20 Best Black TV Shows to Stream on Netflix - Netflix Tudum

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    A Celebration of Black Television: 20 Essential Series to Stream Now

    Relax, relate, and release.

    By Tudum Staff
    Sept. 24, 2026

In the second season of Black-ish, ad exec and father Andre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) reflects on how his childhood pastime greatly impacted his life.

“I made best friends with my TV,” he says. “Watching TV expanded my world.”

Netflix celebrates the legacy and evolution of Black television by highlighting the stories and characters that have shaped culture, expanded perspectives, and created lasting connections across generations.

They include comforting family sitcoms, action-packed thrillers, young adult dramas, and engrossing retellings of real-life events. Some are classics that have been beloved for decades, and others are recent releases that have become must-watches in their own right.

Whichever you watch first, be sure to also follow the advice of Debbie Allen’s iconic therapist character in A Different World and “relax, relate, and release” as you stream.

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A Different World (1987)

This groundbreaking sitcom follows campus life at a fictional historically Black college in the late ’80s and early ’90s — it became so popular that HBCU enrollment rose by 26% during its run. That’s thanks in part to its memorable characters, with Lisa Bonet, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Cree Summer, Dawnn Lewis, Jada Pinkett Smith, Darryl M. Bell, and more making up the student body, and Glynn Turman, Sinbad, and Lou Myers among the faculty and staff. Patti LaBelle, Halle Berry, Tupac Shakur, and Debbie Allen (who also directed and produced the bulk of the episodes) also make appearances.

A Different World (1987)
6 Seasons   13+   1987
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A Different World

Welcome back to Hillman College. This sequel series to the iconic ’80s and ’90s sitcom centers on a new generation of students. Maleah Joi Moon plays Deborah, the free-spirited, well-intentioned, and rebellious daughter of Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) who enrolls at her parents’ alma mater.  On campus she finds the shadow of her mom and dad difficult to escape, and sets out to build her own legacy — while having the time of her life alongside a whole new cohort of Hillman’s best and brightest.

Beauty in Black

This three-season drama follows two women from different worlds. Kimmie (Taylor Polidore Williams) is an exotic dancer at a Chicago club who struggles to make ends meet, and Mallory (Crystle Stewart) is the matriarch of the Bellaries — an ultra-wealthy family with a successful hair-care empire. When Kimmie applies to the Beauty in Black hair school, the two women’s lives become entangled. Kimmie enters Mallory’s high-stakes world of strip club scandals, kidnapping schemes, blackmail, and murder. Season 4 of the Tyler Perry-created series is on the way.

Dear White People

Based on the 2014 film of the same name, this absurdist comedy series follows a group of Black students at a predominantly white Ivy League college as they navigate cultural bias, social injustice, and an ever-shifting political landscape. When radio show host Samantha White (Logan Browning) catches a group of students hosting a party with a racist theme, she works to hold them accountable, but then her fellow members of the Black student caucus doubt her credibility after they learn about her potentially controversial new relationship.

Family Reunion

The McKellan family travels from Seattle to Georgia for a family reunion and is reminded of just how nice it is to have the help of extended family. Drawn in by matriarch M’Dear’s (Loretta Devine) home cooking and a robust Black community full of new friends, Moz (Anthony Alabi) and Cocoa (Tia Mowry) decide to move across the country with their four children. However, living with Moz’s parents means facing their Southern scrutiny and old-fashioned opinions on the couple’s modern parenting practices.

FOREVER

You always remember your first. Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.) are childhood friends who reconnect as teenagers while juggling the demands of high school, parental pressures, and the intensity of young love. Over eight episodes, they experience the highs and heartbreaks of their first real relationship and develop a powerful bond. Set against the backdrop of 2018 Los Angeles, the acclaimed adaptation of the Judy Blume classic comes from creator Mara Brock Akil (Girlfriends, The Game). Find out what’s in store for Season 2 here.

The Get Down

This stylish drama takes it back to 1977, when the talented and soulful youth of the South Bronx chased New York City dreams and breakneck beats to transform music history. The show captures the invigorating era when the disco genre inevitably yielded to the emergence of hip-hop. Narrated by Nas, the series also features a star-studded ensemble cast, including Justice Smith, Jaden Smith, Daveed Diggs, Giancarlo Esposito, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Lillias White.

HIS & HERS

There are two sides to every story: his and hers. Tessa Thompson stars in this twisty psychological thriller series as Anna, an Atlanta news anchor who lives in haunted reclusion, fading away from her friends and career. Her estranged husband is Jack (Jon Bernthal), a detective. When a body is discovered in her sleepy North Georgia hometown, Anna and Jack compete to solve the case — with each believing the other is a prime suspect. The adaptation of Alice Feeney’s novel also features Crystal Fox as Anna’s mom — the other half of a strained and complicated mother-daughter relationship.

Man on Fire

After battling his own demons, former Special Forces soldier John Creasy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is uniquely qualified to take on the evildoers at the heart of this action-packed adaptation of A.J. Quinnell’s bestselling book series. Suffering from PTSD after an operation went wrong, Creasy takes a job in Brazil at the request of his old friend, Paul Rayburn (Bobby Cannavale). After a bomb detonates in Rayburn’s apartment building, Creasy must protect Rayburn’s teenage daughter, Poe (Billie Boullet), while also tracking down those responsible for the act.

Miss Governor

Terri J. Vaughn stars in Perry’s first Netflix comedy series as the ambitious Antoinette Dunkerson, Mississippi's first Black lieutenant governor. Antoinette is determined to find her stride amid political chaos, her family’s (now very public) antics, and her sexist boss’s comments. Perry fans will spot familiar faces from past projects, including Jo Marie Payton (Meet the Browns), Karon Riley (Love Thy Neighbor), and Robert Craighead (Too Close to Home). Jade Novah, Drew Olivia Tillman, Tré Boyd, and Dyon Brooks round out the ensemble cast.

Nemesis

Power franchise creator Courtney A. Kemp’s eight-episode heist thriller tells the story of what happens when two men on opposite sides of the law — expert jewel thief Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel) and brilliant police detective Isaiah Stiles (Matthew Law) — grow increasingly obsessed with each other’s talents. As Wilder pulls off a series of elaborate robberies, Stiles begins to fear he’s finally found a worthy opponent. But what, exactly, does that say about him?

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

While Golda Rosheuvel plays Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton, this series from Shonda Rhimes stars India Amarteifio as a younger version of the brilliantly bewigged royal highness, and whisks viewers back to the earliest days of her reign — and her marriage to the mysterious King George (Corey Mylchreest). By her side is Lady Agatha Danbury, played in Bridgerton by Adjoa Andoh and depicted in this origin story by Arsema Thomas. Have tissues handy, as the drama tells a love story for the ages — while also magnifying our understanding of Bridgerton’s most compelling matriarchs.

Raising Dion

How do you raise a superhero? Widowed mom Nicole Warren (Alisha Wainwright) grapples with that exact question after discovering that her young son, Dion (Ja’Siah Young), has developed superpowers. As she struggles to protect him and keep his abilities a secret, she soon learns that there are people out to exploit her son’s growing powers. This two-season drama, based on the 2015 comic book and short film by Dennis Liu, also stars Michael B. Jordan as Nicole’s late husband, Mark, alongside Jason Ritter, Jazmyn Simon (Ballers) and Ali Ahn (The Diplomat).

She's Gotta Have It

Created by Spike Lee and based on his 1986 film of the same name, She’s Gotta Have It stars DeWanda Wise (Someone Great) as Nola Darling, a free-spirited artist in Brooklyn, New York, who unashamedly lives her life exactly the way she wants to. Until now. As she juggles her open romantic relationships with three different men — the hilarious Mars (Anthony Ramos), the confident Greer (Cleo Anthony), and the sophisticated Jamie (Lyriq Bent) — she finds herself questioning her ultimate goals for the first time.

Supacell

Most of us consider hereditary disorders to be an unfortunate burden, but what if one gave you superpowers? Five Black Londoners, connected only by their shared diagnosis of sickle cell disorder, have their lives upended when a mutation of their condition grants them powers. Michael (Tosin Cole) can travel through time and space, struggling father Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa) gains super strength, Rodney (Calvin Demba) has super speed and healing abilities, Sabrina (Nadine Mills) develops telekinesis, and gang leader Tazer (Josh Tedeku) can turn invisible. They’ll have to hone their gifts while avoiding a shadowy agency seeking them out.

Survival of the Thickest

Nothing screams “fresh start” like a devastating breakup. Michelle Buteau stars as Mavis Beaumont, a size-inclusive New York stylist building her career and rebuilding her love life after an unexpected split. Through questionable decisions, ambitious moves, and plenty of crashouts, Mavis sets out to become her best, most unapologetic self with the help of her best friends. A fictionalized adaptation of Buteau’s book of the same name, the three-season series also stars Tasha Smith, Tone Bell, and Marouane Zotti.

The Upshaws

Co-created by Regina Y. Hicks (Central Park) and Wanda Sykes (Wanda Sykes: Legacy), The Upshaws follows a chaotic but loving working-class family in Indiana led by patriarch Bennie (Mike Epps), matriarch Regina (Kim Fields), and Regina’s prickly older sister, Lucretia (Sykes). Page Kennedy (Blue Mountain State), Diamond Lyons (5th Ward), and Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins (Empire) co-star in this sitcom about striving for the American dream — even if you have no clue how to get there.

The Vince Staples Show

One reason this series from rapper and actor Vince Staples keeps you watching episode after episode: You never quite know what you’re going to get. Equal parts trippy and thought-provoking, the two-season surrealist comedy follows Staples as a fictionalized version of himself navigating the unpredictability of everyday life — from witnessing a bank robbery to attending a family funeral. The Vince Staples Show is executive produced by Kenya Barris (Black-ish), Corey Smyth, William Stefan Smith, Andrea Sperling, and Leonard Chang. Ian Edelman and Maurice Williams co-created the series with Staples. 

When They See Us

Ava DuVernay directed this series, a historic true story that gripped the nation, about five teenagers of color convicted of a rape they did not commit. The series spans the years of 1989, after the incident occurred, until 2002, when the grown men were finally exonerated, and into 2014, when they received the settlement they were owed. Dubbed the Central Park Five, theirs is a story of racism, gross injustice, and eventual vindication. The ensemble cast includes Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Niecy Nash, and Jharrel Jerome.

 

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