In addition to Wise’s part in She’s Gotta Have It, Black women have stormed television as strong dramatic leads in the years since Pope took the meaning of “gladiator” to an entirely new level. First, Gabrielle Union — one of the actresses who auditioned for Scandal — helped Being Mary Jane go from TV movie to highest rated series on BET. Then, Rhimes tried her own recipe — a smart, powerful Black woman in a bomb ass suit — again when she cast Viola Davis as Annalise Keating on How To Get Away with Murder in 2014. Taraji P. Henson burst onto the television scene as Cookie Lyon on Empire shortly after. Queen Sugar is nothing less than an ode to Black women and families starring Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, and Bianca Lawson. Regina King carries American Crime, and Sanaa Lathan did the same thing on Shots Fired. And the trend is still growing. This year saw the premiere ofstarring Clare-Hope Ashiteya and BET’s In Contempt. Even Black women who brilliantly dominate other kinds of shows, like Issa Rae’s Insecure, Tracee Ellis Ross on black-ish, and most recently, Yara Shahidi on grown-ish can thank Pope for getting all of America used to seeing an imperfect Black woman front and center.