Black Men Can't Jump (In Hollywood)
Black Men Can't Jump [In Hollywood] is a comedic podcast that reviews the films of leading black actors and other actors of color and analyzes them in the context of how well the film truly promotes race diversity in Hollywood.  The podcast had its inaugural episode on July 26, 2015. Most episodes focus on a single movie starring a leading actor of color. The podcast is hosted by Jonathan Braylock, Jerah Milligan, and James III. The podcast began on the Headgum network before moving to the Forever Dog network. As of January  31, 2022 the podcast has released a total of 337 episodes. Series overview. In a 2018 Rotten Tomatoes Article when asked the question do you consider yourself a critic? Jonathan Braylock responded Origins. Forged from a Facebook wall argument over Martin Lawrence's performance in Blue Streak, Black Men Can't Jump originally reviewed major studio films of leading black actors only but has since expanded to discuss films including other actors of color and widened its focus beyond major studio pictures to include independent films and films on streaming services such as Netflix. The three hosts are also close  friends and are members of the New York based improv and sketch comedy group Astronomy Club which is the first all-black house team at the Upright Citizen Brigade Theatre. Jonathan Braylock, Jerah Milligan, James III and guest hosts all provide a rating for each film reviewed. The ratings system is based on how much each film helps "the cause". The cause refers to how much a film helps support more leading roles for non-white, and especially black, creators in modern day Hollywood. The ratings are defined as "a black fist" (i.e. fully helps the cause), "a white palm  (i.e. somewhat helps the cause), and nothing" (i.e does not help the cause at all). Reception. Black Men Can’t Jump has been positively reviewed by sources such as Forbes, Thrillist, PopSugar, Vulture, Salon, and more. In 2017, BMCJ was listed as one of the best comedy podcasts of the year by Paste magazine, 1 of the 10 Must-Listen Film Podcasts for Beginners and Fans Alike by IndieWire and 1 of 25 Culture Podcasts that Will Blow Your Mind by the BBC. In 2018, it was listed as the Best Movie Podcast on Vulture's Top Comedy Podcasts of  the year and received the 2018 AV Club Podcast Superlative: "Best Companion To A 2018 Film" for their August 14, 2018 episode reviewing the film BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee. In 2019, the show was listed as 1 of 10 Essential Pop Culture Podcasts by Vulture. In 2020, it was listed as one of the best film podcasts by the London Evening Standard and in 2021 it ranked number 4 on Screen Rant's top 10 Best Movie Review Podcasts. The show was listed as an iTunes Editor's Choice podcast and has reached #2 on the iTunes Film/TV charts  BMCJ bonus episodes. On February 4, 2019, BMCJ released their first bonus episode on what is now a defunct Patreon page that expanded their mission. On Patreon, they released bonus episodes that included blockbuster films with black actors in "supporting" roles (i.e. Birdbox, The Help, or any movie made before 1992), television shows with black leads (i.e. Atlanta or Insecure), and pop culture events (i.e. The Oscars, MTV Movie Awards, etc.). As of February 2022, their last episode on Patreon was released on March 2, 2020.