secret, she soon learns that there are people out to exploit her son’s growing powers. This two-season drama, based on the 2015 comic book and short film by Dennis Liu, also stars Michael B. Jordan as Nicole’s late husband, Mark, alongside Jason Ritter, Jazmyn Simon (Ballers) and Ali Ahn (The Diplomat).
She's Gotta Have It
Created by Spike Lee and based on his 1986 film of the same name, She’s Gotta Have It stars DeWanda Wise (Someone Great) as Nola Darling, a free-spirited artist in Brooklyn, New York, who unashamedly lives her life exactly the way she wants to. Until now. As she juggles her open romantic relationships with three different men — the hilarious Mars (Anthony Ramos), the confident Greer (Cleo Anthony), and the sophisticated Jamie (Lyriq Bent) — she finds herself questioning her ultimate goals for the first time.
Supacell
Most of us consider hereditary disorders to be an unfortunate burden, but what if one gave you superpowers? Five Black Londoners, connected only by their shared diagnosis of sickle cell disorder, have their lives upended when a mutation of their condition grants them powers. Michael (Tosin Cole) can travel through time and space, struggling father Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa) gains super strength, Rodney (Calvin Demba) has super speed and healing abilities, Sabrina (Nadine Mills) develops telekinesis, and gang leader Tazer (Josh Tedeku) can turn invisible. They’ll have to hone their gifts while avoiding a shadowy agency seeking them out.
Survival of the Thickest
Nothing screams “fresh start” like a devastating breakup. Michelle Buteau stars as Mavis Beaumont, a size-inclusive New York stylist building her career and rebuilding her love life after an unexpected split. Through questionable decisions, ambitious moves, and plenty of crashouts, Mavis sets out to become her best, most unapologetic self with the help of her best friends. A fictionalized adaptation of Buteau’s book of the same name, the series — which returns July 2 for its fashionable final season — also stars Tasha Smith, Tone Bell (Trigger Warning), and Marouane Zotti.
The Upshaws
Co-created by Regina Y. Hicks (Central Park) and Wanda Sykes (Wanda Sykes: Legacy), The Upshaws follows a chaotic but loving working-class family in Indiana led by patriarch Bennie (Mike Epps), matriarch Regina (Kim Fields), and Regina’s prickly older sister, Lucretia (Sykes). Page Kennedy (Blue Mountain State), Diamond Lyons (5th Ward), and Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins (Empire) co-star in this sitcom about striving for the American dream — even if you have no clue how to get there.
The Vince Staples Show
One reason this series from rapper and actor Vince Staples keeps you watching episode after episode: You never quite know what you’re going to get. Equal parts trippy and thought-provoking, the two-season surrealist comedy follows Staples as a fictionalized version of himself navigating the unpredictability of everyday life — from witnessing a bank robbery to attending a family funeral. The Vince Staples Show is executive produced by Kenya Barris (Black-ish), Corey Smyth, William Stefan Smith, Andrea Sperling, and Leonard Chang. Ian Edelman and Maurice Williams co-created the series with Staples.
When They See Us
Ava DuVernay directed this series, a historic true story that gripped the nation, about five teenagers of color convicted of a rape they did not commit. The series spans the years of 1989, after the incident occurred, until 2002, when the grown men were finally exonerated, and into 2014, when they received the settlement they were owed. Dubbed the Central Park Five, theirs is a story of racism, gross injustice, and eventual vindication. The ensemble cast includes Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Niecy Nash, and Jharrel Jerome.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Part prequel, part spin-off, all romance. While Golda Rosheuvel plays Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton, this series from Shonda Rhimes stars India Amarteifio as a younger version of the brilliantly bewigged royal highness, and whisks viewers back to the earliest days of her reign — and her marriage to the mysterious young King George (Corey Mylchreest). Also by her side is Lady Agatha Danbury, played in Bridgerton by Adjoa Andoh and depicted in this origin story by Arsema Thomas. Have tissues handy, as the six-episode drama tells a love story for the ages — while also magnifying our understanding of Bridgerton’s most compelling matriarchs.
Shop
Discover More What To Watch
These stories went from phone screen to big screen.
Spoiler alert: Clever quips and villainous monologues guaranteed.
Stream How to Train Your Dragon, You've Got Mail, Train to Busan, and more before the month ends.
Find your next fave series — from a heist series to a soapy thriller and more.
Because you’re never too old for cartoons.
Smiles, chuckles, giggles, and full-on LOLs ahead.
Teamwork makes the dreamwork in these spooky titles.
When money’s on the line, these contestants’ true colors shine.
Discover More Action
Plus Michael Jackson: The Verdict, Poldi, Hawaii Five-0, Creed, and more.
King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will begin, plus Clash in Italy fallout.
WWE Clash in Italy goes down at a special start time on Sunday, May 31.
The underground fighter will face off against Japan’s greatest swordsman.
Brace yourself for some daytime WWE Raw episodes.
Plus: Viewers can’t look away from The Crash, and The Boroughs sleuths a monster mystery.
Related Videos
The new chapter comes out March 19.
The satirical comedy series returns on Nov. 6.
A new series from Tyler Perry.
Inspired by the classic Judy Blume novel.
Don’t miss this Buteau-ful episode.
The New Season Premieres March 27
The series returns March 6.
Mavis Beaumont is back!
