Good Times

Good Times was a classic TV show from a time long past when there was no internet and a new show meant new information. I was a young white person in a small town of 98% white people and this was my first exposure to another culture. That is what Norman Lear did. Expose people to things they hadn't seen or were hard to discuss. From tackling abortion and homosexuality in "Maude," racism with "All in the Family" and most importantly humanizing black life for stubborn white people with "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times." It would behoove anyone reading this to go watch any of these shows instead of this series. As I write this I'm realizing that this series isn't worth mentioning really and that 3 is to high a score. 1.7.

In the past year, Netflix has shifted gears, abandoning the pursuit of quality in favor of becoming a mere content aggregator. Nowhere is this more evident than in their treatment of Black Stories-shallow, tokenistic offerings that scream, "Here's something we think the community will tolerate," devoid of any genuine effort to deliver quality entertainment.

Take, for instance, their recent Shirley Chisholm Movie debacle. It looked as though they threw spare change at it and managed to get everything about Chisholm wrong.

Now Good Times. This insulting portrayal, steeped in old stereotypes, is just the tip of the iceberg. And I highly doubt this poorly executed, offensive mess will win them any new audience.

Netflix originals have become increasingly unbearable. From the disaster that was the Zack Snyder debacle to the mishandling of "3 Body Problem," it's evident that Netflix's enthusiasm for new creators and bold ideas has waned, replaced by tired clichés and a race to the bottom.

We may be witnessing the twilight of the streaming golden age, but I never imagined quality would plummet to such depths in a business model reliant on subscriber retention.

Representation matters and this is not what represents Black people in 2024. Sadly, those defending this show as funny do not realize that these same creators and producers would NEVER make a show with stereotypes like this for non-Black people. Saying this baby is comparable to Stewie is the definition of Playing in our faces. One baby is a drug dealer and the other is a witty genius. This is a 2024 minstrel show and Netflix should be ashamed for airing it. This show is not Boondocks and it's definitely is not a reboot of Good Times. The live show ended with the Evans family getting out of the projects and moving toward creating generational wealth. Seth and Steph's show has the family five generations later in a situation that is absolutely 100 levels worse and no improvement or inspiration to be had. This show Is the definition of Blaxploitation and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of how Black Americans are represented, even when it is supposed to be satire. This is not satire, it is just sad and tired.

This is an insult in all shapes and sizes. How dare they desecrate my youthful television favorite with this racist characterizations. The people of color who signed up for and are behind this atrocity should be deeply ashamed to have their name associated with this crap. Talk about two steps back. J. B should know better but I guess the money was good. WTH Curry got to do with movies, stay in your lane dude. I am sure his dad watched the original as I did in Staunton but obviously he never shared the it with Stephan. Wonder what Dale thinks of this. Netflix should remove this as soon as possible. Absolutely nothing to see here! 👎🏿

I can't believe what I just watched. Saw someone post a screenshot of this and thought I'd give it a shot. Wow. Thinks actually embarrassing. Why as black people do we want to perpetuate stereotypes that have harmed our communities and our own well-being. We've come so far and now this????? Whatever intelligent comedy there may be here is lost because we have to sit through gun violence by children (literal babies!), roaches in the apartment, glorifying "hoes"...when it first started and they referenced the "white Jesus" episode of the original show I though we were going somewhere empowering, but no. Just another act of self-hatred billed as art. We have to do better.