Black-ish (styled as `black·ish) is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris starring Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Laurence Fishburne. It premiered on September 24, 2014 and has been concluded on April 19, 2022, after eight seasons and 175 episodes. the series was announced October 2013 and greenlit on January 16, 2014 with 24 episodes for the first season the show premiered on September 24, 2014 with the episode Pilot, the series is filmed at ABC Studios.
A second season was officially ordered on May 7, 2015, The second season premiered on September 23, 2015 with "The Word" and concluded on May 18, 2016 with "Good-ish Times". There was also 24 episodes ordered for this season.Jenifer Lewis and Jeff Meacham were both upped to series regular for this season, Meacham was recurring again until Season 6.
A third season was officially ordered on March 3, 2016. The third season premiered on September 21, 2016 "VIP" and concluded May 10, 2017 with "Sprinkles" Peter Mackenzie was upped to series regular after being recurring for the first two seasons and Yara Shahidi is no longer main from this season and up due to Grown-ish, there was 24 episodes ordered for season and was also the final season to have that many episodes.
A fourth season was officially ordered on On May 10, 2017 . Season 4 premiered on October 3, 2017 with "Juneteenth" and concluded on May 15, 2018 with Dream Home. There was 23 episodes ordered for this season.
A fifth season was officially ordered on May 11, 2018. Season 5 premiered on October 16, 2018 with "Gap Year and concluded May 21, 2019 with "Relatively Grown Man". with 23 episodes were ordered for this season.
A sixth season was officially ordered on May 2, 2019, Season 6 premiered September 24, 2019 with "Pops the Question" it concluded on May 5, 2020 with "Love, Boat there was 23 episodes ordered for season and was also the final season to have that many episodes.
A seventh season was officially ordered on May 21, 2020, Seasin 7 premiered it's first official episode "Hero Pizza" on October 21, 2020 and concluded May 18, 2021 with "Urban Legend" there was 21 episodes ordered for this season, this season had special episodes Election Special Pt. 1 and Election Special Pt. 2 on October 4, 2020, Katlyn Nichol was upped to series regular after her guest appearance in the previous season.
A eighth and final season was officially ordered on May 14, 2021, Season 8 premiered mid-season on January 4, 2022 with "That's What Friends Are For" and aired the series finale on April 19, 2022 with the episode Homegoing there was 13 episodes ordered for this season making it the shortest season in the series.
Plot[]
The series follows an upper middle class African-American family led by Andre 'Dre' Johnson and Rainbow Johnson . The show revolves around the family's lives, as they juggle several personal and sociopolitical issues. The show also features the characters Zoey Johnson, Andre Johnson Jr., Jack Johnson, and Diane Johnson.
Cast and characters[]
Main[]
- Anthony Anderson as Dre Johnson
- Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson
- Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson (starring seasons 1-3; recurring 4-8)
- Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr.
- Miles Brown as Jack Johnson
- Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson
- Deon Cole as Charlie Telphy (main starring seasons 4–8; recurring 1-3)
- Jenifer Lewis as Ruby Johnson (starring season 2–8; recurring season 1)
- Jeff Meacham as Josh (starring seasons 2 and 6-8; recurring seasons 1, 3–5)
- Peter Mackenzie as Mr. Stevens (starring seasons 3–8; recurring seasons 1–2)
- August and Berlin Gross as Devante Johnson (starring seasons 4–8; guest season 3, mentioned season 2)
- Katlyn Nichol as Olivia Lockhart (starring seasons 7-8; recurring season 6)
Recurring Cast[]
- Laurence Fishburne as Earl "Pops" Johnson: Dre's father.
- Nelson Franklin as Connor Stevens: Leslie Stevens' son.
- Anna Deavere Smith as Alicia: Rainbow, Santamonica and Johan's mother
- Nicole Sullivan as Janine
- Wanda Sykes as Daphne Lido
- Allen Maldonado as Curtis
- Catherine Reitman as Lucy
- Daveed Diggs as Johan, Rainbow's brother
- Isaac Ryan Brown as Young Dre
- Jennie Pierson as Ms. Davis
- Emerson Min as Mason
Episodes[]
- Main article: Episode Guide
| Season | Episodes | Season premiere | Season finale | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Pilot | Sep 24, 2014 | Pops' Pops' Pops | May 20, 2015 |
| 2 | 24 | The Word | Sep 23, 2015 | Good-ish Times | May 18, 2016 |
| 3 | 24 | VIP | Sep 21, 2016 | Sprinkles | May 10, 2017 |
| 4 | 23 | Juneteenth | Oct 3, 2017 | Dream Home | May 15, 2018 |
| 5 | 23 | Gap Year | Oct 16, 2018 | Relatively Grown Man | May 21, 2019 |
| 6 | 23 | Pops the Question | Sep 24, 2019 | Love, Boat | May 5, 2020 |
| 7 | 21 | Hero Pizza | Oct 21, 2020 | Urban Legend | May 18, 2021 |
| 8 | 13 | That's What Friends Are For | Jan 4, 2022 | Homegoing | April 19, 2022 |
Production[]
Development and casting[]
Black-ish first appeared on the development slate at ABC in October 2013, when it was reported that the project, which would star Anthony Anderson, had received a script commitment. On January 16, 2014, ABC greenlit the pilot episode. Two weeks later, Larry Wilmore joined the show as showrunner. In mid-February, Laurence Fishburne was cast as the father of Anderson's character, and Tracee Ellis Ross signed on as the female lead.
Filming[]
On May 8, 2014, ABC picked up the pilot to the series for the 2014–15 television season. A few days later, Anderson announced that Larry Wilmore would be stepping down as showrunner early in the show's run due to his forthcoming late night show, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. On May 7, 2015, ABC renewed the series for a second season. On March 3, 2016, ABC renewed the series for a third season. On May 10, 2017, ABC renewed the series for a fourth season. On May 11, 2018, ABC renewed the series for a fifth season. On December 14, 2018, ABC picked up 2 additional episodes for the fifth season bringing the season total to 24 episodes. On May 2, 2019, ABC renewed the series for a sixth season. On May 21, 2020, ABC renewed the series for a seventh season. On May 14, 2021 the series was renewed for an eighth and final season
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Black-ish has been met with generally positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives season 1 an approval rating of 86% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's consensus states, "Although it seems uncertain of its target audience, Black-ish ingratiates with a diverse cast and engaging cultural issues." Metacritic gave season 1 a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rolling Stone′s December 4, 2014, issue called it "one of the only new network comedies worth watching," praising in particular Laurence Fishburne's performance.
On Rotten Tomatoes, season 4 holds an approval rating of 100% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 8.67/10. The site's consensus states, "black-ish continues to push boundaries, but with a much more celebratory tone that seeks to educate as readily as it entertains."
Anthony Anderson's performance was met with critical acclaim, earning him multiple nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Spin-off[]
Grown-ish[]
The 23rd episode of the third season, "Liberal Arts", functioned as a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off of the same title, starring Yara Shahidi as her character, Zoey Johnson, goes to college away from the family. Other cast members in the pilot and proposed series were Chris Parnell, Mallory Sparks, Matt Walsh, and Trevor Jackson.
In early May 2017, ABC passed on the pilot, but its cable sister channel Freeform was in negotiations to move the project there. On May 19, 2017, Freeform officially ordered 13 episodes of the spin-off, now under the tentative title College-ish. In August 2017, the series changed its title to Grown-ish, and added Francia Raisa, Jordan Buhat and Chloe x Halle as cast members. The series's pilot premiered on January 3, 2018. Parnell and Jackson reprised their roles from the backdoor pilot, while Emily Arlook was also added as Nomi, replacing the character Miriam played by Mallory Sparks. The series has been renewed for a second season. Also it was renewed for a third season on January 30, 2019. On January 17, 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season.
Mixed-ish[]
On May 2, 2019, it was announced that a second spin-off, now titled Mixed-ish had been ordered to series by ABC. In lieu of this, the May 7 episode of season five would be shelved until next season. The episode, titled "Becoming Bow", would follow a young Bow and her family. The series was renewed for a second season on May 21, 2020. On May 14, 2021, the series was canceled after two seasons.
Old-ish[]
It was announced that a new spin-off starring Laurence Fishburne and Jenifer Lewis is in the works.
References[]