Black Actors with Record-Breaking TV Episode Ratings

Television history is full of nights when a single episode changed the conversation across the industry. From broadcast events that pulled in entire households to streaming premieres that spiked new subscriber highs, certain moments pushed past prior ceilings and set new marks for viewership or engagement. Many of those milestones were led by Black actors whose work anchored series peaks, network records, or platform firsts.

This list spotlights twenty such performers and the episodes that reset the bar for their shows, networks, or platforms. The focus is on verifiable milestones such as series highs, network bests, time period wins, and platform records, whether measured by same day tune in, delayed viewing, or streaming performance.

LeVar Burton

The ABC miniseries ‘Roots’ arrived in January 1977 as an eight night event. Its closing chapters set national viewership milestones and remain among the most watched telecasts in American television history.

Burton’s portrayal of Kunta Kinte powered the opening installments and created appointment viewing across the run. The surge in audience during the final nights changed prime time scheduling strategies and proved the scale that multi night storytelling could reach.

Taraji P. Henson

Fox launched ‘Empire’ in 2015 and saw something rare in modern ratings as early episodes grew week after week. That run culminated in a spring stretch where the show posted network season highs for a scripted hour and delivered stand out results in adults 18 to 49.

The two part season finale marked the show’s top live audience at the time and ranked among the biggest new drama outcomes on the network that decade. Its consecutive week growth became a widely cited modern record for a broadcast drama.

Kerry Washington

ABC’s ‘Scandal’ lifted the network’s Thursday nine o’clock hour to its strongest levels in years. Multiple premieres and sweeps episodes set series highs and won their time period on the night.

Live plus three day and live plus seven day playback pushed key episodes to additional milestones for an ABC drama. Crossover nights with ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ produced the network’s best Thursday performance of the era for that lineup.

Viola Davis

‘How to Get Away with Murder’ premiered on ABC in 2014 and delivered the fall’s biggest new series launch for the network. The pilot set a then record for seven day DVR growth among broadcast dramas and held number one status in its slot.

Later episodes posted winter peaks that kept ABC on top for the night in the key demo. The season finale capped one of the most watched freshman drama tracks of the decade on the network.

Queen Latifah

CBS introduced ‘The Equalizer’ immediately after the Super Bowl in 2021. The lead out episode became the most watched entertainment telecast of that season and the most viewed series debut on the network in years.

Follow up episodes retained a large share of that audience and delivered the strongest freshman averages for a CBS drama that year. The launch also set internal marks for digital viewing across the network’s platforms.

Sterling K. Brown

NBC’s ‘This Is Us’ received the coveted post Super Bowl slot in 2018. The episode that followed the game ranked as one of the most watched scripted hours of the year and dominated its night across broadcast.

Across its run the series regularly finished first on Tuesdays in the demo. Season premieres and finales set additional network highs for a family drama in the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Omari Hardwick

Starz drama ‘Power’ logged repeated seasons where premieres and finales set new network benchmarks for an original series. Multiple episodes became the most watched in Starz history at the time they aired.

Total performance that combined linear airings, encore plays, and on demand lifted the show’s peak episodes to unprecedented totals for the network. The growth helped Starz expand its original slate around the title.

Dave Chappelle

‘Chappelle’s Show’ opened its second season on Comedy Central with a premiere that reached a ratings summit for the channel. Additional episodes in that season stood as the highest rated originals the network had broadcast to that point.

Sustained interest in signature sketches fueled reruns and marathons that posted late night block highs. The show’s momentum translated into home video sales that looped back into higher episodic sampling on the channel.

Tyler Perry

OWN’s ‘The Haves and the Have Nots’ launched in 2013 and quickly set network records for a scripted series. Early episodes delivered the channel’s best weekly primetime results since its start.

In subsequent seasons the show’s finales remained first in their time period among key cable targets and continued to reset OWN’s internal viewership marks. The series became a foundation for the network’s scripted strategy.

Raven-Symoné

Disney Channel’s ‘That’s So Raven’ led the network’s comedy slate in the mid 2000s. Across later seasons, episodes posted the highest viewership for a multi camera comedy on the channel at that time.

Premieres and major story installments ranked at the top of cable among kids and tweens and set network records for total viewers in those brackets. The milestones helped expand Disney Channel’s original series pipeline.

Bill Cosby

NBC’s ‘The Cosby Show’ dominated Thursday nights in the mid 1980s. Many episodes finished as the number one program of the week and anchored multiple seasons that led the entire broadcast landscape.

Season premieres and family milestone stories posted audience totals that stood as high water marks for NBC comedy during that era. The show’s peaks also drove network wide gains on the night.

Jamie Foxx

Fox aired a live special edition of ‘In Living Color’ during halftime of the 1992 championship game. The broadcast set event ratings records for the network in that time period and drew significant audience away from the halftime on the rival channel.

The stunt lifted awareness for the season and pushed subsequent episodes to new highs. The strategy became a case study in counter programming that delivered measurable gains for the sketch series.

Tracy Morgan

‘The Last O.G.’ premiered on TBS in 2018 as the network’s biggest comedy launch in several years. The first episode led ad supported cable in adults 18 to 49 during its time period.

Early run episodes posted strong multiplatform starts and set digital initiation marks within the comedy category for TBS. The performance reaffirmed the network’s renewed focus on original comedy blocks.

Anthony Mackie

Marvel’s ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ debuted on Disney Plus in 2021. Its opening episode was reported as the platform’s most watched series premiere worldwide across its first weekend at that time.

Weekly installments held the top position among tracked titles on the service and maintained high completion rates. The momentum matched or surpassed prior Marvel series launches on the platform.

Zendaya

HBO and HBO Max brought back ‘Euphoria’ for a second season in 2022. The premiere delivered a series high on linear television and set streaming marks for a Sunday drama on the service at that time.

The finale grew further and became the most watched episode of the show to that point. The season helped establish new engagement highs among younger audiences for the network.

Issa Rae

The final season of ‘Insecure’ in 2021 closed with a finale that reached a new series high on HBO Max day of viewing. The last run posted season bests across both linear and streaming.

Social engagement around the final episodes also reached peaks for the network during that window and correlated with higher same day tune in than prior cycles. The performance underscored the show’s closing surge.

Sonequa Martin-Green

‘Star Trek Discovery’ premiered in 2017 with its first episode airing on CBS before moving to a streaming home. The launch produced a modern subscription record for CBS All Access sign ups and gave the broadcast network a strong Sunday showcase.

Early streaming episodes sustained that pace and established the platform’s episodic engagement marks through the first season. The approach became a model for franchise launches in the streaming era.

Chris Rock

‘Everybody Hates Chris’ opened on UPN in 2005 with a premiere that became the highest rated debut in the network’s history. The episode also won its time period among younger broadcast viewers.

The show maintained above average results across its first season and generated additional weekly peaks for UPN before the network transitioned into The CW. The strong start helped define the network’s comedy identity.

Brandy Norwood

‘Moesha’ premiered on UPN in 1996 and quickly set a new mark for a comedy debut on the channel. The opener ranked among the top telecasts in the network’s early years and outperformed established shows in its slot.

Subsequent episodes delivered season highs that supported UPN’s focus on youth centered family comedies. The series became a reliable anchor for the network’s Monday lineup.

Angela Bassett

Fox’s ‘9-1-1’ arrived in 2018 with a midseason launch that ranked among the network’s strongest new drama starts in recent years. Event episodes that paired with ‘9-1-1 Lone Star’ amplified reach and set the show’s top same day results.

Across multiple cycles the series led its time period and posted network bests in delayed viewing among procedurals. Those lifts kept episode peaks near the top of Fox scripted performance.

Share which record setting episode you remember watching live and tell us why it stood out in the comments.