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After making its television debut in 2014, the hit ABC series Black-ish is going into its eighth and final season. In light of its last 160 episodes, today the show’s creator Kenya Barris, its cast, and its loyal fans have all been honoring the series as one that authentically highlighted Black experiences and wasn’t afraid to push forward tough conversations.
“To ALL the people in the world I love, honor, respect, and care for,” Barris noted earlier today in his Instagram post which broke the news, “it is both exciting and bittersweet to share that Black-ish has been RENEWED by ABC for it’s EIGHTH… and FINAL SEASON. In this day and age, it is rare to get to decide when your show should come to an end, and we are grateful along with ABC to be able to make this final season exactly what we’d hoped for – and to do it with the entire and AMAZINGLY STELLAR cast coming back to close this chapter out with us the right way!”
“This show has changed my life in so many ways and I am so proud of the conversations we’ve started along the way. None of this would have been possible without our audience and supporters, who have championed the show every step of the journey; allowing us to change not just the narrative of Black families, but of family, the future, and the world in general,” he added, “all the while allowing us to talk about things that people were not supposed to talk about period… especially on a network television comedy.”
With a big thank you to all the people who helped make the show possible over the years — and his family — Barris concluded, “Tears fill my eyes and a smile brightens my face as I say thank you to ALL of my Black-ish family for all you have given of yourselves. ✊🏽👊🏽 #blackish #seasoneight #dreamingawake.”
Over the course of its time on TV, Black-ish centered an affluent upper-middle-class Black family headed by Dre and Bow Johnson. With their five kids and lovable — if not at times overbearing — extended family, viewers watched as the household tackled the issues that confronted them related to race, class, gender, and societal expectations of who they should be. All the while, the characters celebrated and taught viewers about the nuanced, heartwarming, and rich complexities of Black culture and its history. As a comedy, even at times when the show’s characters — who felt so real and relatable to us — were experiencing difficulties, Black-ish encouraged viewers to enjoy the humor in their life’s experiences regardless of the color of their skin.
Tracee Ellis Ross — who played Bow on the show — shared her feelings going into the upcoming final season via Twitter. She wrote, “Hard to imagine that it’s been 7 yrs of @blackishabc & this will be our 8th & final season. The joy & pride in what we made is immeasurable. Thx 4 laughing, crying & growing with the Johnsons! To the #blackish family: my love 4 you runs deep! Stay tuned y’all. It’s gonna be good!“
As the viewers gear up to watch season seven’s finale — it is nice to know that season eight is already secured even though we’ll be saying a “bittersweet” goodbye to the show at its end. Keep in mind, the “-ish” universe has expanded over the years to include Grown-ish, Mixed-ish, and the upcoming series Old-ish — so hopefully we’ll still be seeing a lot of the show’s characters on our TV screens.
How do you feel about Black-ish coming to an end?
