Black and Blue TV: Industry Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement

Laurena Bernabo (forthcoming). Black and Blue TV: Industry Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Rutgers University Press, 2026. Abstract: This book explores the ways broadcast television productions have responded to the Black Lives Matter movement in its first decade by shining light on the relationship between production workers, activists, and the cultural forum of television. Critiques of “copaganda” in entertainment television, particularly cop shows, highlighted the fact that TV cops are nearly always the good guys, even when they break the law and use excessive force. This book investigates the people who influence what those representations look like, pairing textual criticism of broadcast television’s primetime programming with interviews with television creatives, executives, and media activists. I trace shifts in how these individuals, who contribute to representations of systemic racism and policing, understand their role in televisual culture, and the kinds of narratives that are produced and distributed as a result.