France’s first sitcom with an all-black cast

“Tchip Show” is the first situation comedy show on French TV revolving mainly around characters of Afro-Caribbean and African backgrounds living in Paris. Now in its fourth season, it made its debut as a webseries about five years ago before being picked up by the France Ô TV channel. You can watch them on the web in 5 minute instalments. French TV dramas are notorious for blacking out the country’s black and Arab populations, so we should welcome this effort as a first step in how things can change in the portrayal of Africans on French TV. Five years down the line, Tchip Show is still the only program in its kind. At times, the show tends to rehash the typical clichés of “African people” and the comedy’s often stale but it has at least one thing going for it: the actors work hard. Oh, and if you’re wondering, the title refers to that sound people make when they’re angry or annoyed.

Watch it here (in French).

Further Reading