Black History Month: What's Streaming In February?

Today is the first day of Black History Month and with so many studios and streaming services cracking down to make sure that they are being more inclusive in their content, it is no surprise that all platforms would be ready, locked and loaded to release content for Black History Month.

We at CritiX did our best to compile the streaming platforms celebrating from BET to BET Plus, AppleTV Plus all the way to Netflix. Check It out!

HBO/HBO MAX

HBO’s Black Voices collection, like the Black Voices spotlight page in-app, will include a free sampling of the HBO Original documentary A Choice of Weapons: Gordon Parks. Additional free titles on HBOMax.com include the debut episode of the docuseries Being Serena; the series premiere of Insecure; the documentary film King in the Wilderness; and the Season 2 openers of Max Originals Love Life and South Side.

Among the highlights are debuts of HBO’s Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (Feb. 23), Dreamland: the Burning of Black Wall Street and Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking alongside legacy titles like Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, Bessie and more. HBO Max’s Kimi starring Zoë Kravitz (Feb. 10) is also part of the collection.

HBO Max Scene in Black will host Twitter watch parties every week throughout the month celebrating nostalgic programming available on the platform.

NETFLIX

The streamer’s Strong Black Lead brand is highlighting movies and shows throughout the month, and will focus on highlighting Black creativity behind the camera with the social series Strong Black Lens, featuring Black photographers/cinematographers like David Lee (The Harder They Fall, Ma Rainey, Da 5 Bloods, She’s Gotta Have It) Juan Veloz (Gentefied), Kwaku Alston (A Great Day In Hollywood), Flo Ngala (Madame CJ Walker) and others.

Black-created titles debuting in February include Erax and Season 2 of Raising Dion (Feb. 1), Ms. Pat: Y’all Wanna Hear Something Crazy? (Feb. 8), Only Jokes Allowed (Feb. 9), Season 2 of Love Is Blind (Feb. 11), Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Feb. 16), Race: Bubba Wallace (Feb. 22) and A Madea Homecoming (Feb. 25).

AMAZON

Phat Tuesdays (Feb. 4), a three-part documentary directed by Reginald Hudlin, premieres on Prime Video and tells the story of how Guy Torry launched an all-Black comedy night at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, putting comics like Chris Rock, Chris Tucker, Steve Harvey, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Hart. The move came in the 1990s, when Black comedians were shut out of mainstream clubs, and Phat Tuesday became the hottest club in Los Angeles, attracting the likes of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Prince, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and Mike Tyson. Interviews with Anthony Anderson, Tiffany Haddish, Steve Harvey, Regina King and more.

APPLE TV+

Jeffrey Wright narrates the four-part series Lincoln’s Dilemma (Feb. 18), which premieres on the streamer ahead of Presidents Day weekend. Featuring the voices of Bill Camp as Abraham Lincoln and Leslie Odom Jr as Frederick Douglass, the series is a 21st century examination of a complicated man and the people and events that shaped his evolving stance on slavery. Adapted from historian David S. Reynolds’ book Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times, Dilemma features interviews with journalists, educators and Lincoln scholars, as well as rare archival materials. Directed by Jacqueline Olive and Barak Goodman and produced by Jelani Cobb.

PARAMOUNT+

As part of its Content for Change initiative, the streamer is amplifying Black creators and talent via its Black Voices Collection, which includes comedies The Ms. Pat Show and Key and Peele; documentaries Dream Team and Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier; dramas The Game and The Good Fight; and family series Sister, Sister and The Neighborhood and more.

BET

The network’s Black History Happens Now campaign will include a lineup of films, original drama and comedy series, specials highlighted by the 53rd NAACP Image Awards (Feb. 26, 8 p.m.) and the cable premiere of the Oscar Best Picture Moonlight (Feb. 12). New episodes are in the works for the month featuring Tyler Perry’s BET+ originals The Oval, Ruthless, Bruh and The Sistas along with movies including A Madea Family Funeral, What Men Want, Hustle & Flow, the Friday films, Boyz N the Hood, Precious, Are We There Yet?, White Chicks and Barbershop 2 among others.

BET+ will help celebrate its More Than a Month programming slate with the premiere of Real Husbands of Hollywood: More Kevin, More Problems (Feb. 10) starring Kevin Hart, Nick Cannon, Nelly, JB Smoove, Robin Thicke, Boris Kodjoe and Duane Martin, as well as a catalog of original shows including The Ms. Pat Show and First Wives Club and classics like The Jamie Foxx Show, Martin, The Wayans Bros and The Parkers.

On BET.com, editorial features throughout the month include The Future of Black Hollywood, highlighting 20 up-and-coming Black actors, actresses, producers and directors; an exclusive interview with Harry Belafonte; a celebration of Harriet Tubman’s 200th birthday; and content teamed with Color of Change including op-eds and history lists. More details here.