'Black-ish' Season 4 Spoilers: Anthony Anderson, Kenya Barris Talk Juneteenth, New Baby, College and 'Grown-ish'
"Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson and show creator Kenya Barris are bracing for a busy year. They recently sat down with the press to talk about the upcoming fourth season of the comedy series which will cover issues like a new baby, college and Juneteenth.
Anderson told Deadline that "Black-ish" season 4 will open with his character Andre Johnson getting upset over Juneteenth not getting its due recognition. Andre will go "all out" to commemorate the end of slavery, which the actor said should become an actual holiday in America.
"Black-ish" season 4 will feature two milestones with the arrival of the family's new baby and the eldest child, Zoey (Yara Shahidi), going off to college. The second episode will focus on Bow Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross) and her post-pregnancy struggles.
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"We're dealing with something that affects a lot of mothers out there. We're dealing with postpartum depression and how it's affecting Bow," Anderson told The Hollywood Reporter.
As for Shahidi's character heading off to college, Barris told The Wrap that Zoey will still be part of the show and she will be in episodes where Zoey comes home. Barris noted that the strength of "Black-ish" is in the fact that it's a regular American family series and all families in real life go through this transition with their kids growing up.
Incidentally, Shahidi is actually leaving for college as she will start her first year in Harvard.
"We were sort of being prepared for her leaving," Barris said.
But the new situation opened the door for the "Black-ish" spin-off series "Grown-ish," which will focus on Zoey's time in college. The show will begin its run in early 2018 on Freeform.
Barris will also executive produce "Grown-ish" and production will take place across the soundstage where "Black-ish" films. So, it will be easier for her to divide her time between "Black-ish" and "Grown-ish."
"Black-ish" will premiere season 4 on ABC on Tuesday, Oct. 3, at 9 p.m. EDT. "Grown-ish has no confirmed air date for now.
