The networks let us know when their unscripted shows would be back. Today, ABC filled us in when their sitcoms will be hitting the airwaves.
The Goldbergs is paying tribute to Airplane in their season premiere episode on October 21st. On that night, they will air two episodes. Then at 9p, The Conners are back on the couch. They are followed at 9:30p by Black-ish that almost didn’t premiere in the fall.
Then a week later, American Housewife will join the Wednesday lineup at 8:30p.
I don’t know who is happier about this news, me or my DVR. The latter has been feeling neglected because there is nothing for it to record.
The cast of Black-ish is very animated. Therefore, it makes sense that they would get an animated episode on ABC. That special episode will air on October 4th, as part of a two-episode special event. Both eps will focus on voting.
In “Election Special Pt. 1,” (10:00-10:30 p.m. EDT), Junior is excited for his first time voting but discovers he has been purged from the voter polls so he does a deep dive into why – trying to understand the systems in place for voter registration. “Election Special Pt. 1” is directed by Matthew A. Cherry and written by Eric Horsted.
Then, in a special animated episode, “Election Special Pt. 2,” (10:30-11:00 p.m. EDT), Dre’s colleague Stevens (Peter Mackenzie) makes an ill-advised decision to run for Congress, so Dre enlists his family’s help and campaigns against him but gets caught up with fundraising and private interest groups. “Election Special Pt. 2” is directed by Matthew A. Cherry and written by Graham Towers & Ben Deeb.
These are standalone episodes. Season seven will air sometime after that.
Back in 2018, Black-ish shot an episode that was so controversial, ABC refused to air it. Now, two years, it is finally seeing the light of day, I mean, the light of TV screens. That is because Executive Producer Kenya Barris convinced Hulu to stream it.
In November 2017, we made an episode of “black-ish” entitled “Please, Baby, Please.” We were one year post-election and coming to the end of a year that left us, like many Americans, grappling with the state of our country and anxious about its future. Those feelings poured onto the page, becoming 22 minutes of television that I was, and still am, incredibly proud of. “Please, Baby, Please” didn’t make it to air that season and, while much has been speculated about its contents, the episode has never been seen publicly… until now.
I’m excited to share that “Please, Baby, Please” is now available on Hulu. Following the re-airing of “Juneteenth” and “Hope;’ I asked Walt Disney Television to revisit making the episode available. Recognizing the importance of this moment, they listened and agreed.
I cannot wait for everyone to finally see the episode for themselves and, as was the case nearly three years ago, we hope it inspires some much-needed conversation — not only about what we were grappling with then or how it led to where we are now, but conversations about where we want our country to go moving forward and, most importantly, how we get there together.
Thank you to ABC Entertainment for allowing this moment to happen. And thank you to the entire “black-ish” family for never shying away from tough conversations, making telling stories like this possible. – Kenya Barris
The episode was reportedly pulled because Dre (Anthony Anderson) and his oldest son Junior (Marcus Scribner) discussed kneeling at football games. However, that is barely a blip in the episode.
It is a rainy night, and Dre’s baby son can’t sleep because of the scary noises. Therefore, the dad soothes the infant to sleep by telling him the story of Donald Trump’s first year in office. One by one, the rest of his children (minus the oldest who is in college) join him and Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) in bed and they discuss what the last year has been like.
It is such a powerful episode that it winds up being more relevant in 2020 than it was then. I think it is better that it was held until now than if it aired in February 2018. In fact, I think everyone, whether a fan of the show or not, should watch it.
It is amazing with all of the sh!t that Trump has done since then, the emotions are still the same. As much as Trump as tried to extinguish Barack Obama’s light, he hasn’t been able to do it.
There are episodes that live on in infamy because of the topics they covered. This is one of those episodes. Therefore, I am telling you to watch it. Especially, since we are getting ready to vote in less than three months.
Yesterday, ABC announced their fall lineup and black-ish was missing from their schedule. Today, they sent out a press release to announce that the sitcom is back on it.
“’black-ish’ has a long-standing history of shining a light on current events and honoring Black voices through the lens of the Johnson family,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “After speaking with Kenya and our creative partners, we decided it was important to tell these meaningful stories during this moment in time, so we are adjusting our premiere schedule and are committed to doing whatever it takes to bring this series back as soon as we possibly can. Following recent monumental events, it’s imperative that the dialogue continues and empowers viewers to raise their voices, and there is no other show that does that like ‘black-ish.’”
I could not understand how ABC could leave their premiere show about African-Americans off of the fall schedule during this time when Black voices are being heard and need to continue to be heard.
ABC did the right thing. I just wish they would stop messing with American Housewife. In order to fit black-ish back on Wednesday nights, they gave it the slot that was supposed to belong to AH. So now black-ish airs at 8:30p, AH at 9:30p, and Call Your Mother goes to midseason.
With all of this being said, Anthony Anderson’s mom Doris can release whoever she was holding hostage until they brought back her son’s show. And if his TV mom Jenifer Lewis was helping out, then ABC never had a chance.
Several shows and movies from yesteryear are staging online reunions during the coronavirus pandemic, and Jimmy Kimmel wanted to do one on his show. Therefore, last night the ABC late night host decided to have a surprise one with his guest Anthony Anderson.
Are we going to get a Hang Time reunion? Sadly, nope. It was Anderson’s second-best project, Kangaroo Jack. That is right, Kimmel arranged for Jerry O’Connell and Kangaroo Jack, himself, to surprise their co-star.
Seeing the three of them Zooming together, proves that we desperately need a sequel to the 2003 comedy.
Although, I would prefer that O’Connell did one for Joe’s Apartment first. Sorry Anthony, but it was even more of a high-larious film.
