Grown-ish (stylized as grown·ish) is an American sitcom series and a spin-off of the ABC series Black-ish created by Kenya Barris and Larry Wilmore, the spinoff was announced on May 3, 2017 and was officially greenlit to series on May 19, 2017 with 13 episodes ordered for the first season. It premiered on January 3, 2018 with the episode "Late Registration". The show is filmed at ABC Studios.
A second season was officially ordered on January 18, 2018. The second season premiered on January 2, 2019 with "Better" and concluded the first part with "Face the World" on March 6, 2019, the second part of the season premiered on June 5, 2019 with "Fake Love and concluded the whole season with Dreams and Nightmares on August 7, 2019. There was 21 episodes ordered for this season, Deon Cole was demoted to recurring after this season.
A third season was officially ordered on February 5, 2019. The third season premiered on January 16, 2020 with "Crunch Time" then concluded the first part on March 5, 2020 with "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" On May 19, 2020, Freeform announced that the remaining episodes from season three will premiere in 2021 due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the television industry then premiered the second part with "Public Service Announcement and concluded the whole season on March 18, 2021 with "Who Do You Love?. There was 17 episodes ordered for this season, Diggy Simmons is now a series regular and Halle Bailey departs from the series as a series regular after three seasons.
A fourth season was officially ordered on January 17, 2020. the fourth season premiered on July 8, 2021 with "Ugh, Those Feels Again" and concluded the first part on September 2, 2021 with "You Beat Me to the Punch" and premiered the second part on January 27, 2022 with "It Was Good Until It Wasn't" and concluded the second part on March 24, 2022 with "Empire State of Mind". There was 18 episodes ordered for this season, Chloe Bailey, Luka Sabbat, Emily Arlook, Francia Raisa, Jordan Buhat and Halle Bailey all depart the series as series regulars do to the series undergoing a revamp.
A fifth season was officially ordered on March 7, 2022. this season introduces six new characters Zaraa, Annika, Lauryn, Zeke, Brandon and Slick . Season 5 premiered on July 20, 2022, with "This Is What You Came For". It is currently unknown how many were ordered for this season, Marcus Scribner and Daniella Perkins are both upped to series regulars, Francia Raisa, Emily Arlook, Jordan Buhat and Chloe Bailey make a special guest appearances in this season.
A sixth and final season was officially ordered in January 18, 2023. On March 29, 2023, it was announced that season 6 will be the final season of the show. The season was split in half and aired the series finale on May 22, 2024.
Created by Black-ish's Kenya Barris, the series is produced by Khalabo Ink Society, Wilmore Films, Cinema Gypsy Productions and Principato-Young Entertainment, with Anthony Anderson, Brian Dobbins, and Helen Sugland acting as executive producers. Freeform officially ordered 13 episodes of the spin-off in May 2017, and it premiered on January 3, 2018 and concluded on March 28, 2018. On January 18, 2018, Freeform renewed the series for a second season of 20 episodes. It premiered on January 2, 2019 and concluded on August 7, 2019. On February 5, 2019, Freeform renewed the series for a third season it premiered on January 16, 2020 and concluded March 18, 2021. Freeform renewed the series for a fourth season it premiered in July 8, 2021 and concluded on March 24, 2022. Freeform renewed the series for a fifth season, it premiered on July 20, 2022.
Synopsis[]
A spin-off of Black-ish, Zoey Johnson goes to college and deals with issues learning how to live outside the nest. We see her struggles as she deals with drugs, sex, and relationships.
Main Cast[]
- Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr. (main season 5; guest seasons 2–4)
- Trevor Jackson as Aaron Jackson
- Diggy Simmons as Doug Edwards (main season 3–present; recurring seasons 1-2)
- Daniella Perkins as Kiela Hall (main season 5: recurring season 4)
- Justine Skye as Annika Longstreet (main season 6; recurring season 5)
- Tara Raani as Zaraa Ali (main season 6; recurring season 5)
Former Main Cast[]
- Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson (seasons 1-5; recurring season 6)
- Deon Cole as Charlie Telphy (seasons 1-2; recurring season 3-4)
- Francia Raisa as Ana Torres (season 1-4; guest seaon 5)
- Emily Arlook as Nomi Segal (season 1-4; guest season 5)
- Jordan Buhat as Vivek Shah (season 1-4; guest season 5)
- Chloe Bailey as Jazlyn "Jazz" Forster (season 1-4; guest season 5)
- Halle Bailey as Skyler "Sky" Forster (season 1-3; recurring season 4)
- Luka Sabbat as Luca Hall (season 1-4)
- Chris Parnell as Dean Burt Parker (season 1)
Recurring Cast[]
- Da'Vinchi as Cash Mooney (seasons 1-2)
- Katherine Moennig as Professor Paige Hewson (season 2)
- Raigan Harris as Rochelle (seasons 2–3; guest season 4)
- Ryan Destiny as Jillian (season 3)
- Andrew Liner as Rodney (season 3),
- Henri Esteve as Javier / "Javi" (season 3–4)
- Amelie Zilber as Lauryn (season 5-6)
- Ceyair Wright as Zeke (season 5-6)
- Matthew Sato as Brandon (season 5)
- Slick Woods as Slick (season 5)
- Anthony Anderson as Andre Johnson
- Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson
- Miles Brown as Jack Johnson
- Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson
- Laurence Fishburne as Earl Johnson
- Jenifer Lewis as Ruby Johnson
Seasons[]
Grown·ish premiered it's final season on June 28, 2023.
| Season | No. of Eps | Premiere episode | Aired | Finale episode | Aired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Late Registration | January 3, 2018 | Back & Forth | March 28, 2018 |
| 2 | 21 | Better | January 2, 2019 | Dreams and Nightmares | August 7, 2019 |
| 3 | 17 | Crunch Time | January 16, 2020 | Who Do You Love? | March 18, 2021 |
| 4 | 18 | Ugh, Those Feels Again | July 8, 2021 | Empire State of Mind | March 24, 2022 |
| 5 | 18 | This Is What You Came For | July 20, 2022 | Cash In Cash Out | March 15, 2023 |
| 6 | TBA | Shoot My Shot | June 28, 2023 | TBA | 2024 |
Plot[]
The single-camera comedy follows the Johnsons' eldest daughter Zoey (Yara Shahidi) as she goes to college, begins her journey to adulthood but quickly discovers that not everything goes her way once she leaves the nest. Deon Cole as Charlie Telphy. Trevor Jackson as Aaron Jackson. Jordan Buhat as Vivek. Francia Raisa as Analisa "Ana" Torres. Emily Arlook as Nomi Segal. Luka Sabbat as Luca Hall. Music duo Chloe and Halle would also star as twin sisters Sky and Jazz and Chris Parnell as Dean Burt Parker would also star. Doug Edwards (Diggy Simmons) is a recurring character. (Season 1-3)
Development[]
"Liberal Arts", the 23rd episode of season 3 of Black-ish, functioned as a backdoor pilot for this spin-off, featuring Yara Shahidi's character, Zoey Johnson, as she goes to college. Shahidi stars in the series, with Chris Parnell, Mallory Sparks, Matt Walsh, and Trevor Jackson guest starring in the backdoor pilot. The series was later titled College-ish, with Parnell and Jackson reprising their roles from the backdoor pilot, and Emily Arlook replacing Mallory Sparks in the role of Miriam. In August 2017, Francia Raisa joined the cast as Ana along with Jordan Buhat as Vivek. Music duo Chloe and Halle would also star as twin sisters Sky and Jazz.
On May 19, 2017, Freeform (ABC's sister network) officially ordered 13 episodes of the spin-off under the final title, Grown-ish. On January 18, 2018, Freeform renewed the series for a second season. On February 5, 2019, the series was renewed for a third season.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
On review aggregation Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 94% based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 7.66/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "grown-ish quickly works through its growing pains to establish itself as its own socially aware show with a fresh perspective on the college experience, driven by the charming and capable Yara Shahidi." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 71 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".