This list of TV shows is for the young at heart. We’re celebrating Black History Month (February) with this list of 15 African-American TV shows (plus a bonus😉) from the 90s-00s!
If you’re struggling to understand English, want to improve your listening, learn about Black American culture, or you want an easy way to improve your listening in English, this list is for you.
We’re throwing it back to the 1990s and early 2000s with these memorable television shows for kids and teens.
Here’s how you can improve your listening with these shows.
Introduction
Want to honor and celebrate Black History Month, but don’t know how? Here are 15 African-American TV shows to celebrate properly!
Many students are very curious about Black/African-Americans and our culture. Here’s a small part of our accomplishments in the entertainment industry.
Excited about this list? Click ‘subscribe’ to get immediate notifications of new blog posts, videos, podcasts, and courses.
3 quick points:
One
First, there are 15 + 1 bonus black TV series listed. They are not for all levels.
You will see a cactus (🌵). The cactus section tells you my recommendations based on English proficiency level. Reading the cactus sections titled “How TV Shows Can Help Your Listening” will help you choose TV shows that are best for you.
Check your English level here:
Two
Next, vocabulary words are bolded in each section. The full list of vocabulary words is at the end of this blog post.
Three
Last, read to the end to see my recommendation for the best overall shows to help you grow and improve your English listening skills. Likewise, you will see the television (TV) 📺 emoji. This 📺 section will tell you where you can watch this series now.
1. One-on-One
First up is One-on-One. This sitcom was a staple sitcom growing up in the early 00s. It was one of those ‘no-brainer‘ UPN TV shows, which I wanted after a long day in junior high/ high school. The UPN network is now defunct.
The show centers around a sportscaster father who suddenly becomes a single dad—played by Flex—to a teen girl. You can already imagine the funny and sometimes serious situations those two have in this television series. His daughter in the show is played by Kayla Pratt, who’s featured in the ‘Proud Family.’ In fact, because of Flex’s high-profile career as an athlete and then in the media, you have other notable people cameo or guest star such as Brandy Norwood (Moesha), Marques Houston (Sister, Sister), Ja’Net DuBois (The PJs, Sister Sister, Moesha), Orlando Brown (That’s so Raven), Jackée Harry (Sister, Sister) and more!
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
The series ran from 2001–2006. I suggest that you be at an upper-intermediate to advanced level English proficiency. If you’re below this, it will be difficult for you to understand the show. As a result, One-on-One will force your listening comprehension to improve because they speak rapidly. This makes your brain work harder and you focus your attention. In addition, you’ll have better comprehension and learn more phrasal verbs, vocabulary, and yes, slang.
📺 Where to watch ‘One-on-One’
Watch ‘One-on-One’ on Netflix.
2. The Boondocks
Okay, you’re not telling the truth if you say you don’t like this TV show. It’s that good. I remember staying up late to watch this on Adult Swim as an adolescent. It’s memorable to me because the animation is fantastic, yes, but the actors who played the characters are equally amazing. However, I think the number one reason I remember it is that I was shocked at how gritty, vulgar, and raunchy it was, yet somehow honest at the same time.
The show follows two young boys and their grandad. Huey is 10 and is a revolutionary. Riley is 8 and lives and breathes rap culture.
Watch a clip of this animated sitcom below.
This T.V. series shows what happens to these three when they move from Chicago’s South Side to the suburbs. This is different than how they lived before and is far from that previous life, so they call it ‘the boondocks.’ To shorten this phrase, people often say ‘the boonies.’ The series shows the cultural conflicts this family has living in a predominantly Euro-American neighborhood.
The Boondocks aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and ran for 4 seasons (2005–2014) with 55 episodes. Thankfully, the series has been rebooted as of 2021 and will be shown on HBOMax.
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
This was one of my favorite TV shows, but it’s not for beginners or even some intermediates. I recommend this for advanced students. Why? For many reasons. Here are a few: the dialect(s) and pronunciation, they speak fast, the content of each episode, etc.
📺 Where to watch ‘The Boondocks’
As I said before, you can watch ‘The Boondocks’ on HBO Max. In addition, watch it on ‘Sling TV, Amazon Prime, or iTunes.
- Improve English in 60 Seconds
- 102. How to Use AI to Improve Your English
- Your English Is Better Than You Think — Here’s the Proof
- You’re Not Bad at English — You’re Just Practicing Wrong
- Book Talk Club—Pre-Enrollment Sign Up
3. Gullah Gullah Island
This was my favorite TV show as a small child. I’d hurry home to watch this on the weekends. Everyone in my family knew to leave me alone so that I could watch this amazing show. Before I tell you how this show ran for 4 seasons (1994–1998) and produced a staggering 70 episodes on Nickelodeon during that time, let me briefly tell you about the Gullah.
The Gullah are a people group from The Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida in Southeastern United States. Their vibrant and authentic culture has been handed down from mighty West Africans abducted from their home countries and later enslaved in the United States. Because of their Godly strength, their culture and heritage persisted for decades.
Back to our list of 15 TV shows…
This show was bright, happy, and showcased the Gullah culture. The show is about an African-American family on Gullah Gullah Island (which is not a real island in the Gullah region) as they learn about their friends and family and have a giant pet pollywog named ‘Binyah Binyah.’ This show aired on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.
Honestly, the show was fantastic and very age appropriate for little 4 or 5 year old me. Just listen to the cheerful theme song!
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
Since Gullah Gullah Island is for younger children, the language is simple. This is great for children learning English, or for adult beginner proficiency level students. Because the language is uncomplicated, and the speech is spoken slowly and clearly, you will be able to understand a lot more.
📺 Where to watch ‘Gullah Gullah Island’
Watch ‘Gullah Gullah Island’ on iTunes and Amazon Prime.
4. The Proud Family
Who can say anything bad about this show. Interestingly, there are a few other actors from TV shows already on this list: Kayla Pratt from ‘One-on-One,’ John Witherspoon of ‘The Boondocks,’ and Orlando Brown of ‘That’s So Raven,’ to name a few.
The Proud Family is an animated TV show about a teen girl named Penny Proud (voiced by Kayla Pratt) as she makes her way through school with lots of funny adventures and misadventures. I highly recommend this show if you enjoy animated shows and/or have pre-teen or teenaged kiddos.
Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
The show ran from 2001–2005 on the Disney Channel. A revival of this series will be available on Disney+ later in 2021.
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
In general, The Proud Family is good for A2-C2. However, if you’re above a B1 or B2 level, listening may not be challenging for you. Some of the American English accents in the show can be difficult. Some of the characters have different speech patterns or impediments, which some may find hard to understand. But, vocabulary shouldn’t be too difficult. Want to know a cool way to learn more vocabulary? Read this blog post.
📺 Where to watch ‘The Proud Family’
Watch ‘The Proud Family’ on iTunes, Google Play, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube.
5. Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales For Every Child
This TV series I only vaguely remember. Basically, it’s animated fairy tales, but an anthology of them. It was on the HBO channel and re-runs are currently on HBO Max.
It’s goal was to re-tale fairy tales from a non-European perspective. In other words, to be inclusive with their storytelling to all of the millions of African/Black/African-American, LatinX, Asian, Indigenous kids living in the country/world.
There isn’t much more to say about it. That’s it in a nutshell.
🌵How TV Shows can help your listening
The series aired from 1995–2000 and accumulated several awards and nominations during that time. It’s meant for children, so the vocabulary is simpler. This would be great for A1-B1 students. Low B2 level students could benefit as well.
Don’t know if you’re a beginner or intermediate? Test your English level here.
📺 Where to watch ‘Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child’
Watch ‘Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child on Amazon Prime, YouTube, YouTube TV, Hulu, Google Play, iTunes.
6. Little Bill
From 1999 to 2004, Bill Cosby’s ‘Little Bill’ ran. I saw some episodes in passing, but I was too old to really watch and enjoy this show. However, I can appreciate that it was important and had value.
Note
The shows creator-—Bill Cosby—has defiled countless women’s lives through rape, molestation, sexual/psychological trauma, etc., not to mention his name and legacy. Including this show on this list isn’t an endorsement of him or condoning what he did. As a survivor of such attacks, I would never do such a thing.
Like Gullah Gullah Island, Little Bill was aimed at young children below the age of 7 or 8. It was one of many TV shows on this list which was shown on Nickelodeon. The series followed Bill and his family around his city as he did what kids do, use their vivid imagination.
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
Little Bill is meant for people (children) with smaller vocabularies. It’s wonderful for beginner students in English. It reviews and helps you identify basic vocabulary, like sight words. Find sight words here.
If you’re more advanced, choose a different TV show from this list. This one is not for you.
📺 Where to watch ‘Little Bill’
Watch ‘Little Bill’ on iTunes, Vudu, Amazon Prime.
7. That’s So Raven
Raven Symoné stars in That’s So Raven. Her character is psychic, which means she can see the future. She and her other high school friends try to change life’s circumstances after she sees visions. This gets them into funny situations and crazy misadventures.
The original ‘That’s So Raven’ series ran from 2003 to 2007 on the Disney Channel. It spawned two spin-off TV series: ‘Cory’s House‘ (2008–2009) and ‘Raven’s Home‘ (2017–present). The original show is decent, but I’ve never watched either of the two TV shows that came from it. I was already a busy college student by the time they were released.
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
‘That’s So Raven’ is fantastic for intermediate level students. There are wonderful conversations and situations to increase your vocabulary. More importantly, the characters often speak clearly, but sometimes a little fast. That’s okay! This will help you with your fluency. Just keep watching. This TV show can help you level-up to B2 or C1! Which is what you want.
📺 Where to watch ‘That’s So Raven’
Watch ‘That’s So Raven’ on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play, Youtube, and Disney+.
8. Cousin Skeeter
I was happy when this show ended. Many people liked this one. Not me. It was one of the TV shows I wasn’t sad to see go. However, the show did produce many episodes between 1998 and 2001. It aired on Nickelodeon The premise of the series was that the main character, Bobby, has a weird cousin named Skeeter. Skeeter is a puppet. Don’t know what a puppet is? Watch the clip below. He, Skeeter, helps Bobby trough life and teaches him life lessons.
The fact that he was a puppet was not okay for me. As I said before, I didn’t like this one. I found him to be obnoxious. But hey, to each his own.
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
First of all, this show could help your listening because in general, they don’t speak very fast. Moreover, most of the characters do use slang and informal speech, which can be helpful. Also, they speak with neutral American accents. The show can be great for intermediates.
📺 Where to watch ‘Cousin Skeeter’
Unfortunately, I was unable to find anywhere that has ‘Cousin Skeeter.’
9. Static Shock
This animated comic was more for boys, but I watched it with my older brother after school (whilst we weren’t doing our homework, of course). It’s a DC comic about, yes, a superhero. The story is typical except it features an African-American superhero. Basically, he is exposed to something and it makes him have superpowers. His superpower is that he can now control electromagnetic forces. He uses his powers to fight evil.
I didn’t love this show, but it was one of a few TV shows available with Black characters and voiced by a Black person. So, you take what you can get.
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
Intermediates, this is yours. But some beginners could understand, too. Some of the vocabulary and phrases might be hard to understand for some beginners. However, if you already know the show and comic (or about superhero shows/movies), you will be able to understand.
📺 Where to watch ‘Static Shock’
Watch ‘Static Shock’ on these sites: YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Amazon Prime.
10. The PJs
I watched this show when it first premiered. The PJs was short-lived: from 1999–2001. ‘PJ’ is short for ‘the projects.’ This is a reference to public housing units. The show first aired on FOX, then the WB. It is no longer in syndication. This means that it does not show on T.V. anymore. Despite that, you can watch it on Pluto TV. During its time on TV, though, the series won numerous awards.
The PJs is a stop-motion animation. The show’s main character, Thurgood, is voiced by Eddie Murphy. The show is about life living in the projects. Thurgood is the superintendent of the building. He’s cranky (crotchety, really), mean, and doesn’t want to fix any of the problems in the building. Raise your hand if you have ever met anyone like him? I have! 🙋🏽♀️
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
Many thought the series showed blacks from a negative perspective. It kind of did, to be honest. I never lived in a projects, so it’s not typical of every African-American in this country.
This is one of the TV shows for high-intermediate and advanced students because many of the characters just don’t speak clearly. But because they do that, you’ll be forced to improve your English. It’s good training. It’s also good training in cultural knowledge about how a small section of people (in this case, blacks, but not all blacks or only blacks) live. This will give you a diverse vocabulary. It may help you be able to listen to rap and hip-hop songs AND understand them, too.
📺 Where to watch ‘The PJs’
As I said earlier, this show no longer comes on the air. Despite that, though, you can watch it for free on Pluto TV. Nevertheless, you can click here for PlutoTV, or here for Peacock.
11. Moesha
The Moesha T.V. series aired from 1996–2001. It’s a classic, but I was very young when it first aired. In fact, I never really watched it. Why? First of all, Brandy Norwood, the singer/actress who played Moesha was in it. And to be honest, she is not a favorite of mine. Because I don’t like her artistry, I didn’t watch Moesha.
This show was on the UPN channel. It’s about a high school student living in L.A., California. She, Moesha, is from an upper-middle class family. Her mother is dead and her father has just remarried. Moesha’s step-mother is the vice-principal at her high school, which Moesha doesn’t like. Find out why and how father and her step-mother met in the clip below.
🌵 How TV shows can help your listening
Though it seems as if they’re speaking fast, they’re speaking clearly and at a natural pace. Some of the characters have different accents, for example a ‘New York City’ one. That’s good for you. Most people don’t always speak standard English anyway.
Intermediate to advanced students, this one is yours. However, with subtitles, high-beginners can challenge themselves with this one.
📺 Where to watch ‘Moesha’
You can watch ‘Moesha’ on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
12. Smart Guy
Tahj Mowry stars in this show. He is the younger brother of twin sisters from number 13 below, Tia & Tamara Mowry. The sitcom ran from 1997–1999.
The story goes that T.J. is super, super smart. He’s 10. It’s difficult for him to balance him being intelligent and wise in an adult world, but only 10 years old.
Overall, the show is good. If you’d like to see a show from the late 1990s with vocabulary and phrases from an intelligent, academic perspective AND some from average people, this one is it. I promise that you will learn something.
🌵 How TV Shows can help your listening
Because the TV series has characters with different ways of speaking, I recommend this to all levels. Some characters will be more difficult to understand, yes. You may not understand the boy genius named T.J. In general, because it has many different things to offer each English proficiency level, I recommend this to all students.
📺 Where to watch ‘Smart Guy’
It seems that you can only watch ‘Smart Guy’ on Disney+.
13. Sister, Sister
The show was amazing. Period: full stop. Tia and Tamara Mowry are identical twins in real life. ‘Sister Sister’ is about two identical twins who were separated at birth. They were both adopted, but by different families. They run into each other 14 years later. The show ran from 1994–1999. There might be a revival of the show in 2021.
🌵How TV Shows can help your listening
Turn on the subtitles. This one can be difficult for even advanced students. The characters often speak clearly, but some speak fast. Some don’t use good speech habits. Also, as you can hear in the YouTube clip above, they code-switch. This means they change between speaking standard American English and African-American English. This show will test your listening abilities. It will also give you a lot of new vocabulary, phrases, and cultural knowledge about African-Americans in the U.S., and about American schools. Overall, this can help you speak more like a native speaker.
📺Where to watch ‘Sister, Sister’
Watch ‘Sister, Sister’ on Netflix, CBS All Access, and Amazon prime.
14. Kenan & Kel
I LOVED this show! It’s a comedy with, you guessed it, Kenan and Kel. Both actors were popular during the mid-1990s. I loved them in this show, their movies, and in All That (with the original cast), a sketch-comedy show. Kel always messes things up. Kenan works at a small grocery store and is always day-dreaming and scheming.
This show is fantastic. It was in Nickelodeon’s line-up. It even features one of the characters from Gullah Gullah Island. Can you guess which one?
Kenan & Kel ran from 1996–2000. It helped launch their careers. Kenan is now a long-serving member of the Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast!
🌵How TV Shows can help your listening
Advanced. If you’re below that, you might become frustrated that you can’t understand them. Both Kenan and Kel speak rapidly and with reduced forms and slang. Also, this genre is comedy—American comedy. Humor is not the same in every culture, so you may not understand the situational comedy that’s happening. If you’re more advanced, those things will be difficult, but not impossible for you to comprehend.
📺Where to watch ‘Kenan & Kel’
You can watch ‘Kenan & Kel’ on Amazon Prime, CBS All Access, iTunes, or Vudu. You will need an account for Amazon Prime, CBS All Access, and Vudu.
15. My Brother & Me
This show only lasted for a season: 1994–1995. I loved this TV show, though. It was on Nickelodeon. There are still some phrases, like ‘chump‘, that I use. I especially remember the theme song. Listen to it below.
The show follows a family who live in North Carolina through everyday life and life’s difficulties.
🌵How TV Shows can help your listening
Beginning and low-intermediate students, this one is yours. It’s a pity I couldn’t find a decent video for you. The characters are children. They speak slow enough, but sometimes not clearly. That’s good for you because most speakers (especially native speakers) don’t.
📺 Where to watch ‘My Brother & Me’
iTunes and Amazon Prime have the complete series for you.
Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids (*BONUS)
Here’s a bonus TV show for you! Fat Albert is a cult favorite. It’s very well known as a series and movie. The movie starred ‘Kenan & Kel’s‘ Kenan Thompson. I never watched this cartoon. It was before my time, but it’s important in many ways to black culture at a time when African-American kids didn’t have anything reflecting them or their lives on TV, which was dominated by Euro-Americans. The show ran from 1972–1985.
Note:
I as the director of Paradigm English do not support the actions of Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids’ creator, Bill Cosby. It is included on this list for cultural reasons.
📺 Where to watch ‘Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids’
Watch ‘Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids’ on Amazon Prime.
My Recommendations
Overall, choosing any of these T.V. shows to improve your English will be great. Choose well, though. There’s no reason to be frustrated because you chose wrong.
My suggestion is to choose these shows below as they will improve your listening skills, vocabulary, phrasal verbs, idioms & expressions, slang, and cultural knowledge. Many Americans in your age group watched these shows. When people speak about “back in the day” with nostalgia, you’ll finally be able to participate (and know what those two things mean).
In conclusion, watch any of these TV shows and you will improve your listening in English. Some are more difficult to understand. There are many shows to choose from, so choose something you like to celebrate Black History month.
What were your favorite Children’s TV shows/series as a kid?
Do you have a favorite from this list?
Tell me in the comments section below.
Vocabulary Section
First off, well done making it to the end of this blog post! But, what do you do now?
Happy you asked.
So, you’ve read the blog post. Now, let’s see how to practice the vocabulary.
Lucky you! Below, there are 49 new vocabulary words, idioms/expressions, and phrasal. That’s right, 49!
So, here’s how you can practice them.
How to Practice Your Vocabulary
Firstly, make sure you understand the meaning of the word. In other words, try defining it. Then use it. Now I know what you’re thinking, “how”!? There are many ways, in fact. After defining, choose 5 to write in sentences. Next, search a few more on Youglish.com to get perfect pronunciation in context. Right, so on to what to do next. Have a friend or family member who speaks English? Teach him or her the word. Repeat this, and after you’ve repeated this, repeat it again! While you’re doing this, be sure to practice saying them.
You don’t have anywhere to practice speaking? Well, if you’re ready to finally get fluent in English, join the waitlist for my new fluency course coming this spring.
Better speaking, listening, and pronunciation?
First, who’s the course best for? This course is for intermediate+ students. Even though it’s to help intermediate students, advanced students can join as well. This fluency course is guaranteed to do the following:
- increase your listening skills through pronunciation
- be clearly understood by having better speaking and pronunciation
- stronger communication skills
- and more!
Sign-up for clear speaking, and finally be understood in 2021.
Vocabulary Words
- (to be) young at heart
- (to) throw something back
- (a) no-brainer
- (a) sportscaster
- (the) boondocks/boonies
- gritty
- vulgar
- raunchy
- (to) reboot
- staggering
- off the coast
- abducted
- showcased
- enslaved
- (to be) handed down
- (a) pollywog
- appropriate
- to make one’s way through
- kiddos
- (a) revival
- impediment
- vaguely
- inclusive
- in a nutshell
- (to) accumulate
- (to) defile
- (an) endorsement
- (to) condone
- (a) vivid imagination
- (to) spawn
- (a) spin-off
- level-up
- (to) take what you can get
- short-lived
- the projects
- syndication
- to each his own
- cranky
- crotchety
- (to be) obnoxious
- (to) mess things up
- scheming
- line-up
- chump
- exposed
- before someone’s time
- dominated
- back in the day
- nostalgia
