The entertainment industry lost one of its most important and influential treasures when actress Cicely Tyson passed away Thursday night at 96 years old.

I had the opportunity to interview Ms. Tyson a little more than a year ago during the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour. I asked her whether she felt the television industry had changed for the better or worse since the 1960s and 1970s, when she fought to help set a standard for strong, dignified and positive on-screen roles for Black actors and actresses.

Ms. Tyson thought about it for a second, then said very succinctly: “I don’t know if I would put it in the category of better or worse. I have never known a day in my life when I could just sit around and watch a network that just aired Black culture, and it was quite an experience, I would dare say. I am so proud and pleased that I lived to see the day when we just didn’t have to look at Amos ’n’ Andy. We have some variety — it runs the gamut finally of what the industry is supposed to be about.”

The same TV industry that Tyson lauded for its evolution took time to celebrate Tyson’s remarkable seven-decade entertainment career that garnered her 16 Emmy nominations — including a 2020 nod for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Ophelia Harkness in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder — and three Emmy wins.

Oprah Winfrey, whose OWN Network aired the drama series Cherish the Day, Tyson’s last starring role in a television series, recalled Tyson’s magnificence both as an actress and as a person.

Also Read: OWN Renews 'Cherish the Day'

“Of all the times and experiences we shared together, this was one of my favorites: The weekend of the Legends Ball in 2005,” Winfrey said in a statement. “The idea for the ball originated because I wanted to celebrate her, and other remarkable Black women who carved a path and built a bridge for me and generations to follow. What a joy to honor her and feel her receive it! I loved her hat so much, she sent it to me afterwards. Cicely decided early on that her work as an actor would be more than a job. She used her career to illuminate the humanity in Black people. The roles she played reflected her values; she never compromised. Her life so fully lived is a testimony to greatness.”

Also Read: Cicely Tyson has Died

OWN this Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 30-31) will present a special re-airing of 2014's Oprah’s Master Class: Cicely Tyson in memory of the actress.

 “Ms. Tyson was a rare talent both on and off the screen, one that we at OWN were blessed and honored to work with and be inspired by,” said OWN president Tina Perry. “We are so grateful for the gifts she gave us with her art, her activism, and her passionate love of life. May she rise in power.”

Turner Classic Movies said Friday it will air on Jan. 31 two of Tyson's memorable films — Sounder and A Man Called Adam — as part of its “TCM Remembers Cicely Tyson” celebration.

Other networks and celebrities took to social media to celebrate Tyson’s life and career.

OWN has renewed its Ava DuVernay-produced anthology drama series Cherish The Day for a second season, the network said Monday.

The series, which follows the relationship of one couple with each episode spanning a single day, ranked on average during its seven-week first season as the most watched series in its time period across all of cable with African American women, households and total viewers, said OWN. The second season -- which will debut in 2021 -- will feature an all-new cast and follow a brand new couple’s love story, said the network. 

“Ava and her immensely talented team of creators are telling dynamic and moving love stories depicting the many facets of marriage and relationships that resonate deeply with our audience,” said Tina Perry, president, OWN. “We are so excited for season two and a new beautiful Black love story.” 

Valentine’s Day is over, but romance-themed shows featuring African-American leads are blossoming on cable and subscription video-on-demand platforms.

Programming executives said shows like OWN’s scripted show Cherish the Day, as well as unscripted program Black Love and Urban Movie Channel’s scripted Stuck With You, offer African-American viewers authentic portrayals of relationships that have been rare on the small screen.

“I think the whole love and marriage/black love concept is going to start showing up a lot more, because there is such an opportunity to show black people in love on television,” Cheryl Grace, Nielsen’s senior VP of U.S. strategic community alliances and consumer engagement, said. “It’s trending now and you’ll see a lot more in the future.”

While the genre found a home in film during the late 1990s and early 2000s with such movies as Love & Basketball, Love Jones and Poetic Justice, there have been few television shows depicting African-American couples in romantic relationships.

Nostalgia for those popular 1990s films served helped to inspire Cherish the Day, executive producer Ava DuVernay told writers during January’s TCA Winter Press Tour. She said she wanted to bring similar stories to the small screen.

“I just longed to see that kind of black love story on television,” she said. “All of our collaborators just embraced that with a sense of joy about exploring black love, which is something we don’t feel we see hardly enough.”

Each episode in the eight-part series represents a day in the life of a couple. Its Feb. 11 premiere drew nearly 1 million viewers, making it cable’s the top-rated show among African-American women and among total viewers in its 10 p.m. time slot, Nielsen reported.

“In all of our dramas, there is some notion of love and romance … and I think that Ava’s new show, Cherish the Day, is going to be an even louder call than anything we’ve had to date,” OWN president Tina Perry said. “[DuVernay] is showing for the first time in a very intimate, one-on-one way black love in all of its beauty, nuances and challenges.”

Streaming service UMC’s original dramedy Stuck With You follows the behind-the-scenes ups and downs of a celebrity couple. “Stuck With You is the perfect blend of comedy and relationships drama,” UMC chief content officer Brett Dismuke said. “Our original shows like Stuck With You and [Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy] pluck at the emotional heartstrings of the viewers.”

OWN’s Perry said African-American viewers are hungry for content that reflects their lives and images, and relationship-themed content has always resonated with the audience. The network had earlier renewed four unscripted relationship-themed shows, including Black Love, in which real couples open up about the realities of love, marriage and romance in the African-American community.

“As African-American viewers and consumers, we are really ready to see black love on TV in a really direct and intimate way,” Perry said. “I think [DuVernay’s Cherish the Day] will amplify a message and a mission that we’ve been on for years, and I think the viewers are absolutely going to love it.”

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Feb. 3 to Feb. 9 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Feb. 11 -- Cherish The Day (drama) -- OWN

Feb. 13 -- Narcos: Mexico (drama) -- Netflix

Feb. 13 -- Stuck On You (drama) -- UMC

Feb. 14 -- High Fidelity (dramedy) -- Hulu

Feb. 14 -- Utopia Falls (drama/musical) -- Hulu

Feb. 14 -- Visible: Out on Television (documentary series) -- Apple TV+

Feb. 14 -- Zombies 2 (movie) -- Disney

Feb. 16 -- Outlander (drama) -- Starz

Feb. 16 -- War of the Worlds (drama) -- Epix

Feb. 16 -- Washington (documentary) -- History

OWN and producer Ava DuVernay have teamed up again to develop a unique, scripted drama series, Cherish the Day.

The anthology series follows the exploits of an African-American couple, with each episode representing a day in that couple’s life. Season one stars Xosha Roquemore (The Mindy Project) as Gently James and Alano Miller (Underground) as Evan Fisher, two young, attractive people who unexpectedly meet at a Los Angeles library while on line to check out books. Evan intercedes in a dispute between Gently and the librarian regarding overdue book fees, and both instantly recognize the chemistry they have for one another.

The series takes its time in building up the romance between the strong-willed Gently and the more conservative Evan. In the pilot episode, the two quickly get to know each other over a long drive as Gently seeks to find a used refrigerator to replace her leaky one. But just as quickly as they hit it off, their differing personalities begin to clash, causing the growing pains typical of budding relationships.

The two work their way towards love, and over the next seven episodes, DuVernay and OWN take viewers through five years of their lives. The series provides an authentic, three-dimensional look at the characters and offers a true and engaging snapshot of love’s complexities and beauty. And the series doesn’t shy away from showing the steamy, intimate aspects of love and relationships.

Also starring in Cherish the Day is Cicely Tyson, who turns in a compelling performance as Miss Luma Lee Langston, a renowned former actress who Gently takes care of as her live-in assistant; Anne Marie Johnson, who plays Evan’s mother; and Michael Beach, who plays Gently’s foster father Ben.

DuVernay and OWN previously partnered on Queen Sugar. OWN has looked to create compelling original content around the subject of “Black Love,” and Cherish the Day certainly hits the mark.

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network will debut its anthology series Cherish the Day over two nights beginning Feb. 11.

The Ava DuVernay-produced series will premiere Feb. 11 with limited commercials, with a second episode debuting Feb. 12, according to OWN. The eight-episode series will continue to air on Wednesdays, according to OWN. 

The first season of Cherish the Day chronicles the stirring relationship of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day.

OWN Wednesday released a video trailer for its new anthology series Cherish the Day, which will debut this February, according to the network.

The Ava DuVernay-produced series chronicles the relationship of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday, according to the network.

 Xosha Roquemore (The Mindy Project) stars as Gently James and Alano Miller (Underground) stars as Evan Fisher. The couple meet and fall in love in Los Angeles, with the full season spanning five years in eight episodes. 

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