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Mara Brock Akil is known for crafting stories inspired by the details of her own experiences. In her first sitcom, Girlfriends, there are echoes of her approach to life in the character Joan Clayton, played by Tracee Ellis Ross. Love Is ___, the 2018 series she co-created with her husband, Salim Akil, was even more autobiographical. In her latest series — Forever, an adaptation of Judy Blume’s groundbreaking1975 novel — Los Angeles, the city Brock Akil has always called home, is its own character. These nods feel like a tribute to the moments, the fabrics, the relationships that have shaped her. And these moments, often, are quite divine, sometimes in ways the creator herself may not realize until they are illuminated.

Brock Akil lives part-time in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and so does Blume. So setting a pivotal episode of Foreveron the island, a storied and beloved spot, and choosing to...

We’ve been reminiscing about some incredible Black female characters who once lit up our screens, and we can’t help but miss them.

From heroines like Michonne and Bonnie Bennett to complicated but strong-willed leads like Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating.

Those are just a few of the captivating women we miss seeing on our screens week in and week out, so we’ve crafted a list of the lovely ladies we’ll never stop thinking about.

(Courtesy of ABC)

Make sure you check out our list and then drop your comments down below!

Olivia Pope – Scandal (ABC/Adam Taylor)

Scandal was one of the most popular series of the last fifteen years, and Olivia Pope’s name is synonymous with power, precision, and strength.

There was nothing like watching Olivia, in all her white-hat glory, walking into the White House to put out a fire or walking into...

The early 2000s are a nostalgic time for television, whether audiences are watching shows like Friends or Gilmore Girls or sitting down for movies like Moulin Rouge! (2001) or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). The shows that appeared on cable and primetime changed the future of television.

Even with all the good television, there were certainly some problematic moments on television in the '90s and 2000s. While no show is perfect, that are some that continue to hold up, even among higher scrutiny.

Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000)

Freaks and Geeks kicked off a decade of both incredible and, in some cases, unfortunately, short-lived television. Set in a suburb of Detroit in the early '80s, Freaks and Geeks is centered around the high school experiences of the Weir siblings, Lindsay (Linda Cardellini) and Sam (John Francis Daley). Lindsay is part of the "freaks," a group of rebellious slackers that includes...

Progressive for its time for being the first TV series to feature a main character, Corky, with Down syndrome, '90s TV series Life Goes On had a top-notch cast, but what have the actors been up to since the show went off the air? Premiering in September 1989, Life Goes On follows the day-to-day lives of the Thatcher family as they struggle with the regular hardships of life in suburban Chicago. Beloved for its mix of relatable humor and gripping dramatic storylines, Life Goes On wasn't afraid to touch on hot-button topics, and it was the predecessor to modern shows like This Is Us.

The character of Corky (Chris Burke) was a major step forward for representation in television because the character had Down syndrome and was played by an actor who actually has the genetic disorder. Though the series eventually shifted focus from Corky to other characters, the rich...

Prime Video‘s Candy Cane Lane cast is getting sweeter after adding Tracee Ellis Ross to the holiday comedy starring Eddie Murphy. Reginald Hudlin directs from a script by Kelly Younger. The Candy Cane Lane plot remains a mystery. Still, the film is currently in production in Los Angeles. According to reports, Younger based the idea on his childhood holiday experiences.

Candy Cane Lane is the first of three movies under Murphy’s three-picture deal with Amazon Studios. In addition to starring in the holiday comedy, Murphy will produce alongside Charisse Hewitt-Webster for Eddie Murphey Productions, with Brian Grazer and Karen Lunder through Imagine Entertainment.

As a person of many talents, Ross is an actor, producer, director, musician, and writer. Famous for playing Johnson family matriarch Rainbow on ABC’s Black-ish, Ross also stars as Rachel in the TV movie Bad Girls, as Grace Davis in Nisha Ganatra’s The High Note,...

The 2022 holiday movie season may be winding down, but the 2023 edition is already taking shape: award-winning actor, producer and CEO Tracee Ellis Ross has teamed up with Eddie Murphy for the holiday comedy “Candy Cane Lane.”

Directed by Reginald Hudlin, the Amazon Studios-produced movie is currently filming in Los Angeles with a script by Kelly Younger, inspired by his own childhood holiday experiences. The project marks the first time the two comedians will share the screen, though specifics of Ross’ role, like all plot details, are being kept under wraps.

News of the project comes after Ross ended her critically-acclaimed run as star and producer of ABC’s “Black-ish” last spring. For eight seasons, Ross played Rainbow Johnson on the family comedy, winning a Golden Globe and six NAACP Image Awards, as well as five Primetime Emmy and two Critics Choice nominations. Two of the actor’s three other...

These days it seems like Christmas and horror go together like hot cocoa and candy canes sharpened to a deadly point, but in the long history of film, this is a relatively recent development. Of course there are a few exceptions, but before 1972, it was a rarity to enjoy a vicious Christmas at the local theater. As to why horror was not set at Christmas for so long is an interesting question. Perhaps it was considered off limits to use what many consider a sacred holiday for such dark purposes. But then, holidays of any kind, including Halloween, were rarely seen in horror films before the seventies. In those days, studios would often roll out their theatrical releases over long periods of time, and limiting the reliable market fulfilled by horror films to the small window of the holiday season was likely a risk they were unwilling to take. In the golden age of Hollywood,...

‘Tis the season to be naughty. If there’s one recurring staple that takes up more space in holiday horror than any other, it’s the killer Santa Claus. It makes sense. He sees you when you’re sleeping, after all, and he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! And the killer Santa sub-genre returns in full swing this year.

This week brings the theatrical release of Violent Night, and next week heralds in the killer robot flick Christmas Bloody Christmas. So, this week’s streaming picks keeps the yuletide spirit alive with five horror movies centered around the Killer Santa.

Here’s where you can stream these five Killer Santa horror movies this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

Deadly Games – AMC+, Shudder

Also known as 36.15 code Père Noël and Dial Code Santa Claus,...

Girlfriends made its Upn premiere in 2000 and two decades and a pandemic later, the comedy series from Mara Brock Akil still holds up. Akil, Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White, Jill Marie Jones and Reginald C. Hayes came together at PaleyFest New York to celebrate Girlfriends’ 20th anniversary and reflect on how Hollywood still has work to do.

“We are celebrated and I am joyful about the celebration, but I am not remised about the continued fight and how hard it is to occupy these spaces at the levels in which we are and continue to be in,” Akil said during the virtual conversation.

During the conversation, the Girlfriends cast and creator marveled at how the show’s Netflix pickup in July has caused a renaissance of discourse about the series’ group of friends and their relationships. With the streaming giant, Girlfriends joined “the democracy of television” and reached new generations of Black women,...

Afrofuturism is an essential part of the science fiction experience. Check out these nine books that best captures this amazing genre.

“As Okorafor described during the 2020 Igbo Conference, Africanfuturism is specifically rooted in African history and culture — in other words, it does not center the West. Whether you are beginning your journey with Afrofuturism or looking for some deeper cuts to expand your knowledge, here are nine Afrofuturism books to add to your reading list!”

Read more at The Portalist.

Iconic Black sitcom Girlfriends recently arrived on Netflix. Take a look at how the show holds up after two decades.

“The series, created by Mara Brock Akil, told the story of four friends living and loving in Los Angeles: Joan Clayton (played by Tracee Ellis Ross), Maya Wilkes (played by Golden Brooks), Lynn Searcy (played by Persia White), and Toni Childs (played by Jill Marie Jones). The show was added to Netflix recently,...

What do women really want in relationships? On TV, we've seen everyone from Carrie Bradshaw to Joan Clayton work themselves into a knot trying to figure this out. On VH1's new romantic comedy series, "Single Ladies" (premiering tonight), starring Lisa Raye and Stacey Dash, among others, Lauren London, who plays the recurring role of Shelly, does her part to answer this question. Essence.com spoke to London about the role, her next moves, and why she enjoys being single - for now...

TV Sitcom Girlfriends We LoveSitcom Girlfriends We Love to WatchGood girlfriends are hard to find, in real live and on television. Every once in a while the sitcom gods bring together a magical set of ladies and we delight in all of the perfectly timed, side-eyes, mmm hmmms and girrrl let me tell you somethings. From "227's" Sandra and Mary to "House of Payne's" Ella and Claretha we're celebrating the TV girlfriends that always reminded us of ourselves.Denise, Jaleesa and Maggie on "A Different World"In the beginning, things didn't go so smoothly between Denise Huxtable -- the Hillman-bound daughter of Claire and Heathcliff -- and Jaleesa Vinson Taylor -- the divorced 25-year-old college freshman. But soon Maggie Lauten's -- the only White female student in the dorm -- quirky personality balanced the two out and these three were inseparable. At least until season two of "A Different World.