BET+ Has So Many Good Shows That Deserve Bigger Audiences

In the aftermath of the writers and actors strikes, there has been a noticeable contraction in Hollywood, which — to the surprise of no one that knows the industry — has already affectedBlack-led television shows far worse than their white-led counterparts.

As depressing as the state of Black television might feel right now, there are some bright spots. However, they are on a platform I worry not enough people even know about: BET+.

Last week, “Diarra from Detroit,” a hilarious dark comedy and mystery series helmed by its star, Diarra Kilpatrick, concluded its delightful eight-episodefirst season in satisfying fashion.

The series follows Diarra Brickland, a public school teacher in the midst of a divorce from her husband Swa (Morris Chestnut). After deciding to hit the dating scene by way of Tinder, she meets a handsome man, they hit it off, and just as she’s looking forward to their second date, he vanishes. Refusing to believe she had been ghosted, she soon finds herself embroiled in a decades-old mystery.

For fans of old mysteries like“M urder She Wrote,” “Columbo” and “Perry Mason,” “Diarra from Detroit” plays true to the whodunit format with a voice and wit that is contemporary, and yes, very Black.

Or, as the Washington Post’s Helena Andrews-Dyer put it: “What if Nancy Drew were a chic Black woman? That’s ′ Diarra from Detroit .’”

As I watched the pilot, I did think to myself how nice it was to see Black folks, often solely depicted as the victims in crime shows, drive the narrative ourselves.

For better or worse, Americans have developed a collective insatiable appetite for all things murder. “Diarra from Detroit” proves that we, too, can do well with the format, and if anything, can bring hilarity to amateur