ABC has renewed their hit comedy series Black-ish for a sixth season. Additionally, the network has handed out an early series order to Mixed-ish, a spin-off series about Rainbow Johnson’s experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the ‘80s. This marks the second spin-off for Black-ish following Freeform’s Grown-ish.
Black-ish follows Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson, an upper-middle class black man who struggles to raise his children with a sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions and obstacles. The comedy series stars Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Yara Shahidi, Miles Brown, Marcus Scribner, Caila Martin and Laurence Fishburne.
Kenya Barris created the series and serves as an executive producer alongside Jonathan Groff, Kenny Smith, Gail Lerner, Courtney Lilly, Lindsey Shockley, Peter Saji, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland and E. Brian Dobbins. Black-ish is produced by ABC Studios. The renewal for the 2019-2020 broadcast season comes mere weeks ahead of the season five finale, which is set to air on ABC on Tuesday May 21st.
Mixed-ish follows Rainbow Johnson as she recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the ‘80s and the constant dilemmas they had to face over whether to assimilate or stay true to themselves. Bow’s parents Paul and Alicia decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to better provide for their family. As her parents struggle with the challenges of their new life, Bow and her siblings navigate a mainstream school in which they’re perceived as neither black nor white.
This family’s experiences illuminate the challenges of finding one’s own identity when the rest of the world can’t decide where you belong. The comedy series was piloted via a planted episode (AKA backdoor pilot) of Black-ish which is now being held and will air as part of the show’s sixth season. It is produced by ABC Studios and stars Arica Himmel, Tika Sumpter, Christina Anthony, Mykal-Michelle Harris and Ethan Childress. Peter Saji, Kenya Barris and Tracee Ellis Ross created the series and serve as executive producers alongside Randall Winston, Brian Dobbins, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland and Anthony Anderson.
