Smashing television records, generating major social media buzz, and leaving your jaw on the floor are feats that shows like "Scandal" and "Empire" have no problem doing. Network TV has been in a whirlwind since its last television season; as the new season begins, viewers are aching for the new airing of these smash-hit television shows with leading black actors. September is the start of the new airing, and the dominance of these dramas seems poised to continue. Black dramas dominating on network television certainly hasn’t always been the case, and this is what makes this current television climate unique.

“There was a time in the '80s, where there were three shows with three black men in dramas and that lasted for just that one season,” recalls Dr. Bishetta Merritt, former interim Chair of the Media, Journalism, and Film department in the School of Communication at Howard University.

The television season she referenced was the 1988-1989 television airing which included crime dramas "In the Heat of The Night," "Gideon Oliver," and "A Man Called Hawk," all three having black leads. "Oliver" and "Hawk" lasted for only one season and were promptly cancelled by May of 1989, with "Oliver" only airing five episodes. This was also the television airing that NBC daytime soap "Generations" premiered and subsequently became the first soap to have an African American family from its outset.

“To me this is a milestone,” says Dr. Merritt, “Because you have these three black stars in dramas and to me that is what is so significant about this television season.”

The three shows she mentions specifically are Shonda Rhimes’ "Scandal," "How to Get Away Murder," and Lee Daniels’ "Empire." These shows dominated the 2014-2015 season in the ratings and have taken network television by storm that hasn't been seen before. There has never been a time before this television season where there are three dramas on network not just starring and produced by African Americans, but also dominating the television market.

“What is significant is that we do have drama,” Dr. Merritt continues, “for so many decades we [African Americans] have been the entertainers of America, we’ve not been seen in serious drama and so that I applaud.”

Over the years, African Americans have dominated sitcoms and comedy sketch shows. Some of top sitcoms in American television history have been black comedies. These include "The Bill Cosby Show," "The Jeffersons," "Living Single," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and recently "Black-ish," to name a few. The involvement of blacks in dramas, however, has mostly been in supporting roles. Cable networks and black-centered networks have been producing their own African American-led dramas, but broadcast television hadn't caught on until recently. Dr. Merritt believes it is a step up that African American-led dramas are now dominating broadcast networks as opposed to cable channels:

“It has not always been the case, we may have been on shows, but we haven’t been on the old live networks. I think the show producers are doing a phenomenal job.”

The last TV season provided the representation on broadcast that African Americans have been searching for and they were not shy about supporting these shows. The fall started with Shonda Rhimes’ latest offering "How to Get Away with Murder" opening with 14 million viewers – according to TV by the Numbers, television ratings and aggregate site – and becoming the newest quotable obsession that had viewers glued to their TV screens for an extra hour longer on Thursday nights. Twitter was ablaze each Thursday with reactions from audiences to "Scandal" and "Murder." Together, these shows formed a powerhouse for ABC, being the highest rated dramas on the network. Waiting in the wings, however, Fox, which had not found any blockbuster success with any of its fall freshman offerings, had a show that would challenge the dominance of Rhimes’ powerhouse duo in the African American community. Premiering in mid-season on Jan. 7, 2015, "Empire"took America by storm with an initial showing of 9.9 million viewers, making it Fox’s highest rated premiere in three years. "Empire"then went on to increase its viewership week after week, becoming the first show in 23 years to increase its viewership in its first five episodes. The finale went on to score over 17 million viewers, a 72-percent increase from the premiere, ending as the highest rated TV show on network TV.

In a poll conducted at the School of Communications at Howard University, 30 students were asked to give their favorite new show of the television season. Seventeen of them reported "Empire," nine of them said "How to Get Away with Murder,"while the remaining four reported varying TV shows. It is apparent that African Americans are all supporting these shows, and they would like to see them next season along with even more strong black drama offerings.

“I really hope that they have more black programming on the networks in the coming years; some of these networks need to get with the times *cough cough* CBS,” said Reneè White, Howard student, laughing.

"Empire" has already gotten an increase in its episode count from 12 to 18, and Shonda Rhimes has already received the green light to continue her Thursday night dominance with the premiere of her new show, "The Catch," after "How To Get Away With Murder" ends next winter. As September continues and the new season begins, keep your eyes and ears open to see which new black drama might dominate network television this year.