"Not all black people live in the ghetto," begins the narrator on "Baldwin Hills," which debuts tonight on BET. He might as well continue "but some do." BET is launching six new shows this month, increasing its programming budget by an estimated $20 million this year. Some of those shows are departures from its usual fare, and some are decidedly not. Following the lead of Viacom stablemates VH1 and MTV, BET is broadening its lineup beyond music videos and hip-hop-culture shows. "Baldwin Hills," for example, is a teen drama about wealthy black teens living in suburban Los Angeles. It’s bound to be labeled as a black version of "The O.C.," but it also represents a significant change for BET and for television as a whole.
The New York Times quotes BET exec Byron Phillips as saying "you’re talking about a class of people invisible to the mainstream," and it’s true. You […]
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