HBO Max’s Sweet Life: Los Angeles and E!’s We Got Love show that Black reality TV can explore other avenues of Black life

VICE

"There’s reality TV and then there’s Black reality TV," says Kristin Corry. "Whether it’s Pumkin spitting on New York on Flavor of Love, Chardonnay’s epic split on For the Love of Ray J, or Chrissy Lampkin fighting literally everyone on the inaugural season of Love and Hip-Hop—Black stars consistently produce reality TV’s most unforgettable moments. That comes with a downside, though. Despite these shows being deeply entertaining, they’ve often also played into stereotypes embedded in Black culture—that we are aggressors, hypersexual, and violent. Two new series premiering this week, HBO Max’s Sweet Life: Los Angeles and E!’s We Got Love, use the format for a sort of cultural reset, showing how Black reality TV can explore other avenues of Black life, particularly entrepreneurship and merriment. And although the two shows can both feel slightly cliché at times, it’s still a bit cathartic to watch Black 20-somethings simply exist as misguided young adults." 

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• Issa Rae was inspired to make Sweet Life: Los Angeles after binging on Vanderpump Rules: "I was like, 'What the f*ck is this?' Because I'd never seen Real Housewives," says Rae. "I didn't know who Lisa Vanderpump was, but watching these people working at a restaurant, they just felt like real people who didn't, at the time, want to be famous."
• HBO Max posts the first two episodes of Sweet Life: Los Angeles on YouTube