Primetime television provides viewers with a much-desired escape following their daily grind. Tuning into our favorite shows provides audiences with opportunities to bond as a family in the living room and as co-workers at the water cooler. And while television audiences span across various racial groups, the casting of many primetime series can still seem pretty homogenous.

Like many others, “Southland” star Regina Hall has spoken out about the lack of Blacks not only in television, but at the Emmys as well.

“It is impossible for me to ignore the published statistics regarding the number of people of color mentioned, celebrated or honored in the history of the televised Emmys,” wrote Hall in a 2010 Huffington Post blog post. “I’ve worked in television nearly all of my professional life, and that statistic is quite sobering to me.”

Well, Emmy nominated or not, a great number of Black actors and actresses will be debuting or returning to the small screen, asserting their acting chops with the best of them. From dark comedies to musical dramas, the lineup for Fall 2012 features breakout shows that have earned additional seasons, as well as fresh series hoping to make a lasting mark on critics and audiences alike. BET’s “The Game” and “Reed Between The Lines” and ABC’s “Scandal” will also be returning from their breaks, after publicized departures of key stars like Tia Mowry and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Breakout stars Meagan Good and Tyler James William will try their hand at network heavyweight NBC. Singers-turned-actresses Kelly Rowland and Jennifer Hudson will prove their adaptability. New school comedians Kevin Hart, Anthony Anderson, and Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele will bring home the laughs with their own series. Last but not least, veterans Vanessa Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Laurence Fishburne will do what they do best.

Check out the fall shows coming to a television near you!

—Patrice Peck