Black thespians are on an all-time high right now! Grossing an estimated $24.5 million, No Good Deed, starring Taraji P. Henson and Idris Elba, shut down the box office this past weekend and snatched the number one spot. Keeping up with the momentum, this week, and all season long, five Black actresses are dominating your fall TV screen, as leading ladies on major network series!
[Images: ABC/FOX]
Jada Pinkett Smith in “Gotham”
“Gotham” is a newbie to FOX’s lineup and premiered yesterday at 8/7c. The new show “is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told,” according to FOX.com. It chronicles Detective James Gordon’s (Ben McKenzie) journey as he balances good and evil in the very corrupt Gotham. Jada Pinkett Smith takes on the role of Fish Mooney, a fearless and fiery gang boss who’s on a mission to overtake the city. Not only is Pinkett Smith’s character the queen villain, but it was created specifically for this show. Prior to the series, there was no Fish Mooney in the tale of Gotham and Batman. Way to go, Jada!
Nicole Beharie in “Sleepy Hollow”
Season two of “Sleepy Hollow” returned to FOX on Mondays at 9/8c. Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) is the show’s heroine and fights with partner Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) to destroy the forces of evil, in efforts to save their town and the world! “Picking up immediately after the spellbinding events of the Season One finale, Ichabod finds himself buried alive in a coffin; Abbie is trapped in purgatory; Ichabod’s wife, KATRINA (Katia Winter), has been kidnapped by the Headless Horseman; Capt. FRANK IRVING (Orlando Jones) is behind bars for a murder he did not commit; and Abbie’s sister, JENNY (Lyndie Greenwood), is among the wreckage of a horrific car crash,” as revealed on FOX.com.
Tracee Ellis Ross in “Black-ish”
Ellis Ross plays Rainbow Johnson, an anesthesiologist and the biracial wife to Dre (Anthony Anderson). Unlike Dre, Rainbow believes that they can raise their children, who go to a predominantly white school, to live in a “colorless world.” The new ABC comedy, premiering Sept. 24 at 9/8c, depicts Rainbow as a supporting wife excited about her husband’s feat as first Black VP at his ad firm … and she’s equally excited about the salary bump too!
Kerry Washington in “Scandal”
After the “Scandal” teaser dropped, we all want to know one thing: #WhereOnEarthIsOliviaPope? The only thing that seems to have remained in Olivia Pope’s (Kerry Washington) world this season is a glass of red wine. It appears as if the lead Gladiator ditched her team and even her lover, the married-with-children POTUS, for sand, ocean waves, and, of course, a glass of vino. Before tuning into the ABC season four premiere this Thursday at 9/8c, you may want to review this crucial need-to-know list, so you don’t get lost on the scandalous journey!
Viola Davis in “How To Get Away with Murder”
Shonda Rhimes brews up another one and it premieres this Thursday, right after “Scandal,” at 10/9c. “How to Get Away with Murder” is all about the genius and sexy professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) who gets entangled with four of her law students. Much to the students’ surprise, they’ll be applying lessons from their master professor to real life. The show shines a new light on Davis. She recently told The New York Times, “I have been given a lot of roles that are downtrodden, mammy-ish. A lot of lawyers or doctors who have names but absolutely no lives.” This new, thrilling role is a much welcomed one for her, and for us!