15 Shows Bringing Diversity To TV

Aside from the annual airing of Roots that usually got someone at school beat down for “going there,” network television has never really hung its hat on being diverse.

However, the ratings success of shows with racially diverse casts have helped slowly change that, with 2015 shaping up to be a banner year for seeing casts of various races and nationalities. On the heels of highly rated episodes of shows like Empire and Scandal, here are 15 shows bringing diversity to TV.

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Photo: Fox/Imagine Television

Scandal

Black show runner, and a racially diverse cast led by a Black female who speaks Farsi, gets it in with the POTUS, and can diffuse a situation like Ferguson? Yeah, Shonda Rhimes stays winning.

Black-ish

Before jetting off to get his own Comedy Central vehicle, Larry Wilmore was a show runner on Black-ish where the cast and writers had fun with the concept of assimilation.

Fresh Off The Boat

Eddie Huang’s memoir had to be tamed down for network television, but it’s still a surprisingly poignant look into the Asian-American experience with some laughs thrown in too.

The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore

After working on The Daily Show With John Stewart, Black-ish, and The Bernie Mac Show, Wilmore keeps it 100 four nights a week on subjects like space travel and police brutality.

Broad City

Abbi and Iliana aren’t the most racially diverse of female leads, but their cast might be. The all-inclusive lineup features Hannibal Buress, Arturo Castro, and a rotating cast of characters that somehow navigate through the show’s randomness.

Empire

As that recent SNL skit alluded to, Empire is pretty much taking stereotypical Hollywood casting methodologies and turning them upside down.

Jane The Virgin

Gina Rodriguez taking home a Golden Globe and helping put down for the severely underrepresented Latino presence on network shows will arguably be one of 2015’s best stories.

Being Mary Jane

Casting Gabrielle Union as a lead in this smart, suspenseful romance is an example of BET righting a few wrongs.

Power

While 50 Cent plays a part and appears at the table reads, Power’s appeal lies in its assorted, talented cast members and show runner Courtney Kemp Agboh.

Survivor’s Remorse

Like that “Bron Bron?” Obvious warts and all, it’s hard not to root for a show that both features Mike Epps and brings Tichina Arnold yet another prominent role.

Cristela

It’s estimated that minorities are underrepresented by a 6-to-1 ratio on network television. Enter Christela Alonzo, whose ABC show elicits jokes from very serious issues with a primarily Latino cast.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

From Olivia Munn and Jessica Williams to Larry Wilmore and Aasif Mandvi, the list of Daily Show correspondents reads like a roll call of U.N. dignitaries.

Sleepy Hollow

Brothers don’t normally mess with the occult, but Sleepy Hollow does a good with a seemingly nonsensical plot about a modern day Icabod Crane and time travel. Throw in Nicole Beharie and Orlando Jones, and things get weirdly interesting.

The Mindy Project

Nothing is off limits for Mindy Kaling’s rom-com inspired show, and that includes the cast.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Score another point for Fox, which has historically been pretty progressive with diversely casted shows dating back to Roc. Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, Andre Braugher, Chelsea Peretti, Melissa Fumero, and Stephanie Beatriz round out a cast that look way more physically attractive than any cops you’ve ever seen in real life.