The Quirky Black Character dares to be dorky, imperfect, and most of all, themselves. Their nerdy obsessions and screwball antics are deliberate rejections of the one-dimensional, often offensive Black caricatures that long dominated film and TV. But the history of the Quirky Black Character’s rise is one of having to constantly fend off criticisms of whether or not they’re perceived by audiences as “Black enough.”

Delving into the world of Black characters, Black stories, Black musicians, and Black creators, the Black Voices Series looks at everything from Get Out to Lizzo to Ava DuVernay.

Who is the Cool Girl, the Woman-Child, the Nice Guy? Why do we love Bad Boys, Mean Girls, and Femme Fatales? All The Tropes examines some of pop culture’s most common archetypes and narratives, from the Geek to the Strong Black Woman to the Girl Next Door, to better understand the kinds of stories we tell.

Did you know Mean Girls’ Regina George can tell us a lot about dictators? Or that criticism of Cinderella is actually a form of victim-blaming? The Iconic Female Characters series explores the fictional women we love and what they have to say about ourselves.

At the end of Breaking Bad, did Walter White win or lose? Why did the finales of How I Met Your Mother and Dexter garner such controversy? Endings, Explained breaks down the most iconic, ambiguous, and downright baffling film and TV endings ever.