''In Living Color'' is an American

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

and was taped at stage 7 at the Fox Television Center on Sunset Boulevard in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The title of the series was inspired by the NBC announcement of broadcasts being presented " in living color" during the 1960s, prior to mainstream

color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

. It also refers to the fact that most of the show's cast was

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, unlike other sketch comedy shows such as ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'', whose casts were mostly

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

at the time. ''In Living Color'' was controversial due to the Wayans' decision to portray a form of irreverent Black humor in a time when mainstream American tastes regarding Black comedy on television had been set by inoffensive family-friendly shows such as ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

'', causing an eventual feud for control between Fox executives and the Wayans. Other members of the Wayans family— Damon, Kim,

Shawn Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peo ...

, and Marlon—had regular roles, while brother Dwayne frequently appeared as an extra. The show also starred several previously unknown comedians and actors, including

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

, Tommy Davidson,

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on ''Damon (TV series), Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmic ...

, and

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh (born Crystal Walker; October 13, 1962) is an American actress and singer. In addition to her status as an original cast member of the Fox sketch comedy series ''In Living Color'' (1990–1994), Keymáh is also known for ...

. The show introduced

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

and Carrie Ann Inaba as members of ''In Living Color'''s dance troupe The Fly Girls, with actress

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's per ...

serving as choreographer. The show was immensely popular in its first two seasons, capturing more than a 10-point Nielsen rating; in the third and fourth seasons, ratings faltered as the Wayans brothers fell out with the Fox network's leadership over creative control and rights. The series won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series in 1990. The series gained international prominence for its bold move and its all-time high ratings gained by airing a live, special episode as a counterprogram for the halftime show of U.S. leader CBS's live telecast of

Super Bowl XXVI Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

, prompting the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

to book A-list acts for future game entertainment, starting with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

the following year. In 2018, a history of the show, ''Homey Don't Play That!'' by David Peisner, was released by

37 INK 37 INK is an American publisher launched in 2013 focusing on a diverse list including African American authors. It is an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Dawn Davis, the former publisher at Amistad Press, is the current publisher for 37 INK. 37 INK ...

, an imprint of

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

Episodes

Cast

Cast members

Guest stars

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

appeared (as a "special guest star") in a number of sketches in the fifth season, and reprised his "Cheap Pete" character from '' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka''. In the early years of ''In Living Color'', Rock was parodied as being "the only African American cast member on ''

''" (despite

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emm ...

and Ellen Cleghorne appearing on the program at the time). In an ''SNL'' episode honoring

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

, Rock's mother states that she is disappointed in him for not trying out for ''In Living Color'', to which Rock states he is happy with his job on ''SNL''. Other recurring guest stars in the fifth season include Nick Bakay (for ''The Dirty Dozens'' sketches) and

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''T ...

(for several editions of ''East Hollywood Squares''). Rapper Biz Markie also appeared in various roles as a guest star in the fifth season, such as being in drag as Wanda the Ugly Woman's sister or as "Dirty Dozens" contestant Damian "Foosball" Franklin. Ed O'Neill made a cameo appearance as

Al Bundy Al Bundy is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series '' Married... with Children''. Played by Ed O'Neill, Bundy is a misanthropic, working-class father of two who is portrayed as a somewhat tragicomedic figur ...

in a "Dirty Dozens" segment.

Production

Early history

Following Keenen Ivory Wayans' success with '' Hollywood Shuffle'' and '' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'',

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

approached Wayans to offer him his own show. Wayans wanted to produce a variety show similar to ''

'', but with a cast of people of color that took chances with its content. Fox gave Wayans a lot of freedom with the show, although Fox executives were a bit concerned about the show's content prior to its television debut. In announcing its debut, Fox described ''In Living Color'' as a "contemporary comedy variety show". In its preview, the ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

'' warned that its, "raw tone may offend some, but it does allow a talented troupe to experiment with black themes in a ''Saturday Night Live''-ish format." Keenen Ivory Wayans said, "I wanted to do a show that reflects different points of view. We've added an Asian and a Hispanic minority to the show. We're trying in some way to represent all the voices. ... Minority talent is not in the system and you have to go outside. We found

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...

doing her act in the lobby of a theater in Chicago. We went beyond the Comedy Stores and Improvs, which are not showcase places for minorities." The first episode aired on Sunday, April 15, 1990, following an episode of '' Married... with Children''. The first episode was watched by 22.7 million people, making it the 29th-most-viewed show for the week. ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami. ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

'' called it "the fastest, funniest half-hour in a long time". ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

'' said it had "the free-wheeling, pointed sense of humor that connects with a large slice of today's audience". ''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...

'' described it as a "marvelously inventive" show that has "catapulted television back to the cutting edge".

Description

The sketch comedy show helped launch the careers of comedians/actors Jim Carrey (then credited as "James Carrey"), one of only two white members of the original cast; Jamie Foxx, who joined the cast in the third season; and

(an established theater actor who had worked in Keenen Ivory Wayans' 1988 motion picture '' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka''). The series strove to produce comedy with a strong emphasis on modern

subject matter. It became renowned for

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

, especially of race relations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. For instance, Carrey was frequently used to ridicule white musicians such as

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...

and

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...

, who performed in genres more commonly associated with Black people. The Wayans themselves often played exaggerated Black ghetto stereotypes for humor and effect. A sketch parodying ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series ...

'' mocked the show as ''Old Train'', suggesting the show (along with its host, Don Cornelius) was out of touch and only appealed to the elderly and the dead. When asked about the show's use of stereotypes of Black culture for comedy, Wayans said, "Half of comedy is making fun of stereotypes. They only get critical when I do it.

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

has been having fun with his culture for years, and no one says anything about it.

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

, his films basically deal with the Italian community, and no one ever says anything to him. John Hughes, all of his films parody upscale white suburban life. Nobody says anything to him. When I do it, then all of a sudden it becomes a racial issue. You know what I mean? It's my culture, and I'm entitled to poke fun at the stereotypes that I didn't create in the first place. I don't even concern myself with that type of criticism, because it's racist in itself." Prominent skits: * "The Homeboy Shopping Network", featuring Damon and Keenan as streetwise criminals operating an unlicensed,

Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flo ...

-style shopping network out of the back of their van to sell stolen goods. * "Fire Marshal Bill", featuring Carrey as an unhinged, dangerously incompetent fire marshal. * " Men on Film", featuring Damon and Grier as effeminate Black film critics with exaggerated physical motions, such as "two snaps up". * "Homey D. Clown", featuring Damon as a misanthropic, verbally abusive

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

doing demeaning entertainment gigs for low pay as part of his prison release program. * "East Hollywood Squares", featuring many of the cast in a ghetto parody of the game show '' Hollywood Squares''. * "Benita Buttrell", featuring Kim Wayans as an untrustworthy neighborhood

gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...

. * Parodies of Arsenio Hall (who was popular on his own show at the time) by Keenan Wayans. * "Calhoun Tubbs", a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

singer (played by Grier) who sang extremely short songs (about 10 seconds each) at the slightest provocation.

Opening credits

For the first episode, an exotic-looking logo was used for the opening credits. However, after the band

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). St ...

claimed in a lawsuit that the show stole the band's logo and name, the logo was changed to one with rather plain-type letters of three colors. The show title itself is a homage to the

NBC Peacock The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ar ...

tag line, "The following program is brought to you in living color" from the 1960s when television was transitioning from black & white to color TV. In the first two seasons, the opening sequence was set in a room covered with painters' tarps. Each cast member, wearing black-and-white, played with brightly colored paint in a different way (throwing paintballs at the camera by hand, spray painting the lens, using a roller to cover the camera lens, etc.). The sequence ended with a segue to a set built to resemble the rooftop of an apartment building, where the show's dancers performed a routine and opened a door to let Keenen Ivory Wayans greet a live audience. For the third and fourth seasons, an animated sequence and different logo were used. Cast members were superimposed over pictures hanging in an art gallery and interacted with them in different ways (spinning the canvas to put it right-side up, swinging the frame out as if it were a door, etc.). The final image was of the logo on a black canvas, which shattered to begin the show. The fifth season retained the logo, but depicted the cast members on various signs and billboards around a city (either New York or Chicago), ending with the logo displayed on a theater marquee. The main title sequences were created by Klasky Csupo and produced by Robert Jason with some graphics by Beau Tardy. The hip-hop group

Heavy D & the Boyz Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. ''Vibe (magazine), Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known profe ...

performed two different versions of the opening theme. One version was used for the first two seasons and remixed for the fifth, while the other was featured in the third and fourth seasons.

Live musical performances

''In Living Color'' was known for its live music performances, which started in Season 2 with

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

as their first performer (appearing again in the third season). Additional musical acts who appeared were

Heavy D Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...

, Public Enemy,

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single ...

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred ...

, Da Youngsta's, Monie Love,

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The ...

, 3rd Bass, MC Lyte, Arrested Development, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige,

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, Father MC,

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown ...

Simple E Erica Williams, better known as Simple E, is an American former R&B and hip hop pop singer-songwriter, whose debut 1994 single "Play My Funk", made the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical represen ...

, Us3,

Digable Planets Digable Planets () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987. The trio is composed of rappers Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving. The group is notable for their contributions to the subgenr ...

Pete Rock & CL Smooth Pete Rock & CL Smooth were a hip hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, '' All Souled Out'' and followed that with their 1992 LP ''Mecca and the Soul Brother''. Career 1991–1994: The Golden Age As a pr ...

, Nice & Smooth, Wreckx-n-Effect, A.D.O.R., Redman,

Showbiz and A.G. Showbiz and A.G. (also shortened as Show and AG) is an American hip hop duo from The Bronx borough of New York City, composed of record producer Rodney "Showbiz" Lemay (born July 7, 1969) and rapper Andre "A.G." Barnes (born September 26, 1970) ...

, Patra, Naughty By Nature, Lords of the Underground, Prince Markie Dee,

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

, and Leaders of the New School.

The Fly Girls

The show employed an in-house dance troupe known as the "Fly Girls". The original lineup consisted of Carrie Ann Inaba (who became a choreographer and judge on ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

''), Cari French, Deidre Lang, Lisa Marie Todd, Barbara Lumpkin and Michelle Whitney-Morrison.

was the choreographer for the first four seasons. The most notable former Fly Girl was future actress/singer

, who joined the show in its third season. Throughout the show's run, the Fly Girls frequently performed a dance routine to lead into commercial breaks and/or during the closing credits. In the first two seasons, they also performed a routine that immediately followed the opening sequence. Music was provided by an in-house DJ -

Shawn Wayans Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Along with his brother Marlon Wayans, he wrote and starred in The WB's sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.''(1995–1999) and in the comedy films '' Don't Be a ...

(credited as SW-1) in the first two seasons, then DJ Twist from season 3 onward. The Fly Girls would sometimes be used as extras in sketches, or as part of an opening gag. In one sketch, they were shown performing open-heart surgery (in the sketch, the girls are dancing in order to pay their way through medical school). Another routine featured the three original female cast members dancing off-beat during the introduction of the show, when it was revealed that the regular Fly Girls were all bound and gagged and breaking through the door where Keenan Ivory Wayans enters. Three of the Fly Girls also appeared in the eleventh episode of '' Muppets Tonights second season in 1997.

Wayans family departures

Keenen Ivory Wayans stopped appearing in sketches in 1992 after the end of the third season, over disputes with Fox about the network censoring the show's content and rerunning early episodes without his consultation. Wayans feared that Fox would ultimately decrease the syndication value of ''In Living Color''. Damon went on to pursue a movie career around the same time, though he made occasional return appearances in the fourth season. During the fourth season (1992–1993), Keenen appeared only in the season opener, though he remained the executive producer and thus stayed in the opening credits until the thirteenth episode. Marlon, who joined the show that same year, left shortly after Keenen resigned as producer. Shawn and Kim both tried to leave also, but both were contractually obligated to stay. Both left at the end of the fourth season.

Broadcast and syndication

Originally produced by

on Fox, the series was in reruns on local affiliates for a few years, but has since become a longstanding mainstay on FX and

FXX FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fe ...

, which had been sister channels to Fox prior to being acquired by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

. In syndication, the series is distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Reruns have also aired on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to shift its programm ...

, VH1, Comedy Central, nuvoTV, Fusion,

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

, and Centric, while the series currently airs on Aspire and TV One as of September 2020. Unlike past runs on FX and the

Viacom Media Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

, the FXX cut of episodes are mostly uncut and censored. The music video parodies and spoken references to licensed songs have been reinstated, but the "Bolt 45" sketch, the "drop the soap" line, and the "Men on Football" sketch with the adlibbed lines about Richard Gere's and Carl Lewis's alleged homosexuality are still edited (though the facial ejaculation shot on "Men on Fitness" was reinstated), along with a line from the season five sketch "Fire Marshall Bill at the Magic Show" that makes reference to the

1993 World Trade Center bombing The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas en ...

(the missing line is, "That's what they said about the World Trade Center, son. But me and my friend Abdul and a couple of pounds of plastique explosives showed them different." Bill's laugh and his catchphrase "Lemme show ya somethin'" was also cut abruptly), due to the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. ''The Best of In Living Color'' aired on

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

from April 16 to June 18, 2008. Hosted by David Alan Grier, it was a retrospective featuring classic sketches, along with cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. The show aired on Wednesdays at 8:30 pm Eastern/7:30 pm Central, after MyNetworkTV's sitcom '' Under One Roof''.

Home media

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has released all five seasons of ''In Living Color'' on DVD in Region 1. Due to music licensing issues, some sketches have been edited to remove any and all mention of licensed songs, from characters waxing lyrical to entire performances (including the music video parodies and some of the Fly Girl dancing interstitials). Additionally, the "Bolt 45" sketch (which aired one-time only on May 5, 1990) was omitted, and the "soap" portion of the "drop the soap" line in the second "Men on Film" sketch has been muted.

Reception

Ratings

*1990–91: #62 (10.5 rating) *1991–92: #42 (12.2 rating) *1992–93: #53 (10.4 rating) *1993–94: #90 (7.6 rating)

Awards

*Image Awards 1994 for Outstanding Variety Series *Image Awards 1992 for Outstanding Comedy Series *PGA Awards 1992 for Most Promising Producer in Television: Keenen Ivory Wayans *People's Choice Award 1991 for Favorite New TV Comedy Series Tied with The Simpsons (1989) *TV Land Awards 2012 for Groundbreaking Show: Shared with whole cast *Primetime Emmy 1990 for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series

Crossovers

*At the 2006 BET Awards when the show returned from one of its commercial breaks, the show's host Damon Wayans played a character very reminiscent to "Men on ..." critic Blaine Edwards *''In Living Color'' alums Damon Wayans, Jim Carrey, and David Alan Grier reprised some of their ''In Living Color'' characters on ''

'': **Damon Wayans, a featured player during that show's eleventh season, hosted an episode from ''SNLs 20th season in 1995, where he brought on two of his famous ''In Living Color'' characters: homeless wino Anton Jackson and gay film critic Blaine Edwards. In the latter sketch, David Alan Grier made a surprise on-set appearance as Antoine Merriweather; Grier himself would also host SNL on December 9, 1995 (season 21) and January 18, 1997 (season 22), but did not reprise any of his In Living Color characters during those respective episodes. **Jim Carrey auditioned to be one of the repertory members on ''SNL''s ill-fated 1980–1981 season, but was dropped in favor of Charles Rocket (who later appeared in the 1988 film '' Earth Girls Are Easy'' and the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

film '' Dumb and Dumber'' with Carrey). Carrey also auditioned for the 1985–1986 season (season eleven), but backed out after seeing a man threatening to jump from 30 Rockefeller Center, believing that the stress of working on ''Saturday Night Live'' would drive Carrey to suicide. Carrey hosted the season finale of ''SNLs 21st season in 1996, where he impersonated Fire Marshal Bill during the monologue. Carrey's most recent hosting stint, in October 2014, involved a Carrey family reunion sketch in which Cecily Strong plays Carrey's aunt, who is modeled after Fire Marshal Bill. *Jamie Foxx reprised his role as Wanda in a short segment at the 2009 BET Awards. * In 1997, three of the Fly Girls also appeared in the eleventh episode of '' Muppets Tonights second season. *In the 1997 film '' Liar Liar'', Jim Carrey reprised his "Fire Marshal Bill" character (albeit with no lines) in the background of one of the closing scenes. *The February 10, 2001 episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' hosted by Jennifer Lopez included a sketch where Lopez "reunited" with the Fly Girls (played by Rachel Dratch, Jerry Minor and Tracy Morgan).

Attempted revival

In 2011, there were plans to make a revival of the original series that featured a new cast, characters, and sketches. The pilot episodes were hosted and executive produced by original series creator and cast member Keenen Ivory Wayans. In early 2012,

Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo Tabitha A. D'umo (née Cortopassi) and Napoleon Buddy D'umo, known together as Nappytabs, are Emmy Award-winning married choreographers. They are best known for their choreography on the television show ''So You Think You Can Dance'' and for bei ...

were hired as the choreographers. They cast the new line-up of The Fly Girls and shot pilot episodes for the show which were set to air on Fox, like the original. However, on January 8, 2013, Keenen Ivory Wayans confirmed the reboot had been canceled because he and Fox did not feel that the show was sustainable after one season. Reported cast members included Cooper Barnes, Jennifer Bartels, Sydney Castillo, Josh Duvendeck, Jermaine Fowler, Ayana Hampton, Kali Hawk, and Lil Rel Howery. In addition, featured cast members were Henry Cho, Melanie Minichino, and Chris Leidecker. Members of the new Fly Girls included Christina Chandler, Tera Perez, Lisa Rosenthal, Katee Shean, and Whitney Wiley. Many of the cast members of the revival (Bartels, Fowler, and Howery) went on to create the

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that ...

sketch show '' Friends of the People''.

Legacy

Singer Bruno Mars paid tribute to the television program in the music video, " Finesse".

References

External links

*
Clips and Skits from the Show

''In Living Color'' streaming episodes on TheWB
{{Keenen Ivory Wayans 1990s American black television series 1990s American sketch comedy television series 1990s American variety television series 1990 American television series debuts 1994 American television series endings English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Hip hop television Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series winners Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows adapted into video games