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The Best Video Streaming Services for Celebrating Black Art

 & Jordan Minor Principal Writer, Software

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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For more on streaming, check out five reasons to ditch your video subscription and keep cable. Learn how to pick streaming services that fit your budget, and enjoy all sorts of reality show trash. Finally, check out our recommended streaming video guides if you don’t know what to watch.

Best for Original Programming

Netflix

4.5 Outstanding

Netflix doesn't just spend some money on Black talent; it invests billions, producing original Spike Lee movies and shows, partnering with mega-producers like Ava DuVernay, Kenya Barris, Shonda Rhimes, and Justin Simien, and airing specials from every Black comedian not named Bill Cosby. How deep does it go? There's literally an official Twitter account and podcast series highlighting Netflix's Black movies and shows called Strong Black Lead.

Netflix review

Best for International Enthusiasts

KweliTV

4.0 Excellent

If you, like me, once went to a Nigerian "Nollywood" film fest and left wanting more, KweliTV is the sleeper hit service for you. With it, you can watch hundreds of shows and movies from across the African diaspora, a curated collection of culture available on many media streaming devices. It has flexible pricing options, too.

KweliTV review

Best for Contemporary Black Entertainment

Allblk

3.5 Good

Formerly known as the Urban Movie Channel, Allblk features a varied library of Black films and TV shows designed to compete with mainstream Black entertainment channels like BET. After all, it was created by BET co-founder Robert L. Johnson. Featuring Viola Davis movies, Jackson family documentaries, and original thrillers, you'll find something Black to love.

Allblk review

Best for Funky Nostalgia

Brown Sugar

3.5 Good

Nothing beats the gritty action, killer soundtracks, and overwhelming 1970s atmosphere of a good Blaxploitation flick. No other era could give us movies about mournful African vampires or antihero pimps looking to clean up the streets. Brown Sugar's library lovingly preserves this ridiculous era of African-American film history.

Brown Sugar review

Best for Mainstream Black Culture

BET+

3.0 Average

Whether or not BET features positive representation of Black people is a debate worth having, but Black Entertainment Television is certainly a big enough player to have its own standalone streaming service. Speaking of mixed legacies, BET+ is now the home for Tyler Perry's new originals after the prolific African-American auteur ended his deal with Oprah.

BET+ review

Best for On-Demand and Live TV Streaming

Hulu

4.0 Excellent

A top choice for streaming shows and movies, as well as live TV, Hulu's library includes top Black talent. There's some nice variety, too, including the pleasant sitcom Black-ish, the harrowing historical drama Roots, Donald Glover's experimental Atlanta, and the High Fidelity remix starring Zoë Kravitz. Hulu also has documentaries on topics like Black Twitter and the infamous Freaknik festival.

Hulu review

Best for Black Talk Shows

Peacock

4.0 Excellent

The idea of watching a late-night talk show on a streaming service sounds a bit anachronistic. Still, I'll watch charming, witty, and oh-so-Black hosts like Amber Ruffin and Larry Wilmore break down the news of the day any time on NBC's Peacock. The service also has the gritty Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air (starring a deliciously evil Carlton), and the entire Best Man saga. Unfortunately, the free plan is no longer available, but the affordably priced premium tiers offer lots of entertainment value.

Peacock review

Best for Free Streaming

Tubi

4.0 Excellent

Tubi is an awesome, Editors' Choice-winning streaming service that won't cost you a cent. You just need to create an account and watch a few commercials. Tubi has built an eclectic rotating streaming library that includes excellent and overlooked Black entertainment. Black storytelling on Tubi ranges from dramas (Poetic JusticePrecious) to comedies (Barbershop, Everybody Hates Chris) to wild Tyler Perry Joints. It has tons of fun, schlocky, original movies, too. With Tubi, it literally costs you nothing to sample what might be your next favorite Black classic. It's all reward, no risk.

Tubi review

Best for Original Programming and Purchase Options

Amazon Prime Video

4.0 Excellent

Although its original shows may not reach the heights of its rivals, Prime Video has an unmatched library of shows and movies to buy or rent on demand. That includes pretty much any Black movie or TV show you can think of. Some are even available for free with a Prime membership, such as I Am Not Your Negro and the masterful The Underground Railroad adaptation. One of Prime Video's channel add-ons is focused on Black content, although it has a cringeworthy name: Urban Movie Channel.

Amazon Prime Video review

Best for Families

Disney+

4.0 Excellent

We should be careful to never let a company like Disney make us associate loving our identity with loving their brand. That said, having A Wrinkle in Time, Marvel’s Black Panther, Doc McStuffins, both versions of The Lion King, The Princess and the Frog, The Proud Family, and That’s So Raven on one service is a pretty easy sell for Black families. If you want to see America’s founding fathers reimagined as rhythmic people of color, now you can watch Hamilton without shelling out thousands of dollars for Broadway tickets. Older cartoons have disclaimers for potentially insensitive depictions of race, but nobody mention Song of the South

Disney+ review

Best for Curated Rentals

Angelika Anywhere

3.5 Good

Angelika Anywhere isn't a streaming subscription service. You buy or rent each film individually to watch online, so prices can add up. However, with this service, the theater chain has curated an art collection that cinephiles will find irresistible. The impressive catalog is divided into unique categories, including sections for certain filmmakers and film moments. Black film lovers will find a spotlight on Spike Lee, a celebration of Black cinema at large, and exclusive interviews with emerging Black talent.

Angelika Anywhere review

Best for Curated Classic Cinema

The Criterion Channel

3.5 Good

The Criterion Channel's mission is to preserve and celebrate classic art films from around the globe. Since Black filmmakers have been around since the beginning of the medium (though their work is often undervalued, as in the case of Oscar Micheaux), there's plenty for Criterion to celebrate. Recently, Criterion made many of its Black movies available to watch for free, including Julie Dash's Daughters of Dust, Maya Angelou’s Down in the Delta, and Kathleen Collins' Losing Ground.

The Criterion Channel review

Best for HBO Originals

HBO Max

4.0 Excellent

You can no longer watch Will Smith's life get flipped upside down in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on HBO Max, but the service's wealth of premium Black shows and movies includes I May Destroy You, Insecure, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Random Acts of Flyness, and Watchmen. In addition, the hilarious comedy South Side has also been reborn as an HBO Max original.

HBO Max review

Best for Film Appreciation and Discovery

Mubi

3.5 Good

Like Criterion, Mubi's mission is to champion film’s artistic history. Mubi's robust community features let cinephiles create and collaborate on lists to help users discover new films to love. We found plenty of Mubi lists highlighting excellent Black movies, from comedy classics to indie dramas, even if not all are available to stream on Mubi itself.

Mubi review

Best for Exploring Local Cultures

PBS Video

3.5 Good

PBS has always used TV to serve the public good; it’s right in the name. PBS Video brings those benefits to a free streaming service. For Black History Month, PBS curates a wide array of excellent programming highlighting Black pioneers and important social issues. Watch everything from Chuck Berry and Marian Anderson to army vets fighting for more inclusive hair standards.   

PBS Video review

Best for MGM Movies

MGM+

3.5 Good

MGM+ has a fantastic film library that leverages the strength of its iconic brand. This includes classic and modern Black cinema such as Fences, In the Heat of the Night, and Waiting to Exhale. MGM+ also has original shows, and its flagship series is the acclaimed crime drama Godfather of Harlem starring Forest Whitaker.

MGM+ review

Best for Network Shows and Sports

Paramount+

3.5 Good

Formerly known as CBS All Access, Paramount+ earns a spot on this list with the one-two punch of Star Trek: Discovery (featuring Sonequa Martin-Green in the lead role of Michael Burnham) and a Twilight Zone reboot (hosted by Jordan Peele, writer/director of Get Out and Us). Now bundled with Showtime, you also get The Chi, Dreaming Whilst Black, and The First Lady.

Paramount+ review

Best for Horror Fans

Shudder

3.5 Good

The actual reality of what has happened to Black people throughout history is so horrifying that it only takes a few tweaks to make those stories straight-up horror movies. Not only is Shudder an excellent streaming service for frightening flicks, but its original documentary Horror Noire also takes a fascinating look at how Black narratives have always been at the forefront of the horror genre. 

Shudder review

Best for Movie Fans

Starz

3.0 Average

Initially, the crime drama Power sounded like a strange vanity project for Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Not only does the rapper/Vitamin Water mogul executive produce the series, but he plays a main role. What is this, Get Rich or Die Tryin'? However, Power has grown into a sprawling premium television universe with sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. You can catch them all on Starz.

Starz review

About Our Expert

Jordan Minor

Jordan Minor

Principal Writer, Software

My PCMag career began in 2013 as an intern. Now, I'm a senior writer, using the skills I acquired at Northwestern University to write about dating apps, meal kits, programming software, website builders, video streaming services, and video games. I was previously a senior editor at Geek.com and have written for The A.V. Club, Kotaku, and Paste Magazine. I'm the author of the gaming history book Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977, and the reason everything you know about Street Sharks is a lie.

The Technology I Use

I use the newest Android and iOS smartphones for testing, but I currently use an iPhone 14 as my personal phone. I just hate that we gave up headphone jacks.

I've always favored gaming laptops over desktops. On that note, I have a 16-inch HP Envy with an Intel Core i9-13900H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. No matter what machine I’m working on, an alarming amount of my personal and professional life revolves around cloud-synced Google Drive files.

For food subscriptions, my household sticks with CookUnity and HelloFresh for meals. Video streaming is a bit more complicated. While there are too many services to list, we're subscribed to most of the major ones. These days, I find myself drawn to HBO Max's movies and shows, as well as Peacock's reality trash.

I've been a lifelong Nintendo fan, and I sincerely believe the Nintendo Switch will go down as one of the best gaming consoles of all time. It has an unbelievable library of new and old games from Nintendo and third-party companies. The handheld/console hybrid approach makes playing games so much more flexible, a legacy that continues with the Nintendo Switch 2 and Valve’s Steam Deck.

Read full bio