The holiday break is coming up, so I’ll make it a point to catch up on all my recorded shows. (Priorities, people.)

As I was adding things in my queue, I was thinking about my favorite shows of all time that are now off-air. That’s a hard list to make, but I did my best. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Mind you, these are MY top 10 shows of all time. The only rule is that they have to be off the air. A list about favorite current shows will come at a later time.

There’s no fighting about this. You have your taste, and I have mine. But I’m not going to lie—my taste is pretty darn good.

It’s hard enough narrowing down a lifetime of television to a list of the top ten, so I’ll just list them sequentially. These aren’t in any order, but I can be assured that anytime any of these shows come on, I’ll watch them. 

And that really is the key to this list. There were many shows that I like, but I have to be in the mood to watch them. That doesn’t make for a “best of all time” list. 🙅🏾‍♀️

Here goes nothing!

---

I Love Lucy

Say what you will, but Lucy was funny. I don’t do slap-stick comedy; but for some reason, her quick remarks, comedic timing and antics were on point.

I’m not even one to watch black-and-white shows. 

I can think I’m not in the mood to watch it, turn it on and be hooked. Plus, you get a taste of the Cuban crooner and his catchy tunes. Babalooooo!

And once I found out that there was drama off the screen (Lucy and Ricky divorced while Fred and Ethel hated each other), it was like a comedic drama all wrapped up together. 

I didn’t care too much for the spinoff shows that came from production companies trying to milk the Lucille Ball name for all it was worth, but the original has stuck with me… (‘til this day!)

 

Good TImes

A two-parent black household that was broke, struggling but still making it with the help of God and comedy? Was this a remake of my life?

“Good Times” was the first time I saw my family on screen, minus the Nigerian factor. I liked that there was no sugar-coating the struggle, but it highlighted how people make ends meet anyways.

Every character had their “thing” that may or may not have been annoying. James was the stressed black father who worked his butt off to provide, Florida was the worrisome mother who took care of the household the best she could, J.J was the clown with the catchphrase (Dyno-mite!), Thelma was the pretty one who had a permanent tattle-tale voice, Michael was the relentless militant, and Willona was the nosy neighbor and friend.

The patriarch of the show got killed off, and Black America mourned with the Evans Family. If I throw a glass bowl on the floor, and someone doesn’t yell those three painful expletives, we’re not friends anymore.

The show executives soon added Penny (a.k.a. Janet Jackson) onto the cast pretty flawlessly when they needed a young child on the show since everyone else was getting older. 

It worked for a bit; but as Penny got older, new characters were added… not so flawlessly. Before you knew it, you had Thelma’s husband Keith and Florida’s boyfriend Carl. Next!

I’ll admit. The later seasons are hard to watch, but you have to keep this show on the list because they represented the population of the ‘hood that consisted of genuinely good people who couldn’t afford to rise above their circumstances.

The Cosby Show

It’s a bit controversial at the moment to watch, but think of Bill pre-Quaaludes. Better yet, watch for the rest of the cast. It was America’s family. A stark contrast from the broke family represented in “Good Times,” the Huxtables allowed black people to dream bigger.

We too can be doctors. We too can be lawyers. You can have a two-story house too. And your music of choice can be classical or jazz.

It depicted how upper-class black families struggle with how to do better for their children while instilling the grit needed to achieve greatness. 💪🏾

The show also did a good job of creating storylines for each character. You may not have liked the character, but you knew about their day-to-day life. And when things started getting shaky with Denise off-screen, the new additions  didn’t disappoint either. I think Cousin Pam and her friends actually made me like the show even more.

Before Denise was kicked off the show, we watched her transition into college. That, my friends, made all the difference. 👍🏾

Different World

This show was EPIC! It took a while for each character to develop, but this was the first show I watched that celebrated the black college experience. (I’m starting to notice a trend that my last picks have all been predominantly African-American, but that’s not the case. I diversify it up later.)

The characters came from different upbringings, and evolved in their adult lives as people who have a greater understanding of the world.

I wanted to go to Hillman University. In my young mind, it actually existed. But alas, it was fictional. I guess I could have settled for Howard or Hampton, but Mr. Gaines wasn’t cooking it up at The Pit in those universities.

When the original cast graduated, the new undergrads integrated into the Hillman lifestyle quite well. All the while, the graduates stuck around and developed into their different professions.

It was a beautiful blend.

Plus, who was not a nervous wreck when Dwayne Wade objected to the marriage of Whitley and Byron? And Whitley actually ran off with Dwayne at her own wedding???

I can’t. Kudos to the writers for jacking up my emotions for a good week after that episode. I knew I didn’t like Senator Byron…

Friday Night Lights

This show actually went off the air before I watched a single episode. Sad, right?

I binge-watched the entire season in a couple of weeks. I would watch morning, noon and night to catch up on the guys from Dillon, Texas.

“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”

My first takeaway was that small-town Texans take football ridiculously seriously. However, my main takeaway was that football to some is more than a sport—it’s a community. 

Through the show, you got to see inside the lives of the players, observe the heart of the coaches and realize football is sometimes the only glue you have holding things together.

Even when the head coach had to take a job at the less-desirable East Dillon High School, the storyline remained engaging by taking the audience through his process of building up a team from the ground up. 

You know what? I think I’ll binge-watch this show again. There are so many details that I know I forgot, and it was just that good.

The Bernie Mac Show

During the rise of sitcoms starring notable comedians, I wasn’t amused.

“Martin” wasn’t funny to me. (Fight me.) There were some laugh-out-loud parts, but I think the humor was a bit over the top for my taste. “The Steve Harvey Show” was solid, but I certainly didn’t watch for the adults. I just liked to see what antics the high school students would get into. 

“The Jamie Foxx Show” was pretty good. However, the back-and-forth with Fancy tired me, the corniness of Braxton was too much to handle, and the same ol’ comedic escapes got old quickly. (Scrrrrrr…!) I didn’t even give D.L. Hugley or Ced the Entertainer a chance on their shows because their previews didn’t leave me wanting more.

Ahhh… but then there was Bernie. He wasn’t even on my radar!

I sort of knew he had a show, but I never watched an episode. Then one day, I left the television on and came back to a man yelling the funniest, countriest phrases to three kids. I actually caught myself laughing involuntarily. 

That’s when I started looking up other episodes from “The Bernie Mac Show” and watching them. He was a funny man. To me, he was the funniest of the Kings of Comedy quartet; and he was so underrated.

Rest in peace, Bernie. His stand up had way too many curse words for me to actually sit through, but I later realized through his family sitcom that he was hilarious.

King of Queens

This is a show that you can watch over and over again in no particular order. “King of Queens” is about the life of a couple who lives in New York.

Doug is the husky and hilarious husband, and Carrie is the spitfire wife. Her quirky and elderly father, Arthur, moves in with them, and he quickly becomes a fan favorite.

There’s nothing too special about this show. It’s about a middle-class couple maneuvering through work and home life.

Doug is a funny guy, though. The way he acts and thinks is both outlandish and relatable, and you’ll easily get sucked into watching multiple episodes at a time.

Carrie can get a little annoying because she overplays the whole tough, loud New Yorker persona, but it somehow works for the show. I guess I’d be on edge all the time, too, if I thought my husband was a doofus and my dad was severely senile.  🤦🏾‍♀️

Cold Case

It was such a great concept. I have no clue how “Cold Case” was canceled. Detectives spent an episode digging up a case from the past and trying to solve it.

With each person they interviewed, the clues would be pieced together until the culprit was found. It was like “Law & Order” without the trial. The show ended when the suspect was arrested.

And each arrest would happen the same.

The perceived criminal would walk to the police car or jail cell in slow motion. The perpetrator would slowly look at his or her victim(s), and there would be a seamless flashback of how the victim(s) and suspect looked then and now before the walk of shame was over.

It was like a crime show mixed with history sprinkled with suspense. Who wouldn’t want that? Do better, station executives! This one was a keeper.

Parenthood

No, I’m not talking about Robert Townsend’s sitcom. That didn’t make the list.

This “Parenthood” is a drama about the four grown Braverman siblings—Adam, Sarah, Crosby and Julia—as they share the joys, heartaches and headaches of parenthood in their California hometown. As their parents deal with life and marital issues, the four lean on one another while tackling the challenges of modern family life in an updated reimagining of the 1989 film by the same name.

Okay. I literally took that blurb from Google; BUT that’s what the show is about. Each sibling has his or her own struggle, and they’re trying to work through it individually and as a family.

“Parenthood” was the original “This is Us.”

It dissected the lives of the characters so that you understood their full background. And because of this, you may find yourself still rooting for the character when they made a poor decision.

Since my parents had four children, I could relate to how everyone’s path and struggle is so different, yet your bloodline is drawn to making things work out in the toughest of situations.

Plus, it gave greater insight on interracial marriage, children with special needs, parenting a gifted child, etc. You’ll find a tiny reflection of yourself in at least one of the characters.

Private Practice

There are cop shows, court shows, crime shows, and hospital shows. Then, there was “Private Practice.” It provided a medical show vibe without all the code reds and blues.

I actually had no idea that it was a spin-off to “Grey’s Anatomy” (probably because I never watched “Grey’s Anatomy”). Nevertheless, the show followed whatever character from that show to a wellness group in California.

I liked the fact that you had the chance to follow around different types of doctors in one setting, so the storylines were always interesting. There were episodes about infertility issues, psychiatric help and heart problems, and then you’d follow the doctors home as they faced their personal life issues. 👩‍⚕️

I’m not too into medical shows, but this one was a good one. I’m about to rewatch this whole show too.

---

This whole list has made me want to watch all of these shows again from start to finish. What have I done? Here’s to a very merry and lazy break!

In this week’s podcast, I’ll really dive into why I picked these shows, but I also have three honorable mentions that just barely missed my list. So don’t throw stones at me yet! Tune in on Friday.