While Chris Rock has gone on the record saying “Everybody Hates Chris” ended when he wanted to, there’s no doubt declining viewership played a factor as well. That appears to be what Tyler James Williams believes played a role when he was on the “Opening Act” podcast from Shadow and Act. He admitted the show started strong, which the numbers back up. Howard University News Service reported the premiere episode saw 7.8 million viewers. The follow-up episode retained strong ratings with 5.65 million viewers.
But Williams blames the UPN-WB merger for ruining the show’s chances of really catching on with audiences. As he told the podcast, “Once that merger with the CW happened, our numbers started tanking, like all the other Black shows that were on UPN, so we were very much so told that nobody was watching it.” UPN catered heavily to Black audiences, so those shows losing viewership, at least in the eyes of the new network, was a major loss. Williams went on to discuss how it took time for Black series to find their footing again: “[T]here was a vacuum of a lot of Black content that then later ended up…popping up in this Black renaissance that felt like it started around 2012, 2013 of a lot of independent and streaming shows by a lot of Black curators.”
While streaming has opened up new possibilities, that loss was a significant blow in terms of where advertisers put their dollars. Williams continued, “That means that those brands don’t necessarily see people who watch Black-centered shows as their target audience to sell, let’s say paper towels or dish detergent.” Hopefully, “Abbott Elementary” sticks around much longer to show how Black shows can sustain themselves on network TV.
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