# Minorities on TV: Are They Really Underrepresented? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715 "2012-04-03T18:14:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/1 "2012-04-03T18:14:29Z")
Or… Yes, someone else on this board has been overthinking a [Cracked](http://www.cracked.com/article_19753_7-ridiculously-outdated-assumptions-every-movie-makes_p2.html) article. While reading “The Population of Minorities Hasn’t Changed Since the '50s” section of the article “7 Ridiculously Outdated Assumptions Every Movie Makes” I realized that of the three examples he gives, two of them (Big Bang Theory, Modern Family) feature minorities in regular roles and the other (How I Met Your Mother) features multiple minority characters in recurring roles. Can we create a catalog of all the current regular castmembers of shows and their ethnicity? Or has anyone done any recent studies? TV can’t be as white as people say right? Because when even the examples of “superwhite” shows have minorities in the cast, it’s got to be better than it was. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/2 "2012-04-03T18:18:27Z")
And I’ll start for the three example shows: **The Big Bang Theory** - 7 Major Cast Members * * * - 6 White (Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, Penny, Bernadette, Amy) - 1 Indian (Raj) **Modern Family** - 11 Major Cast Members * * * - 8 White (Jay, Claire, Phil, Mitchell, Cameron, Alex, Haley, Luke) - 2 Hispanic (Gloria, Manny) - 1 Asian (Lily) **How I Met Your Mother** - 5 Main Cast Members * * * - 5 White (Ted, Barney, Lily, Marshall, Robin) ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/3 "2012-04-03T18:56:54Z")
CBS (I don’t watch some of these so forgive any missing cast members) **Sunday** The Good Wife Main cast of 5 5 White CSI:Miami Main cast of 5 3 White 1 Hispanic 1 Black **Monday** How I Met Your Mother See Above Two and a Half Men Main Cast of 3(6 or 7 depending on how you count) 3 White **Tuesday** NCIS Main Cast of Seven 5 White 1 Middle Eastern 1 Black NCIS:LA Main Cast of Five 4 White 1 Black Unforgettable Main Cast of Five 4 White 1 ?(Not sure about Daya Vaidya) **Wednesday** Criminal Minds Main Cast of Five 4 White 1 Black CSI Four(?) Main Characters (currently, I don’t even know who’s still on) 4 white **Thursday** Big Bang Theory See Above Rules of Engagement Main cast of 6 5 White 1 Indian **Friday** CSI:NY Main cast of 5 5 White Blue Bloods Main Cast of 5 5 White **Saturday** Hawaii Five-O Main Cast of 5 2 White 2 Korean 1 Japanese I skipped all reality shows, and only covered people credited as stars, this may not reflect the overall casting of the show. This also only reflects the current casting as far as I know, some of these shows (CSI for instance) have changed casts over time. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/4 "2012-04-03T18:59:53Z")
It’s better than it was, but TV is still pretty white. When Jada Pinkett Smith’s show Hawthorne started, I remember reading that it was the third TV drama ever with the main star being a black woman. I don’t know how those articles were counting it and and I can’t find a cite now, since if you counted shows from UPN I would have thought there’d be a few more, but there is a lack of shows starring minorities. Being in an ensemble is better than not having a role, but it will be best when a more proportional amount of starring roles is taken by minorities. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/5 "2012-04-03T19:04:50Z")
It’s more than that, too, as he says, they seem to think as long as there are black people, they’ve got their minority base covered. And the protagonist is almost always white or black. How often do you see Asian or Indian protagonists? Serious ones? That get the girl? In any case, yes, I think minorities are underrepresented. But I also am tired of the Indian being the supernerd and being a doctor and all that - it’s why I liked Harold and Kumar. Two Asian guys that were…normal. Slackers at times, jerks at others, best friends, and funny. Plus you can’t just count “multiple minority characters in supporting roles”. I mean, sure, but I’d like to see them doing more important things than being SUPPORTING. Hell, we’re all the heroes of our own lives - why do we only get to see white people doing all the cool stuff on TV? All that being said doesn’t mean I don’t like the way it is, or that I don’t enjoy TV shows. I do. But sometimes I just wish for more. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/6 "2012-04-03T19:20:59Z")
NCIS’s breakdown of 7 total, 5 white, 1 black and one middle eastern, at least has the black guy being the director in charge of NCIS. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/7 "2012-04-03T19:27:48Z")
I made this same point back inthe 1990s… and while the TV shows have changed, my basic contention hasn’t. My experience has been that there’s PLENTY of minority representation on DRAMATIC series. Are there black, Latin and Asian doctors _ **Grey’s Anatomy** _? Yep. Black, Latin and Asian cops on _ **The Mentalist** _, _ **Hawaii Five-O** _, and the various \*\*\*CSI \*\*\*and \*\*\*Law and Order \*\*\*franchises? Absolutely. Black FBI agents on \*\*\*Criminal Minds? \*\*\* Check. Where you generally DON’T find minority representation is on sitcoms. And even there, I can think of very good reasons that producers would be wary of casting minorities. First, most dramatic series are set in the workplace, where racial and ethnic diversity is the norm. But most sitcoms are set within families or within small groups of friends, where ethnic diversity is not NEARLy so natural or common. That is, at a hospital or police station, you’d EXPECT to see people of many races. But how would you get black, Hispanic or Asian actors into, say, _ **Home Improvement** _? Or _ **The BRady Bunch?** _ By making Alice the maid black? Yeah… THAT would go over well- putting a black actress into a stereotypical role like the maid. Second, the essence of comedy is silly people doing dumb things. A producer who gives a black actor a role in which he makes a fool of himself is BEGGING to be attacked by the NAACP. Seriously, to use an example I’ve used before, can you imagine the reaction if Larry David had given a BLACK comedian the role of Kramer on Seinfeld? Activists would ahve screamed that Kramer was a latter-day Stepin Fetchit and an unforgivable stereotype. For reasons I don’t fully grasp, black audiences don’t mind seeing black men make fools of themselves on all-black sitcoms or in all-black movies. But in mixed-race settings, black characters always have to be smarter, saner and more dignified than white characters (Lionel Jefferson on _ **All in the Family** _, Benson on _ **Soap** _, etc.). Which means they’re never funny! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/8 "2012-04-03T19:28:52Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > It’s more than that, too, as he says, they seem to think as long as there are black people, they’ve got their minority base covered. And the protagonist is almost always white or black. How often do you see Asian or Indian protagonists? Serious ones? That get the girl? [Comic](http://www.transformer-ivan.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/secret_asian_man.jpg). And so true. Jackie Chan is rarely in a romantic lead. Jet Li is only occasionally. Outside of martial arts it is even harder. Hollywood thinks that they cover all their diversity quota if a white guy and a black guy get along okay. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/9 "2012-04-03T19:47:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I made this same point back inthe 1990s.. and while the TV shows have changed, my basic contention hasn’t. > > My experience has been that there’s PLENTY of minority representation on DRAMATIC series. Are there black, Latin and Asian doctors _ **Grey’s Anatomy** _? Yep. Black, Latin and Asian cops on _ **The Mentalist** _, _ **Hawaii Five-O** _, and the various \*\*\*CSI \*\*\*and \*\*\*Law and Order \*\*\*franchises? Absolutely. Black FBI agents on \*\*\*Criminal Minds? \*\*\* Check. > > Where you generally DON’T find minority representation is on sitcoms. And even there, I can think of very good reasons that producers would be wary of casting minorities. > > First, most dramatic series are set in the workplace, where racial and ethnic diversity is the norm. But most sitcoms are set within families or within small groups of friends, where ethnic diversity is not NEARLy so natural or common. That is, at a hospital or police station, you’d EXPECT to see people of many races. But how would you get black, Hispanic or Asian actors into, say, _ **Home Improvement** _? Or _ **The BRady Bunch?** _ By making Alice the maid black? Yeah… THAT would go over well- putting a black actress into a stereotypical role like the maid. > > Second, the essence of comedy is silly people doing dumb things. A producer who gives a black actor a role in which he makes a fool of himself is BEGGING to be attacked by the NAACP. Seriously, to use an example I’ve used before, can you imagine the reaction if Larry David had given a BLACK comedian the role of Kramer on Seinfeld? Activists would ahve screamed that Kramer was a latter-day Stepin Fetchit and an unforgivable stereotype. > > For reasons I don’t fully grasp, black audiences don’t mind seeing black men make fools of themselves on all-black sitcoms or in all-black movies. But in mixed-race settings, black characters always have to be smarter, saner and more dignified than white characters (Lionel Jefferson on _ **All in the Family** _, Benson on _ **Soap** _, etc.). Which means they’re never funny! Do you watch many modern sitcoms? Most of the ones I watch right now have minorities in the main cast- Community, Parks and Rec, Happy Endings, Modern Family, 30 Rock all have them. The black and other minority characters definitely aren’t more dignified than the white characters. Tracy Morgan’s character on 30 Rock might not be the silliest on the show but is definitely near the top. And it might be true that modern work places are more integrated than many people’s social lives are. But many comedies are set at work- 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, The Office and others are all work place comedies. The problem isn’t that there are no minorities in comedies. The problem is that there’s not a proportional number, and that there’s almost no comedies starring them. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/10 "2012-04-03T19:50:51Z")
Are you only counting broadcast TV? Because there are those Tyler Perry series on TBS and I don’t think I’ve seen a white face on the commercials (no idea about the series - the ads turn me off completely.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/11 "2012-04-03T20:07:36Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > For reasons I don’t fully grasp, black audiences don’t mind seeing black men make fools of themselves on all-black sitcoms or in all-black movies. But in mixed-race settings, black characters always have to be smarter, saner and more dignified than white characters (Lionel Jefferson on _ **All in the Family** _, Benson on _ **Soap** _, etc.). Which means they’re never funny! Don’t remember enough of “Soap”, but the clear counter-point to sane and dignified Lionel Jefferson is, oh, maybe his father George Jefferson, a tempermental bigot that was essentially the photo-negative 😃 of Archie Bunker except not as fat and more successful financially. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/12 "2012-04-03T20:27:04Z")
There’s Community on NBC. 9 cast members, 5 white, 2 black, 1 Middle Eastern, 1 Asian. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/13 "2012-04-03T20:30:36Z")
> [@Rubixcube](#): > > **Sunday** > The Good Wife > Main cast of 5 > 5 White Kalinda Sharma (played by Archie Panjabi) is Indian. She’s a major character, and to me is the most interesting person on the show. You neglected to mention **Mike and Molly**. Two of the regular characters are black (Carl and Samuel, who is Senegalese), as are two recurring characters (Rosetta and Christina). > [@Rubixcube](#): > > **Thursday** > Big Bang Theory > See Above Do Jews count as an ethnic group for the purposes of this discussion? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/14 "2012-04-04T00:58:04Z")
Some more examples. I realize some of the characters mentioned have mixed ancestry, but I went with the minority option whenever possible. **Parks and Recreation** - 10 Major Cast Members * * * - 6 White (Leslie, Ron, Ben, Chris, Andy, Jerry) - 2 Black (Ann, Donna) - 1 Hispanic (April) - 1 Indian (Tom) **Bones** - 6 Major Cast Members * * * - 4 White (Bones, Booth, Sweets, Hodgins) - 1 Asian (Angela) - 1 Black (Cam) **2 Broke Girls** - 6 Major Cast Members * * * - 4 White (Max, Caroline, Oleg, Sophie) - 1 Black (Earl) - 1 Asian (Han) **House** - 8 Major Cast Members * * * - 5 White (House, Wilson, Chase, Taub, Thirteen) - 1 Black (Foreman) - 1 Hispanic (Adams) - 1 Asian (Park) **Law & Order: SVU** - 6 Major Cast Members * * * - 4 White (Benson, Munch, Cragen, Rollins) - 1 Hispanic (Amaro) - 1 Black (Fin) ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/15 "2012-04-05T01:25:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > For reasons I don’t fully grasp, black audiences don’t mind seeing black men make fools of themselves on all-black sitcoms or in all-black movies. But in mixed-race settings, black characters always have to be smarter, saner and more dignified than white characters (Lionel Jefferson on _ **All in the Family** _, Benson on _ **Soap** _, etc.). Which means they’re never funny! On Psych, the black guy is more dignified than the main character, but he’s still the second silliest person on the show. He’s also (stereotypically?) terrified of ghosts and and the main white guy is the voice of reason when it comes to the supernatural. I’m surprised by the amount of racial humor they use on the show, too. **Parenthood** Has a main cast of 16 or so, with two black characters. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/16 "2012-04-05T01:47:52Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > It’s more than that, too, as he says, they seem to think as long as there are black people, they’ve got their minority base covered. And the protagonist is almost always white or black. How often do you see Asian or Indian protagonists? Serious ones? That get the girl? My wife calls that “bi-versity.” Everything is measured as black or white. If you’re Asian, Hispanic, American Indian, foreign-born, etc. it doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/17 "2012-04-05T02:21:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > **2 Broke Girls** > > - 6 Major Cast Members > > * * * > > - 4 White (Max, Caroline, Oleg, Sophie) > - 1 Black (Earl) > - 1 Asian (Han) Are Ukrainians and Poles not minorities for the purposes of this discussion? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/18 "2012-04-05T03:03:01Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > NCIS’s breakdown of 7 total, 5 white, 1 black and one middle eastern, at least has the black guy being the director in charge of NCIS. Cote dePablo is Brazilian, I believe, though her character is Israeli. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/19 "2012-04-05T03:33:29Z")
Israelis are middle eastern? That’s like saying that House has Far Eastern character because of Chase. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715/20 "2012-04-05T19:33:21Z")
Likes felafel and hummus? Check. Is Middle eastern. Case solved! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minorities-on-tv-are-they-really-underrepresented/617715.md?page=2)