Continuing on with our coverage of web-based programming by and about people of African descent… making its debut tomorrow, Tuesday, November 24th, 3PM, at BET.com is Buppies, which stars Tatyana Ali of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air fame, alongside Robin Thede (Chocolate News), Ernest Waddell (Law & Order), Chante Frierson (A Different World) and Preston Davis (Entourage).

Set in black Hollywood “enchantment,” the series chronicles the lives of five friends struggling to find and define meaning in their individual lives, while living in a manufactured world – essentially, to borrow from E.E. Cummings, learning how to be nobody but themselves in a world that’s doing its best to make them like everybody else.

The series was created by Julian Breece, and is being produced by Aaliyah Williams, who have a 2008 Sundance Film Festival short on their creative resumes (The Young & Evil), and were featured in IndieWIRE as new filmmakers to watch. I’ve long shared my belief in the web as the future nexus of all forms of entertainment – notably the moving image. Both Breece and Williams have clearly embraced the possibilities in web-based content creation, as they venture forward with this, their first attempt, which, thus far, appears to be generating a lot of interest.

I watched a 10-minute preview of the series earlier today, and, naturally, my programmed human brain immediately tried to make connections, looking for something I’ve previously seen to compare what I saw to, something I wasn’t immediately able to do; and given that it will air on BET’s website (the long-suffering station that comes with a certain appeal, or stigma, depending on who you ask), one might expect Buppies to adhere to some standard set by the station, as exemplified in its regular brand of programming, that I think most of us are somewhat familiar with. I haven’t watched BET in years… literally! Maybe a glimpse here and there, but nothing more. So I really can’t say with certainty how the programming has evolved and what it currently espouses.

And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t initially a bit ambivalent about the series, upon first hearing about it (before I’d seen any footage, or read much about it), when I learned that BET.com would be its home. However, the 10-minutes I saw of Buppies, which will likely attract comparisons, however unfairly, to TV shows like Sex & The City (but for black people), aroused my curiosity enough to want to see more of it, and it should benefit immensely from BET.com’s reach – one of the benefits of living in Viacom’s house.

It didn’t immediately strike me as groundbreaking as their short, The Young & Evil, appears to be; however, stories of the lives of the young and the restless, who also happen to be black, are rarely given the same kind of energetic, intelligent effort as those of their Caucasian counterparts. And there are obviously some smart minds behind Buppies.

I’ll certainly be checking out tomorrow, when it makes it series debut, as I’m sure you all will as well.

From Denmark West, President of BET Digital Media Group:

“We’re very excited to have this dynamic web series shown on BET.com. BUPPIES is a great extension of the existing content and overall digital platform, satisfying users on a whole new level… Additionally, Tatyana Ali is an amazing actress with undeniable talent. She brings a fresh, relatable element to our site, and we’re happy to work with her.”

Episode one finds Quinci, the socialite daughter of a Hollywood celebrity (played by Ali), trying to recover from the loss of her father and being dumped by her basketball star fiancé. In what ends up as a misguided attempt to cheer her up, Quinci’s friends throw her a big birthday celebration that unfolds into a compelling series of personal dramas and deep secrets that create the heart of this fascinating series.

Both Julian and Aaliyah will be guests on the Shadow And Act podcast on Wednesday, to talk about the series. So Tune in then. Details to follow.

Head over to http://buppies.bet.com tomorrow, at 3PM, and return here to share your thoughts.