The premiere of 'Black. White.' pulls in record ratings for FX Network

By Tanya Kersey
BlackTalentNews.com
(March 13, 2006) The March 8 premiere of “Black. White.,” FX Network’s new reality series featuring two middle-class families -– one black, one white -- switching racial identities with the help of Hollywood makeup experts, yielded record ratings numbers.

The series premiere was cable television's number one program with 4 million total viewers and 2.8 million in the coveted adults 18-49 demo.  In the head to head competition, “Black. White.” topped the season finale of Bravo's “Project Runway,” which delivered 3.4 million total viewers and 2.4 million adults 18-49, the largest audience in Bravo history.

The premiere also ranked as the number one series premiere (new or returning) on cable TV for the 2005-2006 season, “Black. White.” ties MTV’s “The Osbournes” as the highest-rated unscripted series premiere ever on cable in adults 18-49.  With 4 million in overall viewership it was second only to the premiere of E!’s “The Anna Nicole Show” in 2002.

“Black. White.” examines race with an extraordinary approach by putting new faces on an African-American family, the Sparks, and Caucasian family, the Wurgels. Through the transformative power of make-up by Academy Award® nominated make-up effects artist Keith VanderLaan (The Passion of the Christ), the Wurgels become black and the Sparks become white, which challenges their beliefs and core values in ways they could have never imagined. The make-up process for each family member took 3 to 5 hours for every day of transformation.

In addition to the pressure of their newly assumed race, the Sparks of Atlanta (Brian, Renee and their son Nick) and Wurgel family of Santa Monica (Bruno, Carmen and their daughter Rose) shared a home in Tarzana, California for the duration of the six-week production, which wrapped last summer.

 “Black. White.” was developed by documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler who serves as Executive Producer along with rapper-actor Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez.  The show is produced by FX Networks, Actual Reality Pictures and Cube-Vision.

New episodes of “Black. White.” will air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. through April 12.


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