2023 Entertainment Preview: 14 Black TV Shows To Watch This Year

By Okla Jones · Updated January 5, 2023

Now that the new year is in full swing, TV networks and DSPs are rolling out new content for public consumption. 2023 brings not only the return of some of television’s favorite programs, but also the debut of new shows that have the potential to become tomorrow’s classics.

In February last year’s breakout hit Bel-Air will return to Peacock. The cliff-hanging season finale left many stones unturned, and had Will unquestioning the love and loyalty of his family. This reimagined version of NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air focused on powerful themes such as classism, racism, drug abuse and more, and grew into one of the best shows of 2022. Later next month, the sixth and final season of Snowfall debuts on FX. For five years, we’ve seen the rise of Franklin Saint’s (Damson Idris) empire, but now as his family splits apart, his future seems more uncertain than it’s ever been.

Marvel has a heavy presence in the digital space in 2023. Alongside their many successful films, we will also see Black shows like Ironheart, Ahsoka, Secret Invasion and more, all hitting Disney + before the end of the year. The animated Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur premieres on February 10, and features Lunella, Marvel’s first African American teenage girl SuperHero.

From Harlem to Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, here are the shows you definitely can’t miss this year.

01

Truth Be Told (1/20), Apple TV+

Apple TV’s TRUTH BE TOLD starring Academy Award-winner Octavia Spencer and Gabrielle Union. Season three of the NAACP Image Award-winning series will debut with the first episode on Friday, January 20, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.

02

Accused (1/22), Fox

Fox will implement the Twilight Zone concept this year with Accused. The show will explore the cases of people who find themselves in legal peril. The 15-episode series will star a different performer each week in tales of crime and punishment, and features a stellar cast that includes Wendell Pierce.

03

The 1619 Project (1/26), Hulu

The 1619 Project comes to the small screen as a six-part docuseries from host Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine, continuing their quest — through the initial publication in 2019, a book and a podcast — to “reframe” American history and place “the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative.”

04

Harlem (2/3), Prime Video

From writer Tracy Oliver, Season Two of Harlem will pick up after Camille blows up her career and disrupted her love life, she now has to figure out how to put the pieces back together. Tye considers her future; Quinn goes on a journey of self-discovery; and Angie’s career takes a promising turn.

05

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2/10), Disney +

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is based on the hit comic books from Marvel and is all about Lunella, Marvel’s first African American teenage girl Super Hero. The series stars Diamond White as Lunella Lafayette, Fred Tatasciore as Devil Dinosaur, Libe Barer as Casey, Alfre Woodard as Mimi, Sasheer Zamata as Adria, Jermaine Fowler as James Jr., Gary Anthony Williams as Pops and executive producer Laurence Fishburne as The Beyonder.

06

Snowfall (2/22), FX

Snowfall’s highly-anticipated sixth and final season will premiere on February 22 with the first two episodes of the 10-episode installment. Starring Damson Idris as Franklin Saint, the Saint Family empire falls on uncertain times after Louie and Jerome decide to do their own thing.

07

Bel-Air (2/23), Peacock

The drama series that serves as a reimagined version of the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will return for a second season in February. Season two will pick up after an emotional season one finale where Will speaks with his father (Marlon Wayans) after 13 long years.

08

Ironheart (Fall – Winter ’23), Disney+

After her debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Dominique Thorne returns to the MCU to star in her own series, Ironheart. The child prodigy made a name for herself in the movie by building her own Iron Man suit and creating a machine that could detect vibranium underneath the ocean floor.

09

Ahsoka (TBA), Disney +

Ahsoka Tano made her debut in in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the character made her live-action debut in the second season of The Mandalorian, played by Rosario Dawson. Dawson will reprise the role in Ahsoka, which is set to start sometime in 2023 on Disney+.

10

The Idol (TBA), HBO Max

Singer and songwriter Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye is teaming up with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson to make a TV show about a pop star named Jocelyn who falls from the top of the charts and joins a cult lead by a man named Tedros. The Idol will premiere on HBO Max later this year.

11

Secret Invasion (Early 2023), Disney +

Starring the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson, Marvel’s Secret Invasion tells the story about the shapeshifting Skrulls, who have infiltrated every hall of power in the world in an attempt to undermine its protectors before they even see it coming.

12

The Big Cigar (TBA), Apple TV

The Big Cigar chronicles wanted-by-the-FBI Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton, played by Moonlight’s André Holland, as he attempts to get pal and Easy Rider producer Bert Schneider’s assistance in getting him to Cuba. Alongside Holland, it stars Moses Ingram, Glynn Turman, Tiffany Boone, and Noah Emmerich.

13

Black Cake (TBA), Hulu

Based on the 2022 book by Charmaine Wilkerson, this drama takes place in the wake of the death of a widow named Eleanor Bennett. Bennett’s two estranged children, Byron and Benny, are left with a flash drive full of previously untold stories of their mother’s journey from the Caribbean to America.

14

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (TBA), Netflix

Golda Rosheuvel will return to her iconic role as Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte in this spin-off series. This time the show will delve deeper into her marriage to King George—and the societal shift it catalyzed. India Amarteifio will star as young Queen Charlotte.