Jake 2.0 (2003-04)
Many may not remember this delightful sci-fi show starring Christopher Gorham as a young nanobot-infused superhuman working for the NSA, but we do. It had a lot going for it, including David Greenwalt (Buffy, Angel, Grimm) and Silvio Horta (Ugly Betty) as executive producers. It’s disappointing that the series didn’t live beyond 16 episodes because if given the chance, it could have developed into something special.
Love the shoutout to Girlfriends. Its ranking is well deserved. To this day I’m baffled that the series wasn’t given a proper series finale after 8 seasons. I’m crossing my fingers that we get a limited series revival in the future.
This article touched me because UPN was really the hub for rising Black entertainment. It was the one network that gave Black voices a chance and it’s unfortunate that its legacy got lost within The CW merger.
Well, at least until The CW has Black Lightning and the All American shows.
I agree with this list. It’s a good thing you ruled out Buffy for this list or the winner might be different. I do love me some Girlfriends though.
Dilbert
The creator is a giant Toolbag, which probably hurt its consideration some. But this was a great show. If it had aired on Fox as part of the animation domination, it might still be on the air.
I love Veronica Mars and am so glad to see it high on the list, but the article currently has a mistake at the time of this comment. It says there was a third season on Hulu, but that was season 4. Season 3 aired on the CW.
Thank you! Fixed it in the article
Where’s Shasta Mcnasty? Wasn’t that a UPN show?
Homeboyz from outerspace was another.
Which of the listed shows are you saying it was better than?
I was personally joking with my reply
Oh I forgot Jake 2.0. I was obsessed with that show for it’s very short life
A list without Nowhere Man is no list at all
Nor platypus man, marker, legends or any of the starting upn shows, plus enterprise didn’t make the list…I guess clueless, hughlees, and in the house started on other nets, home movies also started on upn
I loved Enterprise, though I didn’t particularly like the finale
“Seven Days” (1998-2001) was a Fix-the-Catastrophe time-travel sci-fi series that became repetitive by its 3rd season, and was cancelled before 9/11…
One of the most popular elements of that show was the chemistry between the two leads. But they weren’t speaking by mid season 3, and refused to be on set at the same time. That cancelled the show.
That series was a bit of a conundrum….
This is Sentinel slander, & I will not stand for it lol..
Star Trek Enterprise deserves some love. Should have gotten a better ending than it did
This list brought up all of the feels for me 😞 I miss when TV was exciting. UPN and The WB were such a huge part of my younger years. No one made sitcoms like UPN and no one did teen drama like The WB.
Wow, almost all these black sitcoms ended on cliffhangers.
Bring Girlfriends back!
Perfect Top 3 tbh.
I love girlfriends. It was good to see the cast reunite on Blackish. Still holding out hope that they give it Girlfriends a proper ending, if not a season then a movie
Kevin Hill!
Home Boys From Outer Space, or pi*ss off. lol I’ll concede on Platypus Man & Pig Sty.
I came fully prepared to role my eyes at Buffy or Veronica Mars being number one because look at the site we’re on and I’m so glad you guys didn’t do the obvious. On a network that is hugely remembered for being a safe haven for black shows, one of the most culturally significant examples of this needed to be number one.
Also, Paramount stop playing around and give us the Girlfriends wrap up movie we deserve and I will forgive you for those random episodes of The Game that not needed or asked for.
If anyone out there can get the free Dabl over-the-air channel with an antenna I highly recommend it…it has Girlfriends, One on One, The Parkers, Living Single, The Game, Moesha, Half & Half and other great comedies!
I wonder if anyone else remembers Special Unit 2. That show was so weird lol
I was young when I was watching Girlfriends but I learned so much from it and I’m so grateful for it. I binged Eve on Max when it was on there & I actually liked the show. I also binged One on One on Netflix but I stopped watching since the last season went in a different direction and I didn’t like that. I have fond memories of watching UPN network and how the Tyra show started there & how I would watch The King of Queens reruns on there & Fear Factor episodes. I’m glad I got to experience what I did.
VM had one of the greatest freshman seasons of all time. The only that would get Emmy nods in a fair world. The Parkers will forever be better than Moesha.
I can’t believe Jake 2.0 was only 16 episodes, seemed like so much more!
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UPN really had a lot of great shows. I also loved Marker, Seven Days, Nowhere Man, Legend, Kevin Hill, probably a bunch of others I can’t remember
I think The Sentinel and Star Trek: Enterprise both warranted entries, but hey, I know it’s subjective. Trust me, I know – I write lists for a living sometimes, too.