Any Day Now (TV series)

The show stars Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint, portraying best friends since childhood, as they openly and honestly address events in their interracial community.

's naively bigoted parents and her openly racist Uncle Jimmy, an avowed member of the Ku Klux Klan.

's aging parents, whose views on race had mellowed somewhat over the years, quite in contrast to unrepentantly racist Uncle Jimmy, who still antagonized Rene if given the chance.

The show dealt with issues like modern-day racism, homosexuality, religion, women's rights, rape, natural disaster, alcohol, suicide, and death.

In the final episode of the show, Rene married Judge Clyde "Turk" Terhune (William Allen Young).

and Shari Dyon Perry (Rene) were replaced by Olivia Hack and Maya Goodwin, respectively, as the producers wanted the girls to encounter more mature storylines.

Nancy Miller, co-creator, executive producer and showrunner had spent summers during her childhood in Birmingham at a time when there were still segregated fountains.

Valerie Woods, who started as first executive story editor and later became co-executive producer, was equally committed to creating a show that would examine difficult topics in a useful way.

[4] Anita Gates, writing for The New York Times at the onset of the series panned the initial episode, stating that it "strains credibility, embraces stereotype and generally falls short of expectations.

"[3] Lynn Elber, writing for the Associated Press, noted at its premiere that it had taken eight years for Any Day Now to be produced, due to its ground-breaking format of being centered on race as well as the lives of women, and being set in the South.

[2] Howard Rosenberg lauded Any Day Now on airing "It's Not Just a Word," which reflects on a certain racial slur and its ongoing effect on Black people, calling the episode "Thoughtful, volcanic, important".

He ends his review by saying, "... if sages of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences don't grant previously overlooked Any Day Now the Emmy attention it deserves this year, they'll have some explaining to do.

Enjeti praised the themes of the show including the trauma caused by racism—both internal and systemic—and the privilege to remain silent in the face of oppression.

Enjeti concludes, "If there was ever a time to watch a television series's forthright and intrepid depiction of prejudice, hatred, and the long, windy, and sometimes backward road to justice, it's now.