​In the 1990s, black storytellers were having a moment in Hollywood. As noted in this now kinda cringey New York Times story, black was "in," and Hollywood decision-makers were "beginning to recognize that a white audience will spend money to see black movies." Black filmmakers like Melvin Van Peebles, the Hudlin brothers, and Robert Townsend got resources and support to tell their stories; on TV, shows like Living Single and Moesha became hits and helped then-burgeoning networks Fox and UPN grow their businesses. The era didn't last. By the 2000s, black film directors found themselves no longer in demand, and on TV, network mergers and increased appetites for reality TV meant pivoting away from majority-black shows in favor of appealing to "mainstream" (read: white) audiences, as outlined in the 2005 book The Sitcom Reader.

Some 30 years later, black storytellers are wondering if history is about to repeat itself, even as they celebrate progress. Today, black superheroes are finally thriving on TV, with shows such as Doom Patrol and The Boys putting black superheroes front and center after decades of being relegated to the sidelines or ignored altogether. Steps forward in representation have been a long time coming, but with characters like Sister Night (Regina King) of Watchmen, and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) of the upcoming The Falcon and the Winter Soldier dismantling the myth that black heroes can't appeal to everyone, it sure seems as if we're only at the beginning of a movement with boundless potential. To hear experts and creators tell it, though, optimism comes with caution.

"Is it a boon?" Denys Cowan, co-founder of Milestone Media and co-creator of the comic book hero Static, replied when asked how he felt about the sudden increase in black superheroes on TV. "It's good to see more diversity, but I don't know if it's really enough." Cowan broke down barriers in 2000 with Static Shock, an animated kids series about a black teen hero named Static that ran for four seasons, and recalled going into meetings where white executives told him point-blank that black people didn't buy comic books. While he loves that stories like Black Lighting and Watchmen are being told now, Cowan said there are so many more to tell. However, there's a dearth of network executives willing to put faith and dollars into these projects. "It's still a struggle," Cowan said.