Of course I’m joking (sort of) when I say that Fox is a black TV network, but, really, when you consider what new projects the network has put into development for the upcoming TV season to add to its existing lineup, one can’t help but wonder if there is indeed an intentional shift (no matter how ephemeral) in motion here… at least until it’s not.
Following news of a new Atlanta-set musical drama series from Lee Daniels, as well as a potential Cookie Lyon ‘Empire’ spin-off series, and also a new crime drama project from Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood, starring Sanaa Lathan, Fox has ordered a comedy from J Lee (writer on “The Cleveland Show”) and Seth MacFarlane titled “2 Black Dudes,” which Deadline describes as an edgy comedy about 2 LA-based black dudes, who are also cousins, with “completely different perspectives on life,” who “continuously bump heads on everything from religion, sex, politics, and being black in America, all the way down to who’s the best ninja turtle.”
J. Lee will write, with MacFarlane executive producing alongside Mike Mariano, who will serve as showrunner.
In addition to his writing for MacFarlane’s “The Cleveland Show,” Lee also voiced characters on “Family Guy,” “American Dad” and “The Cleveland show.”
“2 Black Dudes” will be a live-action series, and not animation like the other MacFarlane series.
Despite less than impressive numbers from some of its new series, like “Minority Report,” Fox continues to do well with “Empire,” and newcomer “Rosewood” has held its own as a lead-in to Lee Daniels’ hit series. “Sleepy Hollow” is struggling however.
It’s like the mid-1990s again, when shows like “In Living Color,” “Living Single,” “New York Undercover” and others ruled Fox’s primetime lineup.
