19 of the Most Racist TV Shows of All Time

Cops For years, this show almost exclusively focused on painting Black and brown people in a negative light as criminals. Friends Six friends living in New York City, but not one of them was Black? This seemed so unrealistic that actress Holly Robinson Peete called for a boycott of the show in 2003. Lou Dobbs Tonight This former CNN show that now airs on the Fox Business Network has been notorious for stirring controversy like the President Barack Obama “birther” propaganda and an unreasonable fear of Hispanics “invading” the United States. Method and Red While it may have seemed great that hip-hop recording artists Redman and Method Man got leading roles on their own TV show, the way their “suburban invasion” was written far too often reinforced negative stereotypes of Black people. Sex in the City This is another show set in NYC with no main Black characters over many seasons. But on top of that, its 2000 episode titled No Ifs, Ands, or Butts, where Samantha dates a Black guy, features way too many overt “Mandingo” stereotypes. Beverly Hills 90210 Although that zip code, in real life, may have been a predominately white area during that time, the show almost led you to believe that there were absolutely no Black people. And in the few episodes where the show tried to tackle race, the whole thing just felt wrong. The Little Rascals (Our Gang) Set in the 1920s, this show was supposed to be applauded for having an integrated cast at that time. However, with characters named “Buckwheat” and “Sammy Sunshine,” the show didn’t paint Black people in a positive light. Homeland Security USA This show is pretty much a rip-off of Cops, and, as you may have guessed, focused disproportionally on Hispanics and people of Middle Eastern descent. Amos 'n' Andy This show was so blatant in casting buffoonish Black characters that it was canceled after a formal NAACP protest. Harlem Globetrotters On the surface, it was supposed to be a great thing that Globetrotters was one of the first cartoons to feature leading Black characters in a show. However, the jive-talking and basketball-playing portrayals were not great. Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers This show features two of Disney’s most racist characters of all time: the Siamese cats that portrayed almost every negative stereotype of Asian people. The Facts of Life As a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes, this show already had the undertones of white people “saving” minorities. And the show had some gems like the illiterate Black boyfriend and a show titled The Americanization of Miko in which they try to “civilize” a Japanese girl. Homeboys in Outer Space This show was set in the 23rd century, but even in a faraway future, the show’s writers couldn’t think past having negative stereotypes of Black people. South Park This show, of course, tries to get away with its racist ways by framing itself as an “edgy” comedy. But with two stereotyped main Black characters (one even named “Token”) and an episode where the n-word is used 46 times, it’s pretty safe to have this show on the list. Tom & Jerry Coming from the era of the 1940s, this beloved cartoon had too many instances of dark-skinned cannibals, characters in blackface, or Mammy Two Shoes, the poor and abusive black matron with a rodent problem. Curb Your Enthusiasm Being a creator of Seinfeld, Larry David is no stranger to bringing racial controversy to TV, and he continued with Curb Your Enthusiasm. From the episode about the racist dog, his "jungle fever" relationship with Vivica Fox’s character to the depiction of the adopted Black family that tried to reinforce the stereotype of Black people being lazy, this show is over the top. Outsourced The show, which takes place when a white American is sent to India to run a call center, was blatant in portraying every single stereotype of Indian people. Family Guy Family Guy has always tried to push the limits on a wide array of topics. However, too many times the show has gone over the line with Stewie and Peter’s racist commentary. Diff'rent Strokes This show may be a favorite of many, but it has way too many racial overtones of a white saving Black people.

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