Hollywood TV Drama Pilots Getting More Diverse: Blame It On LL Cool J's Sexy Swag!

The decades-old taboo that drama series with minority leads cannot work finally might be broken.

Halfway through the castings of broadcast drama pilots this season, the top-billed actors on four pilots are non-Caucasian, with three being African American.

What's more, the four projects are among the highest-profile drama pilots this year.

The spy couple at the center of J.J. Abrams' "Undercovers" for NBC is played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe. "Undercovers," co-written by Abrams, marks his first pilot directing effort since "Lost" six years ago.

Forest Whitaker is the lead on CBS' "Criminal Minds" spinoff; Laz Alonso tops the Fox action-drama "Breakout Kings," directed and exec produced by Gavin Hood; and Freddy Rodriguez headlines CBS' CIA drama "Chaos," directed and executive produced by Brett Ratner.

Last year's crop of broadcast pilots included only one fronted by a minority actor, the LL Cool J starrer "NCIS: Los Angeles." The season before that, there were no pilots led by minorities.

While the Jimmy Smits-starring "NYPD Blue" was a breakout hit for ABC, the odds against dramas led by a minority actor historically have been long. None of the networks' attempts through the years had worked, including three shows with James Earl Jones, "Paris," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Under One Roof," and two each with Andre Braugher ("Gideon's Crossing" and "Thief") and Taye Diggs ("Kevin Hill" and "Day Break"). USA Network also tried unsuccessfully a new spin on "Kojak" with Ving Rhames as the lollipop-loving detective.

But whether it's the Obama effect or any other reason, the tide seems to have turned during the past year.

"NCIS: LA" has been a runaway success, becoming the first major hit drama series toplined by a black actor, and CBS replaced iconic "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" star William Petersen with Laurence Fishburne.

And in cable, where there hadn't been a drama toplined by a black actor since the departure of HBO's "The Wire," Jada Pinkett Smith was tapped as the lead of TNT's medical drama "Hawthorne," which has been renewed for a second season.

By setting black actors as leads in its three biggest crime franchises -- "CSI" (Fishburne), "NCIS" (LL Cool J) and "Criminal Minds" (Whitaker) -- as well as shepherding the Dennis Haysbert-starring war drama "The Unit" for four seasons, CBS has been at the forefront of the trend of putting minority actors in charge of drama series.

The network is also behind two of the four drama pilots that already have tapped minority leads: the "Criminal Minds" spinoff and "Chaos."

"Diversity is top of mind for us every pilot season," CBS head of casting Peter Golden said. "It's still very early in the development process, but we're excited about diverse roles we have on the page and the performers cast for the screen."

Black comedians have a strong tradition on TV, and viewers have had no problem embracing comedy series with black leads. But dramas offer a different dynamic and require a larger degree of relatability, which makes it harder for white audiences to accept an ethnic show, TV historian Tim Brooks said.

Although Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw -- like President Obama -- are biracial, casting on the "Undercovers" leads was done color-blind, with producers looking for the actors who best fit the characters and had the best chemistry.

It was a similar situation on "Breakout Kings" and "Hawthorne," and early breakdowns had Michael Keaton and Kiefer Sutherland as prototypes for the role on the "Criminal Minds" spinoff that was offered to Whitaker.

On the other hand, "Chaos" writer Tom Spezialy created the show's lead character as Hispanic, naming him Rick Martinez.

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Black Congresswoman Diane Watson To Exit, Leaving House of Reps Seat Up For Grabs

Rep. Diane Watson, a prominent African American woman in Los Angeles and national politics for three decadecs, announced today she will retire from Congress at the end of the year.

Now, the race is on as to which black democratic candidate is best positioned to replace the increasingly Latino populated area.

State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass is obviously the front runner will commander the safely Democratic seat, which has been held by a minority as far back as most can remember. Bass is the first black woman to hold the speaker's post in Sacramento, and she is leaving the Assembly at the end of 2010. Perfect timing!

Diane Edith Watson, 76, who started on the local level before going on to become a California state senator and a Micronesia US ambassador under President Bill Clinton, said she was stepping down to spend more time with her 100-year-old mother, who recently broke her hip.

Watson's claim to fame came in 1975 when she was elected the first black woman to serve on the Los Angeles Unified School District board. Her entry into the political arena came at a time of racial friction over mandatory school busing.

Many recall the bruising campaign she waged against her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sister, former Congresswoman and County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, that fractured the black middle class and saw various political camps stem from Burke's ultimate victory. Burke herself was on the losing end of a campaign to become the first woman and African American to serve as Attorney General of California.

Ironically, now San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is striving to accomplish that same goal this year.

Assemblywoman Bass issued a statement calling Watson a mentor and praising her for fighting for better schools and health care in the district, which covers a swath of Los Angeles County running from Culver City to the Hollywood section in Los Angeles.

Photos courtesy of Leroy Hamilton

Does Television Continue To Discrimate Based On Race? We Report, You Decide!

New Orleans Saints Win Superbowl 2010!

The Definition Of Joy!

Congratulations to the champions. The city needed this win and we hear at 3 Brothers and A Sister join in the celebration. Who Dat!!!

Singer Jill Scott Sued By Black-Owned Hidden Beach Record Company

Will The Popular Singer/Actress Have To Pay Big $$$

Jill Scott was sued this morning by her longtime record label, which is accusing the multi-platinum songstress of skipping out halfway through a six-album contract and potentially owing millions of dollars in damages.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by L.A.-based Hidden Beach Records, claims that the label and its founder, Steve McKeever, helped launch the R&B superstar's career and nurtured her into a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter but was unceremoniously dumped in October after a 10-plus year relationship.

"Hidden Beach is shocked by her decision not only because Scott has apparently chosen to leave the Hidden Beach family," the complaint reads, "but also because Scott is contractually required to deliver three more albums to Hidden Beach."

The complaint alleges causes of action for breach of contract and damages owed under California's Labor Code Sec. 2855. That statute, provides that talent cannot be bound by personal services contracts for longer than seven years.

Hidden Beach isn't disputing that Scott's deal violated the seven-year rule but the law carves out a requirement that certain recording artists who wish to terminate their lengthy deals must reimburse their labels in the amount the labels would have received under the terms of the contracts.

Since breaking onto the scene with the double-platinum selling "Who Is Jill Scott?" album in 2000, Scott's studio albums (and live albums) have generated millions in revenue. And in 2010, Scott has a new album coming out, as well as two films and some tv projects. So while Hidden Beach's alleged damages are unspecified in the complaint, under California law they could total several million dollars.

The complaint alleges McKeever, a Harvard-trained lawyer turned music mogul, paid Scott million-dollar advances when he wasn't required to, allowed her to keep merchandising revenue, paid $450,000 to fund a concert DVD that Scott later asked not be released, bought her lavish gifts and indulged her desire to slow her recording schedule to pursue an acting career (Scott has appeared in the films "Houndog," "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" and HBO's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency").

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Black People Are Embracing Twitter And Facebook... Gangbangers Say We're Down With New Media Too!

What, You Think We Don't Know What's Up?

When a gang member was released from a US jail soon after his arrest for selling methamphetamine, friends and associates assumed he had cut a deal with authorities and become a police informant.

They sent a warning on Twitter that went like this: We have a snitch in our midst.

Unbeknownst to them, that tweet and the traffic it generated were being closely followed by investigators, who had been tracking the San Francisco Bay Area gang for months. Officials sat back and watched as others joined the conversation and left behind incriminating information.

Law enforcement officials in the US say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organisations.

"You find out about people you never would have known about before," said Dean Johnston with the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, which helps police investigate gangs. "You build this little tree of people."

In the case involving the suspected informant, tweets alerted investigators to three other gang members who were ultimately arrested on drug charges.

Tech-savvy gangsters have long been at home in chatrooms and on websites like MySpace, but they appear to be gravitating toward Twitter and Facebook, where they can make threats, boast about crimes, share intelligence on rivals and network with people across the country.

"We are seeing a lot more of it," Johnston said. "They will even go out and brag about doing shootings."

In another California case involving a different gang, much of the information gathered by investigators came from members' Facebook accounts. Authorities expect to make arrests in the coming months.

"Once you get into a Facebook group, it's relatively easy," Johnston said. "You have a rolling commentary."

And gang members sometimes turn the tables, asking contacts across their extended networks for help identifying undercover police officers.

It's hard to know exactly how many gang members are turning to Twitter and Facebook. Many police agencies are reluctant to discuss the phenomenon for fear of revealing their investigative techniques.

Capt. Walt Myer, director of the Riverside County regional gang task force, said gang activity often "mirrors general society. When any kind of new technology comes along, they are going to use it."

Ad Feedback Representatives from Twitter and Facebook say they regularly co-operate with police and supply information on account holders when presented with a search warrant. Neither company would discuss specifics.

Gang use of Twitter and Facebook still lags behind use of the much-older MySpace, which remains gang members' online venue of choice.

The Crips, Bloods, Florencia 13, MS-13 and other gangs have long used MySpace to display potentially incriminating photos and videos of people holding guns and making hand gestures. They also post messages about rivals.

Last week, officials in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, announced the arrest of 50 people in a crackdown of a Latino gang they say was engaged in drug sales and hate crimes against black residents. Prosecutors say some of the evidence was pulled from MySpace and YouTube, including rap videos taunting police with violent messages.

While some members are wising up to the police attention such postings can bring, gang information remains publicly viewable online.

Dozens of Facebook accounts are dedicated to the deadly MS-13 gang, with followers from around the globe. At one site, a video displays pictures of dead members of the rival 18th Street gang, and some users have left disrespectful comments.

The toughest part about tracking someone on Twitter is finding the alias or screen name they are posting under. And many tweets are nonsensical or pointless, so cutting through the clutter can be difficult.

"It's tricky," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy David Anguiano "If you find out what they go by, you are good to go."

Anguiano tracks the online activity of graffiti vandals - the so-called tagging crews that sometimes morph into gangs. They post tweets saying they are heading out to spray paint and sometimes post links to photographs of their work.

Often, they cannot resist bragging about their handiwork, and the electronic trail they leave is frequently used as evidence.

"They talk about it too much," Anguiano said. "You want the fame so you've got to go out there and talk about it. That's when your mouth gets you in trouble."

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WHITES ONLY: Sure Vanity Fair Is Just The Messenger, But Hollywood's The Real Problem

Not one African American, Asian, Native American or Latina actress is worthing of gracing Vanity Fair's March 2010 Hollywood edition? NOT ONE??????

The irony is, everyone seems completley oblivious to what the real message is here.

March 2010: Hollywood's "It" Girls: vanityfair.com