[Disclaimer: I am not responsible for binge watching and any homework that will be left undone]
YouTube is a great way to pass the time when you’re procrastinating on writing a paper or studying for an exam. You can search for funny videos or watch clips from your favorite TV show, but have you ever gone on YouTube in pursuit of a web series? Before I begin, I’ll start off by saying I LOVE television. The amount of shows I keep track of might seem outrageous to some, so it’s no surprise that I found something TV-like to religiously watch as well.
My freshman year, I discovered a web series called Awkward Black Girl created by Issa Rae and I was hooked. I would log on every weekend to catch up on the latest episode. After it’s hiatus, I was on the hunt for other web series that could consume my time and keep me intrigued for ten minutes or more when avoiding homework. I couldn’t find another web series to my liking until the YouTube channel Black&SexyTV was created.
If anything has drama in it, I’m there. Yes, I am a proud watcher of Gossip Girl—may Chuck and Blair live on forever in our memories—and Pretty Little Liars. This little fact makes it quite understandable why I was drawn to Black&SexyTV. This channel features an African-American series that are filled with the right amount of drama. When I mention drama, I’m referring to nothing similar to Real Housewives of Atlanta or Basketball Wives, but realistic drama. The plots and situations portrayed are things people could actually find themselves in, making them intriguing to follow. Not only does these series include entertainment, but a few of their series touch on issues within the African-American community.
The top two web series that grabbed my attention on this channel were Hello Cupid and RoomieLoverFriends (RLF). I dare anyone to watch an episode and not be attached to the characters and their plights. Hello Cupid follows two roommates, Robyn and Whitney, and their online dating adventure. What begins as a little social experiment transforms into something a little more twisted and a lot more complicated. For all my lovers of MTV’s CatFish, this series also has a sprinkling of that in there as well. Since I’m feeling generous, I’ve added the YouTube video of the first episode below so you can get started.
I’ll admit I started RLF because the male actor (Andra Fuller aka Kaldrick King) was one I found quite attractive from The L.A. Complex (if you know what this series is, you’ve earned like ten cool points in my book). In addition, Black&SexyTV collaborated with Issa Rae to create it, so I knew it had to be good. As I continued to watch the series, I loved the complicated relationships and problems that transpired when Kaldrick Jay and Tamiko began living together. This show focuses on what happens when you cross the line from roomie to lovers and then try to travel back to friends.
If you’re ever in the mood to avoid homework, stop by Black&SexyTV, but be careful, you might just end up watching a season or two.
Here’s a tribute to the web series that started it all: