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Despite Hollywood obstacles, “Soul Food” has become a pioneer of black television | Characteristics

 


Before “Power” surges, before “Empire” sings, before “Greenleaf” rejoices, “Soul Food” cooked.

The drama Showtime, about a multigenerational family whose members made it a point to always meet for Sunday dinner, no matter how deep their differences, was a precursor, bursting out in prime time at a time when dramas about blacks were rare. Even with a cast that was mostly unknown at the time, the series was a success, spanning five seasons and demonstrating that viewers would tune in to a drama centered on a black family.

Producers and actors marked the 20th anniversary of the premiere on June 28, 2000 by celebrating its heritage.

“I am so grateful to have been part of this incredible moment in television history,” said Felicia D. Henderson, who created the series. “It was a difficult battle at the time. The feeling among television executives was that people were not interested in black-themed dramas. There had been other dramas with blacks, but they only lasted one season. “

Boris Kodjoe, who currently plays in “Station 19”, says that “Soul Food” was a professional and personal step for him. He marked his first role as a major actor, and he ended up marrying the costar Nicole Ari Parker, whom he met on the set.

“The show really opened the doors to a more diverse representation of black people and people in general,” said Kodjoe, who played Damon Carter, a bodybuilder messenger. “It showed real courage to go into unexplored territory, and it allowed voices like Shonda Rhimes and Kenya Barris and everyone else who came after” Soul Food “.”

The series was a continuation of the movie “Soul Food”, which, with its scintillating cast, became a sleeper hit in 1997 with its popularity reaching beyond the black audience to also attract white viewers.

Said Parker, who played Terri Joseph, a benevolent lawyer: “This film really changed the landscape of black entertainment. It showed the whole spectrum of what is inside a big family, good or bad, black or white. family, but at the same time, it gave the gravity, the love and the beauty of a family trying to prosper. “

“Soul Food” focused on the Josephs, led by the loving matriarch Big Mama Joe (Irma P. Hall). The heart of the film was the electrical dynamics between the three Joseph sisters and their families. Teri (Vanessa Williams) was a successful lawyer whose relationship with younger sister Maxine (Vivica A. Fox) had been strained since Maxine had stolen Teri’s boyfriend and married him. Younger sister Bird (Nia Long) owned a beauty salon.

No matter their differences, the family always meets on Sunday at Big Mama for a huge dinner. But when Big Mama suffers a serious stroke and ends up in the hospital, the battle between the sisters intensifies.

The writer and director of the film, George Tillman Jr., wrote the screenplay based on his experience growing up with his family in Milwaukee. “I was writing out of desperation while trying to start a career,” he said. “They always say they write from your heart, and family has always been important to me.”

His original script was 250 pages, which he had to reduce for functionality. So even if the film was a success, he always knew he had more stories to tell that didn’t fit with the film.

Singer-songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and his wife Tracey Edmonds, the two producers of the film, were delighted to extend it into a television series. Tracey said in an interview in 2000: “We hope it will be seen as revolutionary television. There are so many aspects of African American life that have never been shown on television.”

The vast majority of shows that featured black families before “Soul Food” were sitcoms that focused on laughter.

Henderson, who at the time had only worked on comedies such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, felt a connection to the film and was confident that it could turn it into a drama.

“I had seen the film five times,” said Henderson. “I am one of six girls. I knew I could bring an audience to a story about three sisters. My main goal was to put a black family in front of an American audience in three dimensions, to be very culturally specific but to see that they resemble any other family in America. I would represent them with all their faults. “

However, producers have encountered obstacles. In the 2000 interview, Edmonds said that when it first offered the film shortly after its release, 20th Century Fox, who owned the photo, wanted to make it a sitcom.

“The studio and the network just thought about it for half an hour,” said Edmonds. “It’s not what we wanted at all. We would walk in the door because of the success of the film. But then we didn’t get our calls. We lost the heat of the film and had to start from scratch. We were so lucky Showtime believed in us. “

Tillman added last week: “Showtime became the perfect place, because we could do a lot more with the language and (were) able to stretch it more.”

Jerry Offsay, then president of Showtime, was a big fan of “Soul Food” and considered that a spin-off would fit perfectly with the strategy of the premium network of reaching diverse audiences eager for more culturally oriented prices that were largely lacking in the network television. Showtime launched the Latin drama LA-set “Resurrection Blvd.” two days before the premiere of “Soul Food”.

Although the concept of a “Soul Food” series seemed promising, one drawback was that most of the original actors would not be available. But the strength of the title “Soul Food” proved to be strong enough for the show to succeed with a mostly unknown cast. Perhaps the biggest name in the cast was Vanessa A. Williams, who appeared in the first season of “Melrose Place” and in the movie “New Jack City”.

“We were a dark drama and we had a lot to prove,” said actor Rockmond Dunbar. “‘Soul Food’ showed aspects of black love and black romance that hadn’t really been seen before.”

Even though the film is more than 20 years old and the series has been on hold for 15 years, Tillman said the “Soul Food” franchise still has resonance.

“I never imagined that the series would last this long,” he said. “‘Soul Food’ is a brand, it has a tradition and a pride. It is truly a blessing.”

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