Not sure if I've been very clear about this in the past but, just in case I haven't, I want to be very clear about it right now: I love me some Tracee Ellis Ross. As in, I will watch marathon after marathon of Girlfriends reruns on BET and Centric just to get my Joan/Tracee fix. The woman is a beautiful comedic genius - hard to come across in general, but especially in the black community.
So, with the buzz surrounding the new BET series, Reed Between The Lines, I was thrilled and excited for the return of my #girlcrush to the boob tube. Tracee plays Dr. Carla Reed, a psychologist with what seems to be a thriving practice and a super handsome hubby in NYU English professor, Dr. Alex Reed. Alex is played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner of Cosby Show Fame where he played heartthrob, Theo.
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The show is pretty incredible for BET programming. It's very exciting to watch BET resurface as a hub for black folks promoting several exciting shows (either re-signed or brand new). Most importantly, it's exciting to see a show like Reed Between The Lines take primetime on Tuesday night.
I once wrote that Demetria Lucas's book, A Belle In Brooklyn, was the perfect outlet for a bougie girl like me. I feel the same exact way about Reed Between The Lines. It's a wonderfully positive representation of successful black people in a super happy marriage. That said, the show is a very realistic take on life with Carla, a former single mother of twins who is still dealing with her ex-files*. She shares an adorable 7-year-old with her main squeeze. The show chronicles the daily trials of two working professionals, raising children, and keeping their marriage fruitful.
The most exciting bit about the show is the fact that I feel like we're receiving Cosby Show lessons for a 2011 audience. It's not entirely coincidence that the Reeds home seems to carry echoes of the Cosby's. Warner notes in an interview with BET: That was definitely the mold we were going for. When you look at the history of Black sitcoms throughout the course of television I think, for the most part, they kind of all fit around the same category. But when you look at The Cosby Show — that fits into a category all in itself. From the onset, we’ve been pretty clear that we’re trying to go for that other category.
I'm excited to go on the journey with the Reed family. The first two episodes aired in a double header tonight, and they lived up to the hype. I can honestly say my Tuesday evening television line up now includes Reed Between The Lines for as long as it's on the air.
I'm excited to go on the journey with the Reed family. The first two episodes aired in a double header tonight, and they lived up to the hype. I can honestly say my Tuesday evening television line up now includes Reed Between The Lines for as long as it's on the air.
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