ABC has announced plans to renew its hit comedy “Black-ish” for a sixth season, in addition to rolling out another spinoff, “Mixed-ish,” based on a younger version of the character Rainbow Johnson, focusing on her upbringing in a mixed-race family in the ’80s.
Created by award-winning writer/producer Kenya Barris, “Black-ish” stars Anthony Anderson as Andre “Dre” Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow, who is based on Barris’ wife, Dr. Rainbow Barris — with whom he shares six children.
Here’s a breakdown of the show via USA Today:
In “Mixed-ish,” the younger Rainbow (called Bow, played by Arica Himmel) recounts the dilemmas her family faced “over whether to assimilate or stay true to themselves” when her parents decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to support their family, according to a description of the series.
“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,” according to the ABC description.
Meanwhile, the other “Black-ish” spinoff, “Grown-ish,” starring Yara Shahidi, returns for the second half of Season 2 this summer on ABC’s sister cable network, Freeform.
In related news, Barris moved from ABC Studios to Netflix in a lucrative deal last year, and his first project for the streaming giant is one in which he’ll be stepping in front of the camera for, “Black Excellence,” alongside Rashida Jones.
“Inspired by Barris’ irreverent, highly flawed, unbelievably honest approach to parenting, relationships, race, and culture, Black Excellence looks to pull the curtain back and reboot the ‘family sitcom’ in a way we’ve never seen before,” Netflix said in a statement.
