Refresh for updates… Black History Month 2021 is different from previous years, for obvious reasons. Broadcasters, cable channels and streamers are marking the annual celebration with themed programming including series, documentaries and specials. Here is a sampling of what viewers can look forward to in the coming weeks, alphabetized by outlet. Clink on the network name to check out all of its Black History Month programs (where applicable). Deadline will update the list as more schedules are set. To submit additions, email editors@deadline.com.
ABC’s O&O outlets in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, NC, and Fresno, CA, will air a number of programs, and its digital lifestyle brand Localish will broadcast hyperlocal stories celebrating Black culture.
Prime Video’s Amplify Black Voices page will be updated starting February 1 to feature a curated collection of titles across four weekly themes: Black Joy (Week 1), Black Love (Week 2), Black History Makers (Week 3) and Black Girl Magic (Week 4). All titles will celebrate the voices of Black actors, producers, writers, and filmmakers.
The “Essential: Stories That Honor Black Families” collection features curated sets of films and TV shows that explore motherhood, fatherhood, iconic TV families, queer chosen families and more that spotlighting the multidimensionality of the Black family and its representation onscreen. Programming also includes The Oprah Conversation episodes “Caste: Part 1” and “Caste: Part 2” with author Isabel Wilkerson.
BET and CBS News are teaming for two new projects under the net’s “Content for Change” initiative: BET and CBS News Present: Boiling Point (Feb. 21) and investigative documentary series Disrupt & Dismantle with Soledad O’Brien (Sundays starting Feb. 21.
Bounce and Brown Sugar, which honors the African-American community every day of the year, will present specially curated movies, documentaries and specials that recognizes the sacrifice, resilience and contributions of African Americans. Click the link above for the schedule.
CBS Sports will feature Black athletes – including Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Josh Gibson, Cheryl Miller, Alice Coachman, Doug Williams, Maurice Ashley and others – as the network debuts new original programming and vignettes and re-airs older documentaries.
The streamer has curated a channel to celebrate Black achievements in the entertainment industry, which will feature iconic Black films and TV series for free all month long. Among the titles available are dramas Gifted Hands and The Long Walk Home, documentaries Willie and Champions Forever and the original feature Sew the Winter to My Skin.
Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD will present a variety of interstitials for kids and families, celebrating distinguished men and women who are rewriting history and influencing change around the world. The shortform videos will showcase the empowering stories of Vice President Kamala Harris, three-time NBA champion and social activist LeBron James, trailblazing ballerina Misty Copeland, teen chess champion Jessica Hyatt and 14-year-old painting prodigy Tyler Gordon. The new interstitials will premiere in February and throughout the year.
Fox News Channel’s streaming service will release new specials on trailblazing African Americans including Thurgood Marshall, first Black Supreme Court Justice; Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier; and Sgt. William H. Carney, the first Black man to receive the Medal of Honor.
Fox’s new streaming platform that amplifies Black voices and encourages diverse perspectives will debut Fox Soul’s Screening Room, a weekly hourlong celebration of short films from Black filmmakers, on Feb. 18. The debut episode is hosted by Vivica A. Fox.
The digital video-centric news community platform is offering a new slate of content showcasing the past and present contributions of Black America including How Hollywood Highlights Our History, Here’s the Deal with April Ryan and the relaunch of the podcasts Dear Culture and What’s In It for Us?
The streamer is showcasing Black voices, stories and creators through content launches including Season 2 of Your Attention Please (Feb. 5), virtual-concert special Your Attention Please: The Concert (Feb. 18) and monetary donations to nonprofit organizations committed to advancing social justice.
PBS
The pubcaster’s slate includes a pair of Independent Lens documentaries — “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code” (Feb. 10) and “Always in Season” (Feb. 24) — a “Slave Trade” episode of Finding Your Roots (Feb. 11) and the American Masters docu Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool (Feb. 25).
The Queer TV network has a full calendar of themed programming including original documentary films and docuseries, shorts and more.
Smithsonian Channel
The ViacomCBS cable net has new documentary Reclaiming History: Our Native Daughters premiering February 22 and will debut Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier, a documentary feature about the world’s first Black astronauts, on February 24.
Fox’s ad-supported streaming service has a full slate of Black-themed documentaries and narrative features, including Martin Luther King Jr: One Man and His Dream, Nelson Mandela: Resistance and Believe: The Barack Obama Story.
YouTube Originals
The service will launch Black Renaissance on Feb. 26 that will showcase the Black creators, artists, writers, storytellers and history makers who have shaped our nation’s history and the next generation of Black voices who are reimagining our future. A new episode of Book Tube with Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza discussing her book premieres Feb. 25.
The Paley Center for Media is marking Black History Month with “A Salute to Black Achievements in Television.”
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