ABSTRACT
Today’s TV audiences are more racially and ethnically diverse than ever before, challenging traditional notions of the “mainstream” audience, which certainly can no longer be considered simply “white.” In this chapter, we consider findings from UCLA’s 2017 Hollywood Diversity Report in order to explore some of the ways in which the combination of evolving television technology and shifting American demographics may be creating an opening for television content options not considered viable in the past. The Hollywood Diversity Report is an annual UCLA study focused on exploring the relationships between diversity and the bottom line in the entertainment industry. While the trend in television appears to be toward increasing diversity in front of the camera, and to a lesser degree behind it, the 2017 report revealed that the television industry still has a long way to go before anything resembling proportionate representation for people of color is achieved—despite the finding replicated throughout the study series that television shows with casts reflective of America’s diversity receive, on average, the highest viewer ratings. In light of the profound technological changes reshaping the television landscape with the prevalence of streaming video-on-demand services, where are people of color finding content that is representative?
