Rewind: #WB100 Black History Month Finale (2004-Present)
Lackawanna Blues (HBO Films, 2005)
"They gave me that bit of themselves that they felt was their best. And the blues I heard & the stories they told will live inside of me forever."
Lackawanna Blues is a poignant Emmy-winning drama based on Ruben Santiago-Hudson's play about his childhood in New York.
ATL, 2006
"My Pops used to always say dreamin' is the luxury of children, and that I should enjoy it. And he was right."
ATL is a great coming-of-age story with a stellar cast about teens in Atlanta on the cusp of adulthood & still figuring out this crazy thing called life.
Class of 3000 (Cartoon Network Studios/Tom Lynch Company/Moxie Turtle, 2006)
Class of 3000 was the first Cartoon Network Studios series created by a Black person, André "3000" Benjamin of OutKast. The show was a vivid, eclectic celebration of music culture and the city of Atlanta, the hometown of the Grammy winner and Cartoon Network itself.
Wish I could see it again.
Jackson Hyde/Kaldur'ahm (Aqualad/Aquaman), DC Comics, 2010
"I want to soak myself in water, but I live in an ocean of sand. I want to escape this prison & start something new."
Jackson Hyde's origins began in animation on Young Justice, but he has become one of the brightest stars of the next generation of the DC Comics pantheon of heroes.
Black Dynamite (Williams Street/Ars Nova/Titmouse/Studio MIR/Cartoon Network Studios, 2011)
In 2009, Black Dynamite, Michael Jai White's love letter to blaxploitation flicks, was released.
Two years later, an amazing, animated adaptation guided by Boondocks vets Carl Jones and LeSean Thomas expanded that world on Adult Swim and reunited the cast for more comedic action.
Loiter Squad (Williams Street, 2012)
The Eric Andre Show (Williams Street, 2012)
Black Jesus (Williams Street, 2014)
A trio of live-action comedies from Adult Swim that definitely were showcases of absurdity and dark humor. Untraditional and definitely worth your attention.
42 (Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures, 2013)
"I don't think it matters what I believe, only what I do."
Before he became the King of Wakanda and the Godfather of Soul, the late great actor Chadwick Boseman reminded us in 42 that Jackie Robinson was not just a legend but a man who dared to defy the status quo.
Duke Thomas (The Signal), DC Comics, 2013
"My career of choice has crazy hours, bad benefits, and doesn't pay. But it's the dream I never knew I always had."
One of DC Comics' newest heroic additions to the Batman Family is Duke Thomas, once a Robin, now The Signal, the daytime protector of Gotham City.
The Fox Brothers: Luke Fox (Batwing, left) and Jace Fox (Batman, right), DC Comics, 1979 (Jace)/2013 (Luke)
Jace and Luke Fox are the sons of Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne's business confidante and one of the few who know his dual identity as the Batman.
They're also forging their own legacies under Batman's guidance as the new Batwing (Luke) and the Batman of New York (Jace).
OK KO! Let's Be Heroes (Cartoon Network Studios, 2013 [Lakewood Plaza Turbo]/2017 [series])
In 2013, we were introduced to Gar's Bodega, workplace of a trio of young heroes in the short Lakewood Plaza Turbo.
Ian Jones-Quartey's amazing vision grew and became the fan-favorite series OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes in 2017.
They did this show dirty. I still miss it.
Superman (Val-Zod), DC Comics, 2014
"I've been caged by tyrants like you and swore it would never happen again!"
As one hero falls, another rises. Val-Zod became the new Superman of Earth 2 and has more than proven time and time again he's worthy to wear the symbol of hope for a new generation.
Wallace "Ace" West (Kid Flash), DC Comics, 2014
"My name is Wally West... and I need to be the fastest kid alive."
You may know Iris West's nephew Wally, but in 2014, DC introduced Iris's OTHER nephew named Wally. Wallace "Ace" West is the current Kid Flash, just as his cousin Wally (now The Flash) once was.
Bessie (HBO Films/Flava Unit/The Zanuck Company, 2015)
"I ain't playing second to nobody!"
Queen Latifah blew audiences away in Bessie, a biopic about the Empress of the Blues Bessie Smith.
The winner of the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Film is still one of HBO's highest-rated original films ever produced.
Confirmation (HBO Films/ABC Signature, 2016)
Kerry Washington played Dr. Anita Hill in Confirmation, which chronicled her testimony at the Clarence Thomas hearings where she described how the Supreme Court nominee sexually harassed her repeatedly in the past. Still relevant today, sadly. I still believe her.
Insecure (HBO Productions/Hoorae Media/3 Arts, 2016)
What began with a brilliant YouTube series about an awkward Black girl going through life in her 20s evolved into Issa Rae's amazing critically-acclaimed Emmy-winning comedy-drama series Insecure, the first she produced for Warner Bros.
Queen Sugar (Warner Horizon/Harpo Films/ARRAY, 2016)
David Makes Man (Warner Horizon/Outlier Society/Harpo Films, 2019)
All Rise (Warner Bros/CBS Studios/Harpo Films, 2019)
Cherish the Day (Warner Horizon/Harpo Films/ARRAY, 2020)
Oprah Winfrey's OWN struggled to find its footing for years. After losing Tyler Perry to BET, OWN started making their own original scripted series, including ones produced by Warner Bros such as Queen Sugar and David Makes Man that made an impact on viewers for years.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (HBO Films/Harpo Films, 2017)
Oprah Winfrey also starred in and produced a film based on the true story of the family of Henrietta Lacks who learned that her unique cell line, the HeLa cells, had been (and continues to be) used for decades for medical purposes without their knowledge or consent.
All-American (Warner Bros Television/CBS Studios, 2018)
All-American: Homecoming (Warner Bros Television/CBS Studios, 2020)
Inspired by the life of Spencer Paysinger, 2018's All-American is a drama about a high-school football star from south Los Angeles who adjusts to life as a transfer athlete in Beverly Hills. A spinoff, Homecoming, premiered in 2020. All-American is, at the time of this rewriting, February 2025, the last of the CW scripted originals on the channel.
Craig of the Creek/Jessica's Big Little World (Cartoon Network Studios, 2018 [Craig]/2023 [Jessica])
There's something that fills me with joy knowing shows like Craig of the Creek and Jessica's Big Little World exist.
Not only are they about kids being kids, but they're also animated celebrations of the modern extended Black family, a rarity in any medium.
Sojourner "Jo" Mullein (Green Lantern), DC Comics, 2019
"God, so much blackness. So beautiful."
Sojourner "Jo" Mullein is one of the newest Green Lanterns in the DC Universe, and she has already proven herself to be a more-than-worthy ringbearer in N.K. Jemisin & Jamal Campbell's Hugo Award-winning comic series Far Sector.
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO Entertainment/Hoorae Media/3 Arts/Jax Media, 2019)
Robin Thede called up a bunch of her friends & assembled one of the greatest casts of talent ever seen in sketch comedy.
Co-produced by Issa Rae, A Black Lady Sketch Show was an Emmy-winning spectacular comic romp, and yet, a victim of corporate jerkiness in the end.
Naomi McDuffie (Powerhouse), DC Comics, 2019
Naomi, 2022
Naomi McDuffie was one of DC Comics' up-and-coming heroines, given a high-profile position among the echelon of the DCU, and multimedia love, including a weekly network series.
Powerhouse had so much potential, and yet, unfortunately, she flew too close to the sun and has more or less disappeared from everything. Shame, really.
Watchmen (Warner Bros Television/DC Entertainment/Paramount Television, 2019)
No one knew what to expect from 2019's Watchmen.
No one expected it to be centered around racial injustices & identity.
No one expected it to use the actual Tulsa race massacre of 1921 as a vital plot point.
No one expected it to be an 11-time Primetime Emmy winner.
Abbott Elementary (Warner Bros Television/Twentieth Television, 2021)
Quinta Brunson's Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Abbott Elementary is a rare oasis on network TV in the era of streaming. This critically-acclaimed series is an ongoing "mockumentary" in the vein of The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family about a struggling urban elementary school in Philadelphia. One of the best casts and team of writers on television. Nice to see them actually help out teachers and educators in the real world as well.
Judas and the Black Messiah, 2021
"America's on fire right now, and until the fire is extinguished, don't nothin' else mean a goddamn thing."
2021's Judas and the Black Messiah is a powerful Oscar-winning film based on the true story of a betrayal within the Black Panthers by a Fed informant.
King Richard, 2021
"The most strongest, the most powerful, the most dangerous creature on this whole earth is a woman who knows how to think. Ain't nothing she can't do."
Will Smith EARNED his Best Actor Oscar for King Richard & they can't take that away from him.
But boy, did they try.
Found (Warner Bros Television/Universal Television, 2023)
One of the most-watched shows of the 2023-24 season was Found, a drama created by All-American's Nkechi Okoro Carroll about a former kidnapping victim who founded a firm to search for missing children with the help of an unlikely source... her former abductor.
The Color Purple (Warner Bros/OW Films/Amblin, 2023)
"Every woman ain't the same."
2023's The Color Purple was a critically-acclaimed star-studded film adapting the Tony-winning musical & based on Alice Walker's groundbreaking novel, much like the 1985 classic.
Largely snubbed by the Oscars, also like the 1985 classic.
Invincible Fight Girl (Cartoon Network Studios, 2024)
Technically outside of the #WB100 project, but it was announced years earlier, so it’s part of that legacy window.
This should have been a brand-builder for Cartoon Network. IFG, created by Juston Gordon-Montgomery, is a show about a young girl named Andy who is seemingly stuck being an accountant even though she aspires to be a professional wrestler until fate intervenes and she goes on a hero’s journey to even get the chance to prove to herself that she belongs in the squared circle. An amazing action cartoon on par with the likes of Dragon Ball and One Piece, and yet, it was ultimately buried on a late-night weekend block with no encores in time slots where more viewers could actually watch with its fate unknown. This show deserved so much better.
And that’s the end of my #WB100 #BlackHistoryMonth posts. I've done over 70 posts & covered over 80 characters, films & TV shows released by Warner Bros or part of the studio's extended creative legacy.
Did I forget some? Yeah. But it was not intentional. There were FAR more stories to tell.
From The Learning Tree (1969) to Invincible Fight Girl (2024), Warner Bros has told many stories about the Black experience through its creative and cultural roots, and I tried my damnedest to celebrate & present as many of them as I could on this #BlackHistoryMonth.
Here's to many more stories.
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