As expected, ABC will indeed be bringing Black-ish back for a sixth season.
The renewal of the network's hit comedy (which has spawned a franchise since its 2014 debut) was announced by Deadline Thursday. The Kenya Barris-created show, starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, is currently wrapping up its fifth season.
Originally, Black-ish was going to air an episode titled "Becoming Bow" on May 7. Centered on Ross' character Dr. Rainbow Johnson, the episode would have served as a "backdoor pilot" for a full-blown spin-off series. Now, that episode will instead be included in the show's season 6 lineup. Additionally, the prequel series—titled mixed-ish—has been given a full season order from the network.
Mixed-ish stars Arica Himmel as a younger version of Rainbow and is set in the 1980s. Its pickup was also expected among industry insiders, with the pilot garnering tons of attention behind the scenes. Christina Anthony, Tika Sumpter, Mykal-Michelle Harris, and Ethan Childress also star.
With the launch of Mixed-ish, there will now be three Black-ish franchise entries on the air. Freeform's grown-ish, starring Yara Shahidi, launched back in 2018 and was recently renewed for a third season. The first two years on the air have resulted in the series bagging multiple NAACP Image Awards and Teen Choice Awards nominations, as well as strong ratings and general critical consensus that it's very good indeed.
