Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television

"Owning the screen. Owning the story."

2025- 2025

1 Seasons

2 Episodes

2.1(8 votes)

Ended

Documentary

Overview

Journey through the history of black representation on television, showcasing how black artists and creators both shaped and revolutionized the medium while confronting the systemic challenges that have often undermined their contributions.

Where to Watch

Stream

Links & Resources

Website IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Episodes

No episodes found for this season.

The people behind it

Cast & crew

9 featured cast members

Starring

Issa Rae

Self

Tracee Ellis Ross

Self

Tyler Perry

Self

Oprah Winfrey

Self

Justin Simien

Self

Debbie Allen

Self

Mara Brock Akil

Self

Lena Waithe

Self

Larry Wilmore

Self

Creative team

Showrunner: Issa Rae
Montrel McKay
Produced by: Giselle Bailey
Phil Bertelsen

Similar TV Shows

7.5

2024

Luva De Pedreiro: Viral Moves

This revealing three-part docuseries chronicles the triumphs and challenges faced by Brazilian influencer and social media phenom Luva de Pedreiro.

TV Series

6.8

2024

Volta Priscila

In 2004, Brazil is shaken by the disappearance of Priscila, sister of MMA world champion Vitor Belfort. The police are racing against time to solve the case, but twenty years later, they have more questions than answers.

TV Series

5.2

2022

On My Way with Irina Rimes

After two years of working nonstop, singer Irina Rimes makes a two-week journey in a mobile studio, traveling across Romania and beyond in order to reconnect with herself, find inspiration, and complete her new album, Home.

TV Series

6.5

2024

The Manhattan Alien Abduction

A woman claims to have been abducted from her bedroom in Manhattan. This docuseries explores whether it was an elaborate hoax — or proof of alien life.

TV Series

6.5

2022

The Anarchists

Unfolding over six years, what begins as an impulsive one-off gathering turns into an ever-growing annual event attracting sponsorship from crypto-currency companies and featuring capitalist statist speakers such as Ron Paul and BitCoin investor Roger Ver. And when rule-avoidant "freedom" activists come together in one of the most dangerous cities in the world, incoherent ideology and cognitive dissonance rears its ugly head.

TV Series

7.7

2025

Kingdom

Filmed across five years in a single spectacular location, the lives and fates of our four families - leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, and lions - are inextricably linked as they strive for a foothold in a remote and fertile river valley in Zambia.

TV Series

6.2

2023

Escaping Twin Flames

A couple built a spiritual business to help people find true love. Now, former followers are sharing their disturbing practices in this docuseries.

TV Series

6.7

2022

The Most Hated Man on the Internet

Determined to remove her daughter's photos from a revenge porn website, a persistent mother launches an online crusade to shut down its cruel founder.

TV Series

1970

The Restless Wave

Three hour-long programs about the history of the Royal Canadian Navy. Filmed archives from Ottawa, the CBC and newsreels provide the bulk of the visuals.

TV Series

6.0

2023

Krishnas: Gurus. Karma. Murder.

When an Indian Swami gives a lost generation of Americans a new message of love, the Hare Krishna religion is born. But when the Swami dies without finishing his mission, an American Guru tries to seize control of the movement, leading to accusations of racketeering and murder, and the investigations by a West Virginia Sheriff's Detective, the LAPD and the FBI.

TV Series

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

7.5

1989

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.

TV Series

7.9

1992

Pole to Pole

Michael Palin undertakes an epic journey of 23,000 miles, traveling from the North to the South Pole across 17 countries with a minimum of air travel, all on a tight deadline.

TV Series

7.1

1999

Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure

Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure is a 1999 BBC television documentary presented by Michael Palin. It records Palin's travels as he visited many sites where Ernest Hemingway had been. The sites include Spain, Chicago, Paris, Italy, Africa, Key West, Cuba, and Idaho. After the trip was over Michael Palin wrote a book about the journey and his experiences. This book contains both Palin's text and many pictures by Basil Pao, the stills photographer who was on the team.

TV Series

7.5

2005

Space Race

The untold true story behind the Cold War race to put man into space.

TV Series

7.0

Masters Of American Music

Masters of American Music is a multi-award-winning television series, as entertaining and memorable as it is educational, it is a must have for any true music fan. The series celebrates a pantheon of the greatest musical innovators with individual programmes tracing the lives and works of master musicians who defined the course of American’s musical history. From the birth of the blues in New Orleans to Swing, Big Band, Bebop, Free Jazz and beyond – all of this rich tapestry is explored with sensitivity and unique depth. The featured artists come to life through conversations with their contemporaries, exciting and rare live performances, period footage and vintage photographs, all of which have been meticulously produced.

TV Series

6.7

2019

The Family

An enigmatic conservative Christian group known as the Family wields enormous influence in Washington, D.C., in pursuit of its global ambitions.

TV Series

8.6

2006

Planet Earth

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.

TV Series

3.5

2022

Gutsy

Take an unforgettable journey with Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton as they go on adventures with some of the world's boldest and bravest women—from household names to unsung heroes—who make us laugh and inspire us to be more gutsy.

TV Series

7.5

2023

How to Become a Mob Boss

This darkly satirical how-to guide explores the rise and fall of history's most notorious mob bosses and their tactics for success.

TV Series

7.0

2022

Icons Unearthed: Star Wars

Marcia Lucas, Oscar-winning film editor and ex-wife of George Lucas, sits down for her first-ever on-camera interview and provides unique insight into the rise of LucasFilm — including her 14-year marriage to and eventual divorce from George Lucas — the editing of the original Star Wars trilogy, the origin of the idea that Darth Vader would be Luke’s father and if there were really originally plans for nine movies.

TV Series

Recommended TV Shows

8.6

2023

Dear Mama

Explore the history of activist Afeni Shakur and hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, two voices that could not be silenced. Told through the eyes of the people who knew them best, this series is an intimate wide-angle portrait of the most inspiring and dangerous mother-son duo in American history, whose unified message of freedom, equality, persecution and justice are more relevant today than ever.

TV Series

Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children

7.0

2020

Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children

This docuseries explores the period between 1979 and 1981 when at least 30 African-American children and young adults disappeared or were murdered in Atlanta, Georgia.

TV Series

7.1

2020

History 101

Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.

TV Series

6.4

2020

Visible: Out on Television

Explore the history of the American LGBTQ movement through the lens of TV in this five-part docuseries. Combining archival footage with new interviews, the series looks at homophobia, the evolution of LGBTQ characters, and coming out in the TV world.

TV Series

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence

7.6

2023

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence

A group of bright Sarah Lawrence College students fall under the dark influence of a friend's father, Larry Ray. With unprecedented access to the survivors who lived with Ray, the series follows the cult from its origins through its still-unfolding aftermath.

TV Series

6.9

2023

Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God

Chronicles the life and death of Amy Carlson, also known as Mother God, a self-proclaimed spiritual savior who built a cult through her online manifestos and live-streaming sessions. As Amy's health declined, her followers believed her death would lead to her evacuation by UFO and salvation for humanity. Told through the eyes of Amy's devotees and constructed from the cult's archival footage, the three-part docuseries captures the perils of internet proselytizing and a conspiracy-driven faith.

TV Series

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

7.6

2021

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

In a tumultuous era, 1971 was a year of musical innovation and rebirth fueled by the political and cultural upheaval of the time. Stars reached new heights, fresh talent exploded onto the scene, and boundaries expanded like never before.

TV Series

7.2

2020

The New York Times Presents

A series of standalone documentaries powered by the unparalleled journalism and insight of The New York Times, bringing viewers close to the essential stories of our time.

TV Series

8.8

2025

The End of an Era

A behind-the-scenes docuseries event chronicling the development, impact, and inner workings that created the phenomenon that was Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour, as well as providing an intimate look at Taylor's life as her tour made headlines and thrilled fans around the world. The series also spotlights performers, family members, and friends — including Gracie Abrams, Sabrina Carpenter, Ed Sheeran, and Florence Welch — offering never-before-seen insight into what it took to create a phenomenon.

TV Series

7.9

2023

Arnold

This intimate docuseries follows Arnold Schwarzenegger's multifaceted life and career, from bodybuilding champ to Hollywood icon to politician.

TV Series

8.3

1995

The Beatles Anthology

A documentary series on the career of The Beatles.

TV Series

7.5

2026

Hulk Hogan: Real American

Before he was Hulk Hogan, he was Terry Bollea. Uncover the man behind the legend in this unfiltered documentary featuring his very last interview.

TV Series

7.8

2021

The Walking Dead: Origins

The Walking Dead: Origins is a series of specials exploring the journeys of the series' most celebrated characters. Each episode charts the story of the zombie apocalypse from the point of view of a single character and features new interviews and narrations from the actors that portray these iconic characters, interwoven with clips from the most pivotal moments of their journeys so far.

TV Series

8.0

2025

Pee-wee as Himself

A kaleidoscopic portrait told in two parts tracing the life of the imaginative artist.

TV Series

Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes

7.8

2022

Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes

Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer confesses to his gruesome crimes in unguarded interviews, offering an unsettling view into a disturbed mind.

TV Series

7.2

2020

Cursed Films

A documentary series exploring the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously “cursed” horror film productions. From plane accidents and bombings during the making of The Omen, to the rumored use of real human skeletons on the set of Poltergeist, these stories are legendary amongst film fans and filmmakers alike. But where does the truth lie?

TV Series

5.8

2022

Harry & Meghan

From their courtship to their exit from royal life, Harry and Meghan share their complex journey in their own words in this docuseries.

TV Series

7.2

2025

Sean Combs: The Reckoning

A revealing look at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' journey from music mogul to high-profile sexual offender, featuring footage and insider accounts that expose both his groundbreaking success with Bad Boy Entertainment and the troubling shadows behind his empire.

TV Series

7.7

2025

American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden

Featuring rare footage and interviews with CIA insiders, this edge-of-your-seat documentary series traces the epic hunt for Osama bin Laden.

TV Series

8.3

2024

Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos

A portrait of celebrated filmmaker David Chase: his life, his career and his groundbreaking work on the HBO original series The Sopranos.

TV Series