Dance Dance Revolution

“Sherman’s Showcase” and “South Side.”

- Emily Nussbaum

For over forty years, ‘Sherman’s Showcase’ has been a revolutionary black music slash dance slash entertainment program unlike anything else on TV. Except . .. for several other shows,” John Legend announces, gliding across a stage like a polite cheetah. A list of variety shows scrolls swiftly up the screen: “Solid Gold, Soul Train, Burt Sugarman’s Midnight Special, Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, MTV’s The Grind with Eric Nies, Caribbean Rhythms (with Rachel!),” and then, more randomly, “The Crown (Season 1)” and “Power (do you watch it? It’s great).”

“Sherman’s Showcase,” created by Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle, two former Jimmy Fallon writers best known for “Slow Jam the News,” is a joyful Sunbeam Mixmaster of a sketch show, a Spirograph set spinning through decades of black pop culture, finding faintly psychedelic patterns, in the shared tradition of Sun Ra and K-tel. Its premise is pure meta-absurdism: we’re watching a pretend documentary about a pretend variety show, “Sherman’s Showcase,” a supposedly iconic series that was launched in 1972, at a bombshell moment when “Afro-American content” replaced “The John Birch Comedy Hour.” Each episode commemorates the “Sherman’s Showcase” legacy, exploring different themes—the Dancers, the Ladies— and is hosted by luminaries such as John Legend ( John Legend), Mary J. Blige (Bresha Webb), and Eliza Coupe (as a Debbie Harry-adjacent diva). A shrewd satire that doubles as an affectionate homage, “Sherman’s Showcase” is equal parts cerebral and silly, a floor wax and a dessert topping.