The 10 TV Shows BBC Wants You to Watch this Month

After what seemed like a longer than usual winter TV show hiatus, I was excited to see BBC publish an article titled, “Ten TV Shows to Watch in February.”  BBC is typically one of my go-to news outlets- I like the idea that it is international news and that it is the largest broadcaster in the world, both of these qualities make me feel like it is reputable, unbiased, and holds a global perspective.  However, I didn’t really see these qualities being exemplified in the photos chosen for this article.  The article highlights ten shows, each one with a photograph associated with the show.  While scrolling through this list, all of the photographs, debatably minus one that features a Lebanese family, were of white characters.  

It is important to note that the ten television shows being featured are not all American shows, they are international.  This makes it even more worrisome that at least nine out of the ten shows feature white actors and actresses.  The majority of the world is not caucasian, so why is that all we are seeing on TV?  If international news broadcasters are solely featuring shows that star white characters, they are contributing to the apparent racial annihilation that has constructed societal norms on the screen.  

Additionally, this article was found in the “culture” section of BBC’s website.  However, I question how much culture we are receiving if all of the shows the media tells us to watch resemble characters of the same demographic.  In order for our world to grow into a  more accepting environment, we must be exposed to all cultures, races, sexual orientations, and different demographics than we typically see on the screen.  Even if the editors of BBC are not intentionally perpetuating these stereotypes that white characters are the only characters people want to see, they are still making this statement by solely portraying them.  
Of course, it is to be expected that a significant portion of the lack of racial representation in this article is caused by the lack of racial representation in television shows produced. However, there are surely more shows around the world being played this month than merely ones starring white characters, it is possible they are not being watched because outlets, such as the BBC is not properly advertising them. It seems to be a continuous cycle of racial annihilation.