David Harewood on Blackface: which TV shows have been removed from streaming over use of racist makeup?

Actor David Harewood examines the legacy of blackface in a new BBC Two documentary, looking at the roots of the racist trope in the minstrel shows of the 1830s.

Blackface remained a staple of mainstream comedy for centuries, and had featured in popular TV shows as recently as 2019, though the tone has changed.

As Harewood discusses the hurt caused by blackface in the documentary, we look at how many well-known shows, many of which continue to air today, have featured blackface, and which ones have been removed from streaming as a result.

The number of 21st century shows that do feature blackface as a comedic device is shockingly high. 

Which TV shows have been removed from streaming over blackface?

Entire show removed

Bo’ Selecta!: The full sketch show, which aired from 2002-2004 featured comedian Leigh Francis wearing oversized caricature masks of singer Craig David and presenter Trisha Goddard was removed from All4 in 2020. David later called the show racist and said that he was bullied by it.  

Little Britain: All three seasons of the show which aired from 2003-2006 were removed from streaming in the UK on iPlayer, BritBox, and Netflix in 2020. The sketch comedy series featured frequent appearances by David Wallias as black woman, complete with a frizzy wig, and Matt Lucas portraying a Thai bride named Ting Tong Macadangdang.  

Come Fly With Me: Walliams and Lucas’s follow-up series, Come Fly with Me was also removed from streaming at the same time as Little Britain. Each episode featured Lucas playing a black woman. 

Episodes removed

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: S4E3, S6E9, S8E2, S9E9 and S14E3 removed from Netflix. These episodes featured Rob McElhenney in blackface as Danny Glover, Danny Devito as a Native American, and Kaitlin Olson in brownface as a Puerto Rican woman.

The Sarah Silverman Program: S2E3 Face Wars was removed from most streaming platforms in the US, but is still available to stream on Apple TV+ and rent from Amazon Prime Video in the UK. Silverman apologised for the episode, in which her character tries to prove that it’s easier to be black than Jewish, by wearing blackface for a day, in 2018.

Community: S2E14, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, removed. The episode sees Ken Jeong’s character cosplaying as a ‘dark elf’ but the makeup looks a lot like blackface, and several other characters note the resemblance.  

Scrubs S3E8, S5E4 and S5E17 were removed from Hulu in the US but are still available on Disney+ in the UK. Zach Braff featured in blackface twice in the series, whilst Sarah Chalke did so once. Series creator Bill Lawrence supported the decision to pull the three episodes. 

Scenes removed

Peep Show: S2E1 Dance Class had a scene cut from the episode on Netflix. The scene saw Robert Webb’s character Jeremy in full blackface in an attempt to break a sexual taboo.

The Office US: S9E9 Dwight Christmas originally featured a scene where Dwight’s colleague Nate, played by Mark Proksch, features briefly dressed as Zwarte Piet, a companion of St Nicolas that is generally considered to be offensive. In the episode Jim tells Dwight not to include Zwarte Piet in a Christmas party.    

30 Rock: S3E2, S4E5, S5E10, S6E19 - the four episodes were removed from Hulu at the request of creator Tina Fey, who called the blackface trope ‘ugly’. The four episodes in question feature cast members Jon Hamm and Jane Krakowski in blackface.    

Contested shows

The League of Gentlemen and The Mighty Boosh was removed from Netflix over concerns that cast members had used blackface. The character of Papa Lazarou in League of Gentlemen is played by a white actor with black face paint. However, the show’s creators claimed that the character was not supposed to be a black man but was in fact a demonic circus master.

The Mighty Boosh was removed from Netflix at the same time as League of Gentlemen because it features a character with a black and white face called the Spirit of Jazz and played by Noel Fielding. Again, fans have contested that the Spirit of Jazz was not a person and that the design was not supposed to imply the use of blackface.

Both The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentlemen are available to watch in the UK on BritBox.