Must-Watch: Black History Month
by ronnidavis | created - 01 Feb 2021 | updated - 01 Feb 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Love & Basketball (2000)
PG-13 | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman, Jess Willard
Votes: 24,329 | Gross: $27.44M
2. The Best Man (1999)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Just before his best friend's wedding, the life of a Chicago writer becomes crazy when his best friend guesses that his new book's story is based on his bride's fervent past.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee | Stars: Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau
Votes: 11,843 | Gross: $34.10M
3. The Wood (1999)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
While dealing with a friend's cold feet on his wedding day, a writer reminisces about his youth with his best friends.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa | Stars: Elayn J. Taylor, Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones, Sean Nelson
Votes: 10,207 | Gross: $25.05M
4. Brown Sugar (2002)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Friends since childhood, a magazine editor and a hip-hop record executive stumble into romantic territory.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa | Stars: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Yasiin Bey, Nicole Ari Parker
Votes: 10,245 | Gross: $27.36M
5. Love Jones (1997)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Darius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Mosley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "... See full summary »
Director: Theodore Witcher | Stars: Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Nicole Carson
Votes: 5,644 | Gross: $12.51M
6. Moonlight (I) (2016)
R | 111 min | Drama
A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert
Votes: 331,963 | Gross: $27.85M
7. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
R | 121 min | Drama
A young man searches for home in the changing city that seems to have left him behind.
Director: Joe Talbot | Stars: Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Rob Morgan, Tichina Arnold
Votes: 21,965 | Gross: $4.52M
8. Hidden Figures (2016)
PG | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Director: Theodore Melfi | Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
Votes: 255,354 | Gross: $169.61M
9. Get Out (I) (2017)
R | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener
Votes: 697,214 | Gross: $176.04M
10. Candyman (2021)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
A sequel to the horror film Candyman (1992) that returns to the now-gentrified Chicago neighborhood where the legend began.
Director: Nia DaCosta | Stars: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo
Votes: 75,778 | Gross: $61.19M
11. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
R | 126 min | Biography, Drama, History
Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
Director: Shaka King | Stars: LaKeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback
Votes: 91,505
12. Us (II) (2019)
R | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Adelaide Wilson and her family are attacked by mysterious figures dressed in red. Upon closer inspection, the Wilsons realize that the intruders are exact lookalikes of them.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker
Votes: 341,278 | Gross: $175.08M
13. Coming to America (1988)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Romance
An extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
Votes: 223,636 | Gross: $128.15M
14. Sorry to Bother You (2018)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.
Director: Boots Riley | Stars: LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick
Votes: 88,221 | Gross: $17.49M
15. Eve's Bayou (1997)
R | 108 min | Drama
What did little Eve see--and how will it haunt her? Husband, father and womanizer Louis Batiste is the head of an affluent family, but it's the women who rule this gothic world of secrets, lies and mystic forces.
Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good, Lynn Whitfield
Votes: 11,620 | Gross: $14.82M
16. Deliver Us from Eva (2003)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Eva doesn't let her 3 sisters' men push them around. She's always butting in. How to pacify Eva? Find her a man. The men pay a playboy to be that man. The problem is - he falls in love with Eva.
Director: Gary Hardwick | Stars: Gabrielle Union, LL Cool J, Essence Atkins, Duane Martin
Votes: 7,728 | Gross: $17.33M
17. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman embraces her pregnancy while she and her family set out to prove her childhood friend and lover innocent of a crime he didn't commit.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Teyonah Parris
Votes: 52,513 | Gross: $14.92M
18. Roll Bounce (2005)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
Director: Malcolm D. Lee | Stars: Shad Moss, Nick Cannon, Meagan Good, Brandon T. Jackson
Votes: 7,834 | Gross: $17.38M
19. One Night in Miami... (2020)
R | 114 min | Drama
A fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.
Director: Regina King | Stars: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.
Votes: 34,287
20. Barbershop (2002)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A day in the life of a South Side Chicago barbershop.
Director: Tim Story | Stars: Ice Cube, Cedric The Entertainer, Eve, Anthony Anderson
Votes: 33,548 | Gross: $75.78M
21. Friday (1995)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
It's Friday, and Craig and Smokey must come up with $200 they owe a local bully or there won't be a Saturday.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tom Lister Jr.
Votes: 124,607 | Gross: $27.47M
22. Black Panther (2018)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
T'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.
Director: Ryan Coogler | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira
Votes: 837,821 | Gross: $700.06M
23. 42 (2013)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie
Votes: 102,745 | Gross: $95.00M
24. Da 5 Bloods (2020)
R | 154 min | Adventure, Drama, War
Four African-American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis
Votes: 55,149
25. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
R | 94 min | Drama, Music
Tensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927.
Director: George C. Wolfe | Stars: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo
Votes: 57,947
26. Living Single (1993–1998)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Follows the lives of several single male and female roommates and friends in 1990s Brooklyn, New York.
Stars: Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Erika Alexander, John Henton
Votes: 6,674
27. Insecure (2016–2021)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Follows the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman.
Stars: Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell
Votes: 22,388
28. Lupin (2021– )
TV-MA | 45 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Inspired by the adventures of Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief Assane Diop sets out to avenge his father for an injustice inflicted by a wealthy family.
Stars: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Soufiane Guerrab, Etan Simon
Votes: 138,663
29. Random Acts of Flyness (2018– )
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Late-night series from artist Terence Nance featuring a mix of vérité documentary, musical performances, surrealist melodrama and humorous animation as a stream-of-consciousness response to the contemporary American mediascape.
Stars: Terence Nance, Austin Smith, Alicia Pilgrim, Dominique Fishback
Votes: 806
30. A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019–2023)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
A half-hour sketch comedy written by and starring Robin Thede.
Stars: Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, Ashley Nicole Black, Skye Townsend
Votes: 3,827
31. Watchmen (2019)
TV-MA | 59 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.
Stars: Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison, Sara Vickers
Votes: 134,325
32. Lovecraft Country (2020)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A young African-American travels across the U.S. in the 1950s in search of his missing father.
Stars: Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Courtney B. Vance, Michael Kenneth Williams
Votes: 47,322
33. Queen Sugar (2016–2022)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
Follows the life of three siblings, one of whom moves from Los Angeles to Louisiana to claim a shared inheritance from their recently departed father: an 800-acre sugarcane farm.
Stars: Rutina Wesley, Kofi Siriboe, Omar J. Dorsey, Nicholas L. Ashe
Votes: 5,595
34. Chewing Gum (2015–2017)
TV-MA | 23 min | Comedy
The life of Tracey and the mishaps of her neighbourhood, friends and family, and of course, her boyfriend.
Stars: Michaela Coel, Danielle Walters, Robert Lonsdale, Shola Adewusi
Votes: 10,610
35. The Proud Family (2001–2005)
TV-Y | 30 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
Follow the adventures and misadventures of Penny Proud as she does her best to navigate through the early years of teend-dom.
Stars: Kyla Pratt, Tommy Davidson, Jo Marie Payton, Paula Jai Parker
Votes: 8,434
36. Smart Guy (1997–1999)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A 10-year-old genius goes from elementary school to high school.
Stars: Tahj Mowry, John Marshall Jones, Jason Weaver, Omar Gooding
Votes: 5,567
37. Everybody Hates Chris (2005–2009)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A young African-American teen attempts to survive with his dysfunctional family and his all-white school in the 1980s.
Stars: Terry Crews, Tichina Arnold, Tequan Richmond, Imani Hakim
Votes: 41,836
38. Atlanta (2016–2022)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Earn and his cousin, Alfred, try to make their way in the world through Atlanta's rap scene. Along the way they come face-to-face with social and economic issues touching on race, relationships, poverty, status and parenthood.
Stars: Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz
Votes: 88,083
39. Woke (2020–2022)
TV-MA | 25 min | Comedy
Keef is an African-American cartoonist on the verge of mainstream success when an unexpected incident changes his life.
Stars: Lamorne Morris, Blake Anderson, T. Murph, J.B. Smoove
Votes: 3,674
40. Sister, Sister (1994–1999)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell are twins separated at birth who learn of each other's existence and come together as teenagers.
Stars: Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jackée Harry, Tim Reid
Votes: 13,750
41. Girlfriends (2000–2008)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
A look at the lives, loves, and losses of four different women, Toni, Maya, Lynn, and Joan.
Stars: Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Persia White, Reginald C. Hayes
Votes: 5,059
42. Moesha (1996–2001)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A teenager struggles to come to terms with everything life throws at her.
Stars: Brandy Norwood, William Allen Young, Marcus T. Paulk, Lamont Bentley
Votes: 4,145
43. The Parkers (1999–2023)
TV-PG | 20 min | Comedy
Nikki and Kim Parker attend Santa Monica college to earn their college degrees.
Stars: Mo'Nique, Dorien Wilson, Countess Vaughn, Jenna von Oÿ
Votes: 2,707
44. One on One (2001–2006)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy
A sportscaster must take on the responsibility of being a full-time dad when his teenage daughter moves in with him.
Stars: Kyla Pratt, Robert Ri'chard, Flex Alexander, Kelly Perine
Votes: 2,571
45. Half & Half (2002–2006)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy
Mona and Dee Dee are half-sisters with the same father who didn't really know each other when they were little and are complete opposites, but as adults they live in the same apartment building and at least try to bond.
Stars: Essence Atkins, Rachel True, Chico Benymon, Valarie Pettiford
Votes: 2,110
46. Bebe's Kids (1992)
PG-13 | 72 min | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
To impress his new girlfriend, a man agrees to look after her friend's kids, only to find that they are uncontrollably rambunctious.
Director: Bruce W. Smith | Stars: Faizon Love, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Robin Harris, Wayne Collins
Votes: 5,519 | Gross: $8.44M
48. Selah and the Spades (2019)
R | 97 min | Drama
Five factions run the underground life of Haldwell School, a prestigious East Coast boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction, The Spades, sits Selah Summers, walking the fine line between being feared and loved.
Director: Tayarisha Poe | Stars: Lovie Simone, Celeste O'Connor, Jharrel Jerome, Jesse Williams
Votes: 1,349
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