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Baldwin Hills is an American television sitcom created by Mara Brock Akil and Ralph Farquhar which aired on CBS from September 25, 1995 until April 29, 2002, lasting seven seasons. The series stars singer and actress Chanel Thomas as Melanie Wilkes, an upper middle class African-American teenager that spends time with her group of friends, living in the neighborhood of Baldwin Hills in Los Angeles. The show went on to be the biggest success for CBS in years, and one of the greatest shows over the course of it’s entire run. The series was a major joint deal between Regan Jon Productions, Saradipity Productions, Happy Camper Productions, in association with Big Ticket Television and the Paramount Television Network.

The showed ranked within the top ten each year of the final television season rankings, and ultimately placed first during its sixth and seventh seasons. The series finale aired on April 29, 2002, and was watched by around 68.95 million American viewers, making it the third-most-watched series finale in television history and the most-watched television episode of the 2000s. The series was nominated for 55 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three wins for Outstanding Drama Series in 2000, 2002 and 2003. The sitcom’s cast members returned for Back in Baldwin Hills, a reunion special which was released on Paramount+ on September 25, 2021.

Overview[edit]

Issues addressed[edit]

The show also dealt with and tackled real social issues affecting teenagers. Topics such as premarital sex, teen pregnancy, race relations, rape, sexuality, drug use, HIV/AIDS and day-to-day issues teenagers face in and outside of home such as gender inequality, sexuality prejudice and racism. One of the shows most controversial episodes, “There’s Something About Him” (aired February 26, 1996) details how the friend group tries to pressure and persuade Melanie into going on a date with a student from a sister school of theirs, Deon. When on the date, Deon attempts to rape Melanie in his car, however, she fights him off and escapes. One of their friends, Sharisse, tells her that he did the same thing, and ultimately gave her HIV. When the friends pressure her into going on another date with him, she breaks down and reveals the entire situation and Sharisse’s story. The news results in Deon’s arrest, Sharisse’s hospitalization and Melanie’s therapy sessions. Baldwin Hills is also the first big four Black-led cast sitcoms to have an episode devoted to teen pregnancy and sexuality. The episodes “Black Girl Lost” (aired February 10, 1997), “Horror Sickness” (aired October 25, 1999) and “Jayla’s Having a What?!” (aired September 25, 2000) all detail the moments when Melanie and Jayla having a pregnancy scare. In “Black Girl Lost”, after a night with Dre, Melanie begins to get sick, and her menstrual cycle is three weeks late. She takes several tests, and most read positive, she later goes to a doctor and it’s revealed that her cycle is off due to stress and her ovulation period was days after, therefore she is not pregnant. In “Horror Sickness” and “Jayla’s Having a What?!”, the scares are from Jayla and Dorian’s lack of using a condom. In the episode “The Closet” (aired December 9, 1996), Persia is set up by the girls on a date with Johan, a classmate of theirs. However, Persia assumes that he is gay. By the end of the episode, he reveals that he is bisexual and the two date until the end of the third season.

Season synopses[edit]

Main article: List of Baldwin Hills episodes

Season 1[edit]

The first season introduces all of the main characters, who live in the titular suburb of Baldwin Hills, California: Melanie Wilkes, an aspiring actress, poet and aspiring screenwriter Andre Parker, models Jayla Kim and Dorian Garett, basketball player Brian Hicks, free-spirited Sarah Greene, football player Matthew Locke, Persia Coleman, aspiring fashion designer Maya Woods and Joaquin Sanchez. The series opens with the group at The Spot, setting the scene. In a dubbed voiceover, Melanie tell the early beginnings of each character including herself. Joaquin walks into The Spot, and the group is surprised, as they haven’t seen him since he left for Albequerque when he was 9. Immediately, a connection is made between Melanie and Joaquin, this makes Andre, her boyfriend, jealous.

Aside from going to school and the spot, the premiere season sees the developement of relationships and enemies. Brian and Sarah, who had noticeable crushes on each other, officially made things official. Meanwhile, Marisol, a friend to the group, began to have a disheartening and sour friendship with Melanie, as Marisol begins coming onto to Dre.

Matt and Persia go on several dates, but choose to keep their friendship as is. Sharisse, another friend of the group, begins to feel sick, it is later revealed in a seperate scene (when she goes to the doctors office, “There’s Something About Him, a Prelude”, aired February 19, 1996) that she was HIV-positive….