Black TV Actresses: Leading Women On Television Right Now

Source: Starz / Starz

As winter comes to an end and with spring peeking its sunny head right around the corner, television aficionados everywhere are preparing for a fresh onslaught of new shows and a handful of returning fan favorites, as well. This season, however, will be quite different than the ones in recent memory, mainly due to the surplus of leading ladies at the helm of the hottest dramas, sitcoms, thrillers and reboots across the television broadcast spectrum. Taking things even further, we’re also seeing more Black women than ever at the forefront of standout ensemble casts in 2023. Major win for the home team! MORE: ‘I’m A Virgo’: Boots Riley To Release New Coming Of Age Comedy Series

  Keeping with our March-long celebration of Women’s History Month, it was only right to highlight some of the trailblazing Black actresses currently killing it on TV. From co-stars who manage to steal the show every time they come across the screen, to the women at front-and-center of their respective series as melanated main characters, each and every one of them are making things all the more entertaining on the small screen. We can only hope to see this trend amplified in the immediate future, with fingers crossed that Hollywood opens up even more opportunities for our melanated sisters in Hollywood to shine on TV. MORE: ‘Formerly Retired’ Wendy Williams Still Wants Spot On ‘The View’ While we’re proud to say that a lot of Black women are currently employed on the television side of Tinseltown, we narrowed down our praise to 15 Black actresses who are doing the culture some serious justice with their small-screen talents.

So once again, Happy Women’s History Month! Take a look at these amazingly talented Black women at the forefront of 15 hit TV shows currently on air. Let us know who your favorite is, whether or not we got it right with the selections and even let us know who you would’ve added instead.

1. Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, 'Abbott Elementary'

2. Mary J. Blige as Monét Stewart Tejada, 'Power Book II: Ghost'

3. Michole Briana White as Lucille Flenory, 'BMF'

4. Meagan Good as Camille Parks, 'Harlem'

5. Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, 'grown-ish'

6. Coco Jones as Hilary Banks, 'Bel-Air'

7. Dominique Fishback as Andrea "Dre" Greene, 'Swarm'

8. Octavia Spencer as Poppy Parnell, 'Truth Be Told'

9. Michael Hyatt as Cissy Saint, 'Snowfall'

10. Kerry Washington as Paige Alexander, 'UnPrisoned'

11. Michelle Hurd as Rafaella "Raffi" Musiker, 'Star Trek: Picard'

12. Kim Fields as Regina Upshaw, 'The Upshaws'

13. Sierra McClain as Grace Ryder, '9-1-1: Lone Star'

14. Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay, 'Wednesday'