21 best Black shows to watch on Sling TV right now
Whether you’ve exhausted Netflix’s options or are a recent cord-cutter, Sling TV makes discovering your new favorite show a joy. Every month Sling TV brings the brightest voices in Black entertainment to subscribers’ homes.
Sling’s standard package comes with incredible channels like BET, Comedy Central, Vice, and History. But don’t overlook premium channels like Starz and Showtime. No matter what your package, Sling TV shines a light on these important stories. Whether you long for hilarious comedy, stunning dramas, or enlightening docs, Sling TV has you covered.
The 21 best Black shows on Sling TV and where you can find them.
BET
For 38 years BET has been the biggest voice for viewers looking for entertainment created for and by Black creators. Once upon a time the channel mostly focused on music. Today it’s become one of TV’s most exciting homes for original television by Black creators.
Bigger
BET’s hit comedy Bigger follows a circle of five thirty-something friends living in Atlanta coming to terms with how success in life has kept them from finding love. Secret romances, unresolved feelings, and hilarious dialog make this series a must-watch.
The Book of Negroes
The Book of Negroes is an award-winning mini-series that explores the life of Aminata Diallo, a woman sold into slavery as a child who escapes during the Revolutionary War. Fleeing her owner in New York, Diallo gets a job helping slaves escape to freedom in Nova Scotia. Powerful and beautifully filmed, The Book of Negroes is an intense series.
First Wives Club
First Wives Club is a comedy series about four professional women who reconnect after their marriages fall apart. Blending side-splitting laughs with powerful tales of personal growth in sisterhood, First Wives Club is endlessly refreshing.
Twenties
Lena Waithe’s semi-autobiographical series Twenties is BET’s latest hit comedy. Hattie is a queer aspiring screenwriter navigating Los Angeles with the help of her two best friends Nia, a yoga instructor, and Marie, a TV executive. Part Hollywood slice of life, part comedy, Twenties is a fiercely addictive comedy series.
VICE
VICE has carved out a reputation for hard-hitting journalism and slice-of-life storytelling online, bringing that same hunger to the TV.
Black Market with Michael K Williams
Black Market, featuring the late Michael K. Williams, provides a humanizing gaze into the world of underground commerce. From gun runners to black-market water sales, Black Market is a masterpiece of narrative journalism, cutting through conventional wisdom to show the human beings behind the scenes.
Cari and Jemele (Won’t) Stick to Sports
Cari and Jemele (Won’t) Stick to Sports isn’t just some of today’s best sports journalism, it’s the only sports show led by two Black women on TV. Hosted by Jemele Hill and Cari Champion, the show explores issues sports journalism often glosses over, from activism to business practices.
Black Lives Matter: A Global Reckoning
For many the Black Lives Matter movement was simply an American phenomenon, but in reality, the story was global. Black Lives Matter: A Global Reckoning is a jaw-dropping documentary series from Alzo Slade that takes viewers around the world for a journey into the international fight against racism. From Israel to Denmark, learn about the insidious ways police brutality and racism exist in other countries.
HISTORY
The History channel explores the foundations of history, from legends through today’s modern wars. Here are its best programs centering on Black stories.
Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War
Executive produced by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War puts the focus on African American soldiers who fought during the war. Featuring incredible archival images and unforgettable stories, Black Patriots is a harrowing, yet educational, journey.
Race
In any generation, Jesse Owens would have been a track star, but in the 1930s he came so much more when he raced against the nazis. This incredible docudrama tells the story of the legendary Black Olympian’s time in the 1936 games, hosted in Nazi Germany. Stephan James shines in his portrayal of Jesse Owens in this uplifting race through history.
Fight the Power: The Movements That Changed America
Narrated by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, this documentary puts a spotlight on important public protests throughout American history. From civil disobedience in 1776 giving birth to the nation to the fight for civil rights and LGTBQ+ equality, Fight the Power is inspiring in its stories and a reminder of how much is left to do.
Comedy Central
Comedy Central delivers conversation, hilarious scripted TV, and groundbreaking stand up every month. Here’s what you should check out now.
The God’s Honest Truth with Charlamagne tha God
Charlamagne tha God has become a media icon thanks to his unfiltered opinions on the beloved Breakfast Club radio show. Now he’s bringing this brand of brash commentary and humor to Comedy Central with The God’s Honest Truth. If you feel like The Daily Show is too saccharine, this show is for you.
Detroiters
Sam Richardson (Veep) and Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave) star in this absurdist comedy about two best friends trying to make it as ad salesmen in Detroit. Detroiters is one of the sweetest shows on TV, but its humor takes plenty of dark turns as it explores the landscape of Detroit and modern America.
Roy Wood Jr: Imperfect Messenger
Roy Wood Jr might be the best standup comedian working in America today, and Imperfect Messenger is just the latest example of why. Whether talking about the differences between “forefathers and ancestors” or riffing on when celebs use their power and why, Wood Jr always leaves you thinking while you cry with laughter.
Starz
Of all the premium channels Starz has poured the most resources into elevating and telling stories by Black creators. From Coutney A. Kemp’s juggernaut Power franchise (now on its third spin-off series) to P-Valley by Katori Hall and Daveed Diggs’s Blindsided they’ve taken chances on series other channels won’t. Here are our favorite shows on Starz.
Power
Power might be the most important show on Starz given it’s now on its third spin-off from the original series. This epic crime drama is based on the reverberating violence that spins out of a New York coke lord who goes by Ghost. Featuring hardboiled violence, sex, and constant plot twists, you need to be watching Power. Start with the first series and just work your way forward.
P-Valley
TV rarely shows the human side of sex work, particularly at strip clubs, like it does on Starz’s incredible P-Valley. Set in a rural Georgia strip club, viewers learn about the politics, family, and struggles of people who earn their living on the pole. There’s a shocking amount of humanity hidden beneath the melodrama, making this the most underrated show on premium cable.
BMF
Loosely inspired by the real-life crime family that rose from the streets of Detroit across America in the 90s, BMF is a thrilling slice of life crime drama. Demetrius and Terry Flenory are brothers with a mission, escape poverty and get rich. Their adventures would eventually change the face of hip hop and leave a trail of blood and cocaine across the nation.
Blindsided
Based on the hit indie dramedy of the same name, Blindsided is a brilliant story of personal struggle. Created by Davveed Diggs and Rafael Casel, the show focuses on Ashley, a woman on the verge of middle-class success when the father of her son is suddenly locked up. Centering the Bay area, and the systematic impact of the American prison system, Blindsided uses humor to explore stories left out of the mainstream.
Showtime
Beyond Showtime’s incredible cinematic options the channel is currently home to two of the best comedy series from Black creators on TV.
Desus and Mero
Born from the VICE show of the same name, Desus and Mero, delivers interviews with political figures and riffs on the day’s news with gut-busting laughs. From their time as The Bodega Boys Desus and Mero have used comedy as a mirror for society. Now they just do it with access to Bernie Sanders.
Ziwe
Ziwe might be the most dangerous comedy show in America, and for that we will forever sing its praises. Hosted by comedian Ziwe Fumudoh, the show blends fashion, music, pink glamor, and hard-hitting brutal interviews to explore uncomfortable conversations in America. Tackling topics ranging from white privilege to economic mobility with hilariously uncomfortable humor, there is nothing else like Ziwe on TV.
The Chi
Chicago is constantly referenced as a dog whistle in American politics when people want to make cheap points about complicated subjects. But those conversations never center the people who actually live there. Len Waithe’s The Chi is a groundbreaking coming-of-age drama series about a group of teens seeking connection in one of the most violent places in America.
Black Monday
Don Cheadle is a criminally underrated comedy actor, as shown Black Monday (and his previous Showtime series House of Lies). In 1987 the stock market crashed. Black Monday shows what happened the year before the crash, as economic chaos and greed reign supreme and a small investment firm sets out to take its piece.
With Sling TV the options are never-ending. And thanks to their affordable pricing, there’s no easier way to get your favorite shows at home. Join Sling TV today.
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