Men have it tough and 6 other things we learned at the upfronts

Isn't one of Charlie's Angels "of color"?

"We're sure we'll hear lots of, "Oh, we just hired the best actor for the part" from networks and showrunners. Frankly, that's not a good enough excuse."

Yes, because skin tone should always win out over qualifications simply because it makes us feel better about ourselves.

I have to agree with Reality's comment. So-called affirmative action is condescending and insulting to the talents of the people it's supposed to assist. That's not my opinion, but the opinion I've heard expressed by women and a few minorities.

Anyway, another trend not listed here is "let's copy ideas from 20-30 years ago and pretend they're new." 2 Broke Girls = Alice, the show with the guys in drag = Bosom Buddies. There are 2 shows based on fairy tales, one of which appears to borrow 99% of its concept from The Charmings. There's a show that seems to be a rip off of both Twilight and Vampire Diaries. I spotted at least two Good Wive variants. An animated series based on a movie from the 1990s. At least Charlie's Angels is open about being a remake. This year really does illustrate that Hollywood is devoid of original ideas.

Isn't that why we had that writer's strike a while back?

"Frankly, that's not a good enough excuse."

Perhaps it's implied, but I would have preferred that sentence include the phrase "in my opinion", but in any case I agree with Reality and Alex, and would like to add a very non-PC thought: Perhaps people -- including so-called minorities -- simply prefer to see white people on TV.

Yes, kill the messenger (me) if it makes you feel better, but before you do why not think about how many minority celebrities use their money and fame to get a white women (or man) instead of someone of their own race?

Or, as illustrated in "Save the Last Dance", a big problem black communities is that even a moderately successful black man will often tend to prefer a white woman.

So maybe TV is just giving people what they fantasize about.

Knot - could you be any more racist?

I agree with Rick. It isn't a good enough excuse. The reason it isn't is that it's not accurate. It is statistically absurd to believe that in 95% of cases the best actors are white actors. And yet that is what you see on the screen. Even if Knot's comments were accurate, that still wouldn't explain the degree of disparity.

I hope the lead actors from Undercovers get another opportunity. I found them intriguing and vry likeable. I thought the performances improved over the course of the short life of the show.

@Reality
Completely agree. The notion that networks should only cast people of colour because its PC is beyond ridiculous. I'm sure people of colour would rather earn parts than be handed them because the cast is "too white". Who's to say the best actor for the part isn't a minority anyway?

Are you kidding? We are still counting skin color in shows?? If so, make sure the white casts have equal part Irish, Jewish, etc... Shouldn't you always hire the most qualified person for the job regardless?? Perfect example (depending on how you look at it) - our president.