Jerrod Carmichael Quits

The Carmichael Show is one of my favorite TV shows.  It is a sitcom that features a family of black people who discuss every day topics from "Plan B birth control" to "the N-word".  They take the topic of the show, no matter how controversial, and do a masterful job of making the topic hilarious, while exposing the audience to different perspectives on it.

Well, the show is coming to an end after 3 seasons.  Not because of ratings.  Not because of protests.  Because the creator and star of the show has decided that 3 seasons is enough and that he wants to quit.

First of all, I totally understand that Jerrod Carmichael has the right to do whatever it is that he wants.  However, this is yet another black-created show, within the past decade or so, that I can recall, that has suffered an unceremonious death.

Chappelle's Show (2003, 2004, 2006)

This show was ground-breaking.  Like "In Living Color" before it, it took stereotypes and racism and turned it into something comical.

Dave Chappelle pushed the envelope on what was offensive and what was funny.  For three seasons, he ruled the airwaves as the funniest man on TV until he walked away from the show and a $50 million dollar contract from Comedy Central.

A lot of people speculated on why he left, but in the end, a very creative show, that opened people's eyes to racism, double standards, and more, was no more.

For years, people waited to see if Chappelle would ever bring the show back, but the closest we got was him reviving some characters from his show on a Saturday Night Live appearance last season.

What could he have done with Obama's election, Tiger Woods scandal, or other things that occurred after his show went off the air.  We'll never know.


The Boondocks (2005-2008, 2010, 2014)

This show started as a hilarious comic strip, that I sometimes wonder how it even got printed in most newspapers.

The show featured a radical, modern day, young Black Panther known as Huey Freeman (named after Huey P. Newton).  The story centered around his family (granddad and little brother) and their new surroundings in suburban America.  From the hood to a white environment, the family dealt with everything from racism to the LGBT community.

This show hit on a ton of topics surrounding the black community, including a number of topics that tend to make black people uncomfortable (our idolization of celebs, gay rappers, etc.).

The show never seemed to get traction as each season always appeared to the last.  The show would take hiatus so much that most viewers thought that it was canceled, when it was indeed not.  Whether it was creative control issues with the creator, Aaron McGruder, or problems finding the right people to voice the characters, the show ultimately disappeared.

I could add another show in Key & Peele, which lasted from 2012-2105 until they decided to move on to bigger and better things.  And now add The Carmichael Show to the list.

Another show greatly appreciated by deep thinking fans that has gone the way of the dinosaur just out of the blue.  I was not a fan of Jerrod Carmichael prior to the show, but I hope to be a fan of his in the future.  All of that remains to be seen as he moves on to his next project.  However, my question is: why are these people quitting?  Why are black creators walking away from their work?  Are we doomed to see Issa Rae drop "Insecure" after three or four seasons?


Looks like I'll be focusing on "Black-ish" again until Anthony Anderson walks away from it.  After all, Season 4 is coming up.