“Black Love,” created by African American filmmakers Codie Elaine Oliver and Tommy Oliver with Confluential Films, features true stories about love and life. Currently, for past episodes, you can watch now on Oprah Winfrey Network or watch new episodes live on OWN Saturdays at 10:00 pm EST.
If you’re looking to learn more about the background, hosts, episodes, or popular couples on “Black Love,” keep reading.
What Is “Black Love” About?
The show originally aired on August 29, 2017, and has since become the most-viewed “unscripted telecast” in Oprah Winfrey Networks History. The show was started by Codie and Tommy Oliver, best known for their film “The Perfect Guy.” As newlyweds themselves, the Oliver’s wanted to explore the common experience of Black love stories and how they varied between couples.
The show interviews Black couples on all things love, marriage, and children while also sharing the less-delightful parts of life. The show features each couple’s highs, lows, triumphs, and disappointments in navigating romance and life together, as well as what Black love means to them.
Each episode features a new topic and a couple, who are interviewed entirely unscripted to share their honest experiences. The show was immediately a hit from the first season, and is now being renewed for its sixth and final season, airing July 23rd, 2022, on OWN. Throughout its multiple seasons, “Black Love” had two nominations in 2018 for the 49th NAACP Image Awards for “Outstanding Documentary (Television)” and “Outstanding Directing in a Television Special.”
After years of the show’s success, Tina Perry, the President of OWN, stated, “Black Love is a much-needed docuseries that has inspired so many viewers to expand how they look at love and relationships. We are so thankful for the couples who provided transparency and shared their Black love with us.” While it mainly features normal couples, the show has also featured popular names like LeToya Luckett, Viola Davis, Devale Ellis, and other celebrities in the Black community.
Are the “Black Love” Couples Still Together?
One of the most popular viewer concerns is which of the “Black Love” featured couples are together. While we do not know about some of them, here are some updates from the show’s favorite couples:
Denzel and Pauletta Washington
Viewers loved Denzel and Pauletta’s feature on the show. One of the most fascinating parts of the couple’s history is that Pauletta turned down Denzel’s proposal twice before finally saying yes. Now, 35 years later, the couple is still happily married.
Ciara and Russell Wilson
As one of the featured celebrity couples on the show, singer Ciara and football player Russell Wilson were a hit. The couple was originally in the news due to the fact that they were celibate until they tied the knot in 2016. The couple is still married today with two children, and in an Instagram post the singer wrote, “I’m grateful to God for the love he has given me, by putting you in my life.”
Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance
Another popular couple on the show, these two originally tied the knot in 1997. They are still happily married and give the advice to couples of, “Make sure you’re both always looking in the same direction.”
Mecca and Michael Elliot
Starring on the show in 2018, this couple got vulnerable when they discussed Mecca’s spirituality and health and how it affected their life and marriage. Unfortunately, shortly after they filmed the show, the couple ended up getting a divorce. Currently, Michael Elliot is now dating screenwriter Garcelle Beauvais.
Shannon and Bechir Sylvain
This couple shared their heart-wrenching story of Shannon’s colon cancer journey from her diagnosis at 31. Unfortunately, shortly after their episode aired on television and the couple celebrated their three-year anniversary, the producers announced on IMDb that Shannon had passed away from her stage four colorectal cancer.
Viola Davis and Julius Tennon
These two shared their adorable love story on the first season of the show. They quickly became a viewer favorite. Davis said she prayed to God for a man, and a few weeks later, she met Tennon who invited her to his church. Married since 2003, this couple is still happily together today.
Letoya Luckett and Tommicus Walker
These two captured the hearts of viewers when Luckett discussed her love story with Walker and how the two met. They originally married in 2017, but as of 2021, the couple has split with multiple media rumors of infidelity circulating.
About the Creators of “Black Love”
The idea for “Black Love” originally came to Codie Elaine Oliver in 2008, long before she met her husband Tommy Oliver. When interviewed on how she created the show’s idea, she stated that it came out of a disproportionate representation of Black couples in the media, as well as misleading media coverage of Black women and marriage. When she met her husband in 2013, she shared the show idea with him and they began filming it as a film-length documentary. However, after two years of filming and interviewing couples, they had over 50 interviews and decided to make it a full-length unscripted series.
The couple currently raises three children under the age of five and actively share about their married life on social media. Since the show’s conception, the Olivers have expanded to start their own company Black Love, Inc., which includes Blacklove.com, the Black Love plus app, and the “Black Love Podcast.”
Blacklove.com is one of the Olivers’ most popular outlets, and features articles from contributing authors on topics like single life, health and sexuality, marriage, community, and parenting — as well as providing a merchandise shop for all things “Black Love.” The show has even led to a yearly “Black Love” gala, held in New York City.
After the success of “Black Love,” the couple now hosts a variety of other shows, all available through Blacklove.com. Some of these shows include, “All Things Money,” “Couch Conversations,” “Doula Dads,” “Experts Say,” “Ladies Round Table,” “Moms With Coffee,” “The Art of Dating,” and many others. They also feature a variety of expert voices through their website and podcast in the “Community” section, including tutorials and workshops on entrepreneurship and managing/building finances.
How Many Episodes and Seasons of “Black Love” are There?
Currently, the show has five seasons, with the final sixth season coming out in July of 2022.
- Season one: Premiering for the first time on August 29, 2017, this season has four episodes, including the pilot “How Love Begins.”
- Season two: Airing on May 12, 2018, this season featured eight episodes, with the first being “Motherly Love.”
- Season three: Airing on August 10, 2019, this season featured eight episodes, with the first being “In the Beginning.”
- Season four: Airing on September 5, 2020, this season featured the show’s first two-parters, with eight episodes in total, starting with the double header “How Love Starts” and “Newlyweds.”
- Season five: Airing on May 14, 2021, this season featured six episodes, starting with “Spark or No Spark.”
When Does Season 6 of “Black Love” Come Out?
After five successful seasons, the Oliver’s and OWN have announced that the show was renewed for its sixth and final season. The first episode of season six airs on OWN Saturday, July 23rd, 2022, at 10:00 pm EST. While not much has been revealed about the final season, we do have some news on the couples that will be featured.
The final season of “Black Love” is set to feature 18 couples, including some of the following:
- Adrienne “Gammy” Banfield-Norris and Rodney Norris
- Remy Ma and Papoose
- DJ Envy and Gia Casey
- Ashley Blaine Featherson Jenkins and Darroll Jenkins
- Sonequa Martin-Green and Kenric Green
- JB Smoove and Shahidah Omar
You can watch the season six trailer for “Black Love” here.
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