It was definitely a cool look into the culture of "In Living Color" as a TV and cultural force, especially as someone who literally grew up with it back in the day as a teenager...super enjoyable.

If you are a fan of the show or of black comedies in the early 90's you definitely need to read this book. It goes not only into the conception and run of In Living Color. It also talks about the Waynes family, young black comics that were garnering fame in the early 90's, and events that were happening across the country during that time that were significant to the show and television in general. I enjoyed how the author was able to tie back all these various things to the show and we got an in dept look at the behind the scenes of In Living Color. I do indeed recommend this book.

As a fan of In Living Color I thought David Peisner's look at the series was excellent. He contextualizes the series alongside other prominent black entertainers like Flip Wilson and Richard Pryor to show the uphill struggle the series had and, ultimately, how the need to please all comers caused it to implode.

Very strong, exhaustively researched, and an easy read, Homey tells the story of Keenan Ivory Wayans and all in his orbit. Nearly everyone involved in In Living Color is on record here, most in new interviews, some via other press. Peisner tells it like it was, good and bad on all fronts: Successes weren't all Wayans and failures weren't all studio.

Peisner does a good job of setting the stage for ILC in its time, providing historical context as the ILC story unfolds. Cast and crew rarely seem to be withholding in their opinions or recollections (okay, a few of the execs seem to pull punches, but that's to be expected by their position, no?), and only a few come off as needlessly bitter or harboring a grudge that isn't deserved.

As with so many comedy stories, there was lots of drama behind the scenes that we weren't privy to at the time, and it's interesting to think how this show would have existed in our current "tell-all" social media world, and if this would have made the show better, or hastened its demise.

(fair review provided in exchange for advance copy via Net Galley)

As a longtime fan of this show, I was more than excited to see this book and it didn't disappoint. Not only does it give you a well thought out, detailed history of In Living Color's rise and fall, but it also gives you a great history of black comedians and television shows and how hard it was to gain recognition in these areas, something we take for granted today. Featuring interviews with people who worked and played on the show it is the definitive book about In Living Color. If you're a fan of comedy or of the show, you have to read this book. You'll find it hard to put down and you'll learn a lot about the show and the history of black comedians and TV shows in the process. Excellent read and I will definitely recommend to anyone who will listen.

I was going to start this review by telling you how old I was when In Living Color first premiered. But better than that, let me tell you that Damon Wayans first started doing stand up comedy the year I was born.

Yeah. I was a very young white girl in the southern US when this show premiered. Not exactly their core demographic. I loved every single moment of it. Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans had the more memorable skits that have stuck with me 20 years later, but they made an impression that never has gone away, and probably will never.

This book not only gives me barrel-sized loads of information about the show, but also the cast, the writers, and the era. I grew up in this time, but on the very outskirts of it. Rodney King as the punch line, Al Sharpton as essentially a caricature. At the time, this was all very real, as real and as painful as the events in the world today.

This book is about not only what Keenan Ivory Wayans created, it's about what black actors struggling in Hollywood faced at the time, and before then. The roots of In Living Color can be found not only in The Flip Wilson Show, not only by veteran actors such as Red Foxx, but also in controversial figures like Stepin Fetchit. Pioneers like Richard Pryor, ground breakers like Eddie Murphy. Great actors like Garrett Morris, relegated to bit parts and background extras. All of them were the foundation that led to In Living Color being the explosive success it came to be.

And the doors it opened, the impact it had on the zeitgeist. Immeasurable. Things that are taken for granted now didn't exist then. Actors you recognize by name and face got their start on these shows, or would never have had a chance if it weren't for the walls KIW and his writers and producers and directors sledgehammered.

Let me put it this way. If you've ever uttered the phrase "Bye, Felicia"? You can thank KIW. Because Friday wouldn't have existed without In Living Color.

This book is so well written.* It's interesting, and so well crafted. Interviews with not only the cast and writers, but also the people responsible for the death of the show. When Keenan Ivory Wayans says, "I left because of this asshole", well, that asshole says, "Actually, what happened was..." The writer is utterly unbiased, and never understates or overstates how important any one thing is. It's refreshing and entertaining all at the same time.

If you're a fan of In Living Color, or even not, if you were alive during this period of time, and you're familiar with the show, you should absolutely give this a read. It's extraordinarily well done, informative, entertaining, and enlightening.