Editing In Living Color (section)

{{short description|American sketch comedy television series}}
{{About|the television series|the band|Living Colour|the slogan|Color television}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = InLivingColorlogo.jpg
| genre                = [[Variety show|Variety]]<br/>[[Sketch comedy]]
| creator              = [[Keenen Ivory Wayans]]
| starring             = [[#Cast|Full list]]
| theme_music_composer = Bosco Kante
| open_theme            = {{Plainlist|
* "In Living Color" by [[Heavy D]] and [[Eddie F]] (seasons 1–2, 5)
* "Cause That's the Way You Livin' When You're in Living Color" by Heavy D and The Boyz (seasons 3–4)
}}
| composer             = Tom Rizzo
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 5
| num_episodes         = 127
| list_episodes        = List of In Living Color episodes
| executive_producer   = {{Plainlist|
* [[Keenen Ivory Wayans]]
* Greg Fields
* Les Firestein
* [[Joe Davola (TV producer)|Joe Davola]]
* [[Pam Veasey]]
}}
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
* Tamara Rawitt
* Kevin Berg
* Robert Jason
}}
| camera               = 
| runtime              = 22–24 minutes
| company              = {{Plainlist|
* Ivory Way Productions
* [[20th Century Fox Television]]<br>(1990–1992)<br>(seasons 1–3)
* [[20th Television (original)|20th Television]]<br>(1992–1994) <br>(seasons 4–5)
}}
| channel              = [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1990|4|15}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1994|5|19}}
}}

'''''In Living Color''''' is an American [[sketch comedy]] television series that originally ran on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] from April 15, 1990,<ref name= even/> to May 19, 1994. [[Keenen Ivory Wayans]] created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with [[20th Television]] and was taped at stage 7 at the [[Metromedia Square]] on [[Sunset Boulevard]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles]], [[California]].

The title of the series was inspired by the [[NBC]] announcement of broadcasts being presented "[[NBC logo#Introduction of the Peacock (1956–1959)|in living color]]" during the 1960s, prior to mainstream [[color television]]. It also refers, in the sense of the term "[[person of color]]", to the fact that most of the show's cast was [[African Americans]], unlike other popular sketch comedy shows such as ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', whose casts were mostly [[White people|White]] at the time. ''In Living Color'' portrayed a form of irreverent Black humor in a time when mainstream American tastes regarding Black comedy on television had been set by inoffensive family-friendly shows such as ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', causing an eventual feud for control between Fox executives and the Wayanses.

Other members of the [[Wayans family]]—[[Damon Wayans|Damon]], [[Kim Wayans|Kim]], [[Shawn Wayans|Shawn]], and [[Marlon Wayans|Marlon]]—had regular roles, while brother [[Dwayne Wayans|Dwayne]] frequently appeared as an extra. The show also starred several previously unknown comedians and actors, including [[Jamie Foxx]], [[Jim Carrey]], [[Tommy Davidson]], [[David Alan Grier]], [[Kelly Coffield Park]], and [[T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh]]. The show introduced [[Jennifer Lopez]] and [[Carrie Ann Inaba]] as members of ''In Living Color''<nowiki/>'s dance troupe The Fly Girls, with actress [[Rosie Perez]] serving as choreographer. The show was immensely popular in its first two seasons, capturing more than a 10-point [[Nielsen rating]]; in the third and fourth seasons, ratings faltered as the Wayans brothers fell out with the Fox network's leadership over creative control and rights.

The series won the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series]] in 1990. The series gained international prominence for its bold move and its all-time high ratings gained by airing a live, special episode as a [[Counterprogramming (television)|counterprogram]] for the halftime show of U.S. leader [[CBS]]'s live telecast of [[Super Bowl XXVI]], prompting the [[National Football League]] to book A-list acts for future game entertainment, starting with [[Michael Jackson]] the following year.<ref name=trib-goalofspectacle>{{cite news|title=Goal of spectacle colors NFL's thinking about Super Bowl halftime show|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/02/06/goal-of-spectacle-colors-nfls-thinking-about-super-bowl-halftime-show/|publisher=Chicago Tribune|access-date=30 January 2013|date=6 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NFL 100 Greatest Game Changes - #73 In Living Color Halftime Show |url=https://www.nfl.com/100/originals/100-greatest/game-changers-73 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=NFL.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2018, a history of the show, ''Homey Don't Play That!'' by David Peisner, was released by [[37 INK]], an imprint of [[Simon & Schuster]].