Grand Crew

This show is just what fans of the classic "group of friends" conceit need. Featuring some of the funniest people in the business in 2021, particularly Byer, Kellum and Tart, Grand Crew makes for some laugh-out-loud moments, keeping audiences entertained and engaged.

The obvious thing to note is that the show features an all-Black cast on mainstream television, something that calls back to the histories of both Living Single and Friends. Fans of both series might be aware that Friends came after Living Single, but with its all-white cast, Friends was marketed much more than Living Single, which was marketed primarily to Black audiences despite having a multicultural fanbase. Now, many years later, Grand Crew's primetime slot illustrates that not only are Black casts marketable to multiple audiences, but they are important to giving audiences a full view of American life. The show comments on its own universality by starting out with a monologue by longtime comedic actor Garrett Morris, who says that Black men aren't just stereotypically mean and gruff ("We got layers, y'all"); they're also sensitive, have needs, and have desires that many might not understand they have. It's a bold introduction to a series that aims to showcase that Black people are people too.