By Amanda Bruce
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10 Best TV Crime Dramas Of All Time, According To Ranker
All 10 Movie Musicals To Win The Best Picture Oscar, Ranked Worst To Best
Taye Diggs got his start in the professional performing arts world on stage, not on screen. He had a successful Broadway career with roles in Carousel and RENT before he appeared in his first TV roles in 1996. He has become such a prolific film and TV actor since then that many might forget that he’s a song and dance man first.
Diggs’ first big screen break was with the romance How Stella Got Her Groove Back in 1998. He’s been nonstop as an actor and writer ever since. In fact, in addition to all his work on screen, Diggs has also written four children’s books and founded a dance company. With all of his creative talent, it’s no wonder that he has worked on so many great movies and TV shows.
10 Murder In The First (2014-2016)
As Terry English
Murder in the First
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
Mystery
Murder in the First is a crime drama series focusing on a single murder case per season. Starring Taye Diggs and Kathleen Robertson as San Francisco detectives, the show intricately follows the investigation and legal proceedings that unravel complex motives and hidden truths as they pursue justice.
- Cast
- Taye Diggs , Kathleen Robertson , Ian Anthony Dale , Raphael Sbarge , Lombardo Boyar , Currie Graham , Mimi Kirkland , Jamie McShane , Camille Balsamo , Laila Robins , Emmanuelle Chriqui , A.J. Buckley , Mo McRae , John Cothran , Mateus Ward , Richard Schiff , James Cromwell , Corey Reynolds , Sara Paxton , Michael Gaston , Bess Rous , Tom Felton , Steven Weber
- Release Date
- June 9, 2014
- Creator(s)
- Steven Bochco , Eric Lodal
There are a lot of crime procedurals on television. In order to make a show stand out, it’s got to have something to hook viewers that is different from all the other crime procedurals out there. For Criminal Minds, it’s delving into the psychology of the suspects. For NCIS, it’s connecting crimes to the military. In the case of Murder in the First, it’s the fact that each season of the show only follows one case instead of using a case-of-the-week format.
The series only lasted for three seasons, but each of those seasons follows a very different investigation. The first is two separate murders that are actually linked, the second involves the investigation into a police officer’s death that uncovers corruption, and the final season involves the death of a football player. While each season involves a murder, they all take different investigative routes.
Diggs plays Inspector Terry English in the series. Not only is he a capable investigator, but he’s also a former Marine sniper. He is also grieving the death of his wife throughout the series, adding another layer to how he approaches death throughout the show.
Related
10 Best TV Crime Dramas Of All Time, According To Ranker
For generations, crime TV shows have captivated audiences worldwide with their gripping storylines and likable characters that fans will never forget.
9 Lip Sync Battle (2017, 2018)
As Himself
Diggs’ musical theater background makes him an energetic performer who knows how to keep the audience on his side.
Lip Sync Battle is not the kind of television show that needs an actor to play a role. They just have to be able to convincingly lip sync and dance to popular music and do a better job than any other celebrity participating in the show. Very few people have appeared on the show more than once. Taye Diggs, however, has appeared and won the competition twice.
Diggs first appeared in the third season up against Ne-Yo. It was memorable because he actually performed to Ne-Yo’s own song, “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself).” His second appearance on the show was in the third season where he competed against Erika Jayne in a Christina Aguilera tribute episode. Diggs’ musical theater background makes him an energetic performer who knows how to keep the audience on his side.
Lip Sync Battle might be best known for giving the world Tom Holland performing Rhianna’s “Umbrella,” but Taye Diggs winning the show twice makes him a worthy competitor.
8 RENT (2005)
As Benjamin Coffin III
RENT received a lot of mixed reviews when it initially landed in theaters in 2005. The movie adapted Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical of the same name and even kept most of the original cast in the roles they originated on stage, despite it being filmed nearly a decade after the Broadway debut of the show.
Much of the criticism of the movie was for the script and just what cuts were made to story in order to streamline it for a movie release. The cuts angered Broadway fans but also meant some things were left out of the movie that helped parts of the story to make more sense. What couldn’t be criticized was the chemistry and the talent of the cast. Because so many of them had worked together on the original show, there was a built-in chemistry there.
Diggs played Benny, the landlord for most of the characters and the ex of Mimi, making him the movie’s antagonist for much of the story. Despite the criticisms of the movie, it’s a great showcase for Diggs’ talent as he doesn’t get to sing in many of his on-screen roles.
7 Private Practice (2007-2013)
As Dr. Sam Bennett
Private Practice
TV-14
Drama
Comedy
Romance
A spin-off Grey's Anatomy, the medical drama Private Practice stars Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery, as she leaves her former job at Seattle Grace Hospital in order to join a private practice in Los Angeles. The series aired on ABC for six seasons from 2007-2013.
- Cast
- Kate Walsh , Kadee Strickland , Paul Adelstein , Taye Diggs , Amy Brenneman , Tim Daly , Brian Benben , Audra McDonald
- Release Date
- September 19, 2007
- Creator(s)
- Shonda Rhimes
Private Practice was the first spin-off of the highly successful Grey’s Anatomy. The series followed a group of doctors with Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) as the show’s entry point from her experiences on Grey’s Anatomy. Unlike the flagship series, which followed doctors working at a hospital and involved emergency medicine on a regular basis, Private Practice, as the title implied, followed a smaller group of doctors at a private medical practice.
The show did one or two crossover episodes with Grey’s Anatomy per season, and many cast members slowly rotated out of the show over the course of the six seasons. Diggs is one of five cast members to remain from the beginning to the end of the show. Diggs’ character is one of the founders of the practice and specializes in internal medicine.
While the show is a medical procedural, like Grey’s Anatomy, it also focuses heavily on the relationships between the main characters. For much of the show, Sam works with his ex-wife and her best friend before starting to date said best friend. Their relationship dynamic helps to drive much of the series.
Diggs earned three NAACP Image Award nominations for his role in Private Practice.
6 Chicago (2002)
As The Bandleader
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9/10
Chicago
PG-13
Comedy
Crime
Drama
Chicago is a musical crime film directed by Rob Marshall, set in 1920s Chicago. It centers on Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), two women who find themselves on trial for murder. Both aspiring performers, they vie for the attention of a high-profile lawyer, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), in their quest for fame and freedom. The film examines themes of celebrity, crime, and media influence.
- Director
- Rob Marshall
- Release Date
- December 10, 2002
- Writers
- Bill Condon , Fred Ebb , Bob Fosse
- Cast
- Renée Zellweger , Catherine Zeta-Jones , Richard Gere , Ekaterina Chtchelkanova , Queen Latifah
- Runtime
- 113 Minutes
Chicago is an interesting movie for Diggs because, like RENT, he actually played the same role on Broadway. During his run in Chicago, Diggs played the bandleader, but also understudied the lead of Billy Flynn. While Richard Gere played Flynn in the movie, Diggs got to return to the role of the bandleader again.
The musical follows what happens to two women who are accused of murder and the lawyer who defends them. The entire show, however, is set up like a big lounge act, in keeping with giving the audience “the old razzle dazzle” to keep them distracted from the actual murders that have taken place. It’s one of the best movie adaptations of a stage musical of all time.
Chicago was hugely successful. It was nominated for 13 Oscars, winning six of them, including Best Picture. Chicago was the first musical to do that since 1968.
Related
All 10 Movie Musicals To Win The Best Picture Oscar, Ranked Worst To Best
Only 10 movie musicals have ever won the Academy Award for Best Picture, but they haven’t all gone down in film history as popular classics.
5 The Best Man (1999)
As Harper Stewart
The Best Man (1999)
R
Comedy
Drama
The Best Man, directed by Malcolm D. Lee, follows writer Harper Stewart, who struggles to conceal that his bestselling novel is based on his friends' lives. Set to be the best man at a wedding, Harper faces tension as an advance copy of the book circulates among the group.
- Director
- Malcolm D. Lee
- Release Date
- October 22, 1999
- Writers
- Malcolm D. Lee
- Cast
- Taye Diggs , Morris Chestnut , Nia Long , Harold Perrineau , Terrence Howard , Sanaa Lathan , Regina Hall , Monica Calhoun , Jim Moody , Malcolm D. Lee , Victoria Dillard , Melissa De Sousa , Liris Crosse , Lady Madonna , Emilie Gaskins
- Runtime
- 120 Minutes
1999 was a very good year for Taye Diggs on the big screen. The Best Man is one of four movies he appeared in that year. He also appeared in House On Haunted Hill, The Wood, and Go. Some Diggs fans might argue that any one of those was a better project for Diggs, but The Best Man led to even more projects for him as he appeared in a sequel and series after.
Diggs plays the titular best man at his best friend’s wedding in the movie. The movie follows him as he’s preparing for the release of his novel before he reconnects with old friends and brings up old secrets. The novel, which his friends have an advanced copy of, is actually inspired by events from their past - including that he had a one-night-stand with the bride-to-be.
There’s plenty of drama in the reconnecting of old friends with secrets, but there’s also plenty of humor and romance here too, which is part of what makes it one of Diggs’ best projects. He gets to show all facets of his acting abilities.
4 Set It Up (2018)
As Rick
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9/10
Set It Up
TV-14
Comedy
Romance
Set It Up is a romantic comedy directed by Claire Scanlon, featuring Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell as two overworked assistants in New York City. To gain some free time, they scheme to set up their demanding bosses, played by Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs, with each other. As their plan unfolds, unexpected romantic entanglements ensue, leading to comedic and heartfelt moments. The film explores themes of love, ambition, and the grind of modern work life.
- Director
- Claire Scanlon
- Release Date
- June 15, 2018
- Writers
- Katie Silberman
- Cast
- Zoey Deutch , Glen Powell , Lucy Liu , Taye Diggs
- Runtime
- 105 Minutes
Diggs isn’t particularly well-known for appearing in romantic comedies, but his breakout role on the big screen was in the romance How Stella Got Her Groove Back. It’s surprising that he didn’t appear in a large string of romances after that.
Set It Up is a more recent addition to his resume, and it was praised for bringing the classic feel of romantic comedies back to audiences. Diggs doesn’t play one of the leads, but rather, the boss of one of the leads. Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch play a pair of assistants who scheme to get their bosses together after realizing a happy romantic relationship might get their bosses to leave them alone.
Diggs is paired with Lucy Liu and the two do have fantastic chemistry, despite them not being the primary leads of the movie.
3 All American (2018-2024)
As Coach Billy Baker
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8/10
9/10
All American
Drama
Sports
This sports drama, inspired by the real-life journey of football player Spencer Paysinger, follows a high school student from south L.A. when he is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High.
- Cast
- Samantha Logan , Cody Christian , Monet Mazur , Taye Diggs , Jalyn Hall
- Release Date
- October 10, 2018
- Seasons
- 6
- Showrunner
- Nkechi Okoro Carroll
The series is inspired by a true story, but because it’s made for the CW, it also has a healthy dose of fictional drama mixed in. All American follows the story of a high school football player who pursues his dreams of playing professionally and those around him who help make it happen.
Diggs plays one of those people. He is the coach who recruits the football player to his Los Angeles High School, which sets him on his dream path. Diggs only appears in the first five seasons as a regular before appearing as a guest star after that.
Though the series hasn’t received consistently high ratings on the CW during its run, that’s not unusual for the network. Instead, the most successful of the CW’s shows actually have lucrative streaming deals due to their popularity outside of the United States. That’s exactly the case for All American, which has been a hit on Netflix.
All American produced a spin-off series called All American: Homecoming. It’s also been renewed for a seventh season, but that seventh season will not feature most of the same cast.
Related
The ever-popular CW sports drama All American has enjoyed a lengthy six-season run on the air thus far, and the network has renewed season 7.
2 Empire (2016-2017)
As Angelo DuBois
Empire
Music
Drama
Empire is a musical drama series that follows a father who acts as the CEO of Empire Entertainment, a major hip-hop record label, and his family. When Lucious Lyon discovers he is diagnosed with ALS, he realizes his time is short, and he must find a successor to his empire. Forcing his three sons to compete with one another to earn the right, what follows is a vicious journey of power and control - only complicated further by his ex-wife's entry into the fray.
- Cast
- Ta'Rhonda Jones , Trai Byers , Taraji P. Henson , Jussie Smollett , Gabourey Sidibe , Kaitlin Doubleday , Bryshere Y. Gray , Terrence Howard , Grace Gealey
- Release Date
- January 7, 2015
- Showrunner
- Danny Strong
Empire is one of the most successful series to air on FOX in recent years. It follows the Lyon family and those who work around them as they fight for control over the entertainment company that belongs to them. It’s a look at the (fictional) drama that can unfold in the music industry.
Over the course of its run, the show boasted some impressive guest stars. Rita Oro, Jason Derulo, Gladys Knight, Timbaland, and Snoop Dogg, among others appeared as themselves in the series.
Diggs doesn’t play one of the musical stars of the show. Instead, he plays a city councilperson. Originally, he’s romantically involved with Taraji P. Henson’s character, but when things go south between them, he schemes to take the Lyon family down. His character is killed off before that can happen. While he might not have the biggest role in the show, it’s one of Diggs’ most unique projects.
1 The Best Man: The Final Chapters (2022)
As Harper Stewart
...it allows each of these now much more experienced actors to reconnect with their characters and dig further into their lives...
One of the best things about the development of streaming platforms is the ability of those streamers to give fans the nostalgia they crave. While movie and TV fans can stream the things they love repeatedly, many platforms have also revisited classic stories. Peacock brought back the characters of The Best Man for a limited series.
The Best Man: The Final Chapters is about the same group of friends tackling new chapters in their lives. While the first movie was more like a coming-of-age story for the characters, this one deals with the hurdles of middle age. Couples have to redefine their relationships, make changes to their careers, and navigate parenting challenges.
This time around Diggs’ Harper is getting the chance to turn his best-selling novel into a movie. Just as the novel brought up secrets for the group of friends, the movie prospect sees them looking back on their lives.
Some will argue that the movie is the better project, but the series ranks higher because it allows each of these now much more experienced actors to reconnect with their characters and dig further into their lives, including Diggs. It’s Taye Diggs’ best series to date.
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