I really wanted to love Colored Television. I love snark, and this is not my first rodeo reading about books about race and Hollywood. But somehow this particular book left me cold. It has extremely funny moments, and I think I am not quite the target audience- but if I'm not the target audience (which is fine) who is? Is this book meant to preach to the choir? Educate the uninformed? I was never quite sure.

I have a real challenge reading books or watching tv shows where the main character consistently makes the dumbest choice available to her. It can make for great plots, but it's so frustrating that I get pulled out of the story. Senna throws her narrator into impossible situations but then encourages her to double down every time- and honestly I thought she deserved more trouble than she even got. So again- is this a me problem? Probably. It just wasn't my favorite. But rounding from 3.5 to 4 stars because the wickedly funny bits were worth the price of admission- and you just might love it.

Swiftly adding Senna to my auto-read list of authors after reading this - there was a charisma to this writing that had me into this so fast. It was funny, perceptive, and I loved the lens on Hollywood and consumption of art. The lawyer in me couldn’t help screaming “get this in writing” as the plot developed, but I loved what the storyline did with agency and narrative control, the “who gets to tell what stories” refelection. I flew through this and am excited to have found an author whose writing I so instantly connected with!

Book Review: Colored Television

While this book held my interest, ultimately, it fell flat. While the premise was intriguing, the execution left something to be desired—mostly due to the main character, Jane. I found her difficult to connect with, which made it hard to fully invest in her journey. Her personality and decisions often felt frustrating, making it challenging to rally behind her. The part where she drank all of Brett’s fancy wine without replacing it especially rubbed me the wrong way! She wasn’t a good friend- and that bothered me.

That said, I did appreciate the book’s exploration of identity, particularly from the perspective of someone of mixed race. It provided a new lens through which to view the complexities of cultural belonging and self-acceptance. Jane’s struggles as a writer were also compelling; her raw honesty in grappling with her craft was one of the book’s highlights.

Overall, while I enjoyed certain elements, Colored Television didn’t entirely deliver for me. If you’re interested in themes of identity and artistic struggle, it may still be worth the read—but be prepared for a protagonist who might not win you over.

I was so looking forward to reading this book which was on every Best Book List of the past year. Yet, I was a bit disappointed. It was an eye-opening experience into biracial families, the seduction of Hollywood and assumed success and economic distress.

The author is certainly talented as her writing was succinct and compelling. The story tended to become repetitious with each chapter harboring on a continual dread and feeling of tragedy. Yet maybe that is the sign of a compelling story except it was one I had read before.

Danzy Senna's Colored Television is a sharp, darkly comedic exploration of race, art, marriage, and identity in modern Los Angeles. The novel follows Jane, a biracial novelist, and her husband Lenny, a painter, as they navigate the precarities of parenting, financial instability, and the soul-draining allure of Hollywood’s promise of success. When Jane, desperate to salvage her career, turns to television writing, her ambitions collide with the realities of her crumbling marriage and the ethical quagmires of creative compromise. Filled with biting humor and incisive commentary, the story is both a satire of cultural commodification and a poignant portrait of personal struggle.

Senna's writing is electric, filled with wit and an unflinching gaze at the complexities of identity and privilege. Her ability to weave humor into moments of deep discomfort makes the novel both entertaining and thought-provoking. However, the narrative occasionally skirts deeper exploration of its darker themes, leaving some emotional threads tantalizingly unpulled. While Jane is a richly developed character, her singular perspective sometimes overshadows other characters, particularly Lenny, whose depth feels underexplored.

Ultimately, Colored Television is a masterful blend of satire and sincerity, a story that exposes the human desire for connection and success while questioning the cost of both. Senna's latest novel is as captivating as it is unsettling, a vivid reflection of the complexities of modern life and ambition.

A page turner in the sense that the main character kept making bad decisions and I couldn’t look away, but I was cringing the whole time. The story and chars revealed the complexity of a biracial identity. Reminded me a lot of Yellowface but I preferred that book.

I read this and enjoyed it greatly. It took me into the unfamiliar territory biracial families, glittery status-conscious neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and an engaging storyline about the creative process.

This was a good book and I understand the buzz, AND the lead character is one of the most frustrating and annoying characters i have ever read

This was another hyped book that I worried wouldn't fulfill my expectations but fortunately it did and I am officially and Danzy Senna stan. Colored Television was everything I'd wanted from The Other Black Girl and One of Our Kind and didn't get. This book is a RIDE, one I didn't want to get off. Senna builds the tension so well, leaving the reader turning pages so they can see just where she's taking us next. She captures L.A. and the world of Hollywood TV writing SO WELL, and speaks to mixed race unlike anyone else I've read (except maybe Brit Bennett). Love love loved.

I read Danzy Senna's Caucasia in high school many moons ago and the experience of studying that book has stuck with me ever since. I don't know why it's taken me so long to seek out another one of her novels, but when Colored Television became a buzzy book of the year it felt like the perfect time. That said, I'm sad this one didn't work for me now quite the same way Caucasia worked for me back then. Senna is a wonderful writer with a sharp eye for the intersection of race with, well, everything, but here most particularly with creativity and career and culture. But I found the voice sometimes hard to connect to, and some of the characters insufferable, and the humor not in line with my own. I know this will, and has, worked for so many readers, but I'll be on the lookout for a book by Senna that hits my personal taste a bit more in the future.

DNF. This is the first book I've read by Danzy Senna, and I think her writing is excellent. At this time, however, I'm feeling somewhat frustrated and bored by the story and am choosing not to continue.

An entertaining, fun and light-hearted read about a bi-racial writer trying to succeed in Hollywood.

I loved Danzy Senna's unique perspective in this novel. It is a simultaneously cutting and hilarious novel. Highly recommended.

After years of living precariously, Jane, her husband, Lenny, and their two kids have landed a stint as housesitters in a friend’s luxurious LA home. Jane is determined to finish her latest novel, get tenure, and have some stability and success in her life. But things don’t quite work out as she hoped. In search of plan B, Jane turns to Hollywood and starts working with a producer to create “diverse content” for a biracial comedy show. Things are finally going right for Jane, until they aren’t.

I really enjoyed reading and thinking about this novel. Senna is such a smart and sharp writer. This book is funny, biting, and fresh in the way it discusses race and identity. Senna infuses sizzling tension into the pages, even as Jane carries out the more mundane tasks of life. I constantly wanted to shake Jane for her bad decisions, but that’s part of the fun of this book. I didn’t love the ending as much as I was hoping to, but this was a sharp and deeply observant read that kept me turning the pages.

Just when I thought I knew where this book was going, it went a different direction. And I'm not sure if I like the direction it went in. But I am glad I read this book and thought it was executed well.

Jane is a writer living in L.A. with her artist husband and two children. While in some ways she detests the vapidness of the Hollywood entertainment industry, she’s drawn to the money and power it provides–especially after spending a year living in the stunning home of a television writer. After a set-back with her long awaited second novel, she becomes increasingly desperate to become a television creator and the results are explosive. Senna is incredibly skilled at writing flawed characters who make horrible decisions, while still giving readers understandable motives for those decisions. While the satire and tension are what drive this novel, what I appreciated most was the interwoven commentary about art, attention, and selling out.

COLORED TELEVISION was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I’m happy to report that I loved it! The story follows Jane, a writer struggling to finish her next novel while house-sitting for a wealthy producer friend in LA. Jane desperately wants to give her children the stable life she never had growing up so when things with her novel don’t work out, she turns to TV writing. Infused with dark humor and profound insights, Senna’s latest tackles themes of mixed-race identity, artistic integrity, motherhood, marriage, class, politics, and the dark realities of Hollywood. This was a thrilling, sharp, and extremely thought-provoking read.

A mulatto professor snd author-Jane-marries to a black artist-Lenny with two children who live in poverty unyil they manage to live in Jane’s friend Bret’s wealthy home. Jane has spent ten years of her life writing the great mulatto model which is rejected by publishers but then appropriated by a television producer-seemingly her friend-who turns it into an Emmy award tv series, for which Jane gets no financial, professional recognition. Biting, at times funny, at times sad, nevertheless an insightful look at biracial marriages in America.

I thought this was just okay for the first half, and then the second half fizzled out in terms of keeping up the pace and momentum. Despite being bored with the second half, I did love all of the social commentary and thought that the discussion surrounding certain topics was important and pertinent. Overall, a great satire and cultural criticism.

Danzy Senna managed to write a cringe inducing all too real character without making me want to throw the book across the room. I couldn’t stop reading. I appreciate this novel from a booksellers perspective because it is clever, beautifully written, fast paced and timely—which means I can handsell it to a wide swath of customers! I need to read Senna’s backlist.