While ABC’s Black-ish is known for addressing contentious social and political issues, the network has indefinitely postponed what seems to be a particularly sensitive episode over “creative differences” with showrunner Kenya Barris, according to Variety. ABC doesn’t currently have any plans to air the episode or make it available at all.
The episode is titled “Please, Baby, Please” and was initially slated to air on Feb. 27. However, five days prior, it was announced that the episode wouldn’t air and would be replaced with a rerun. The network didn’t reveal why the adjustment had been made or when the shelved episode would run.
“One of the things that has always made ‘Black-ish’ so special is how it deftly examines delicate social issues in a way that simultaneously entertains and educates,” an ABC spokesperson told Variety. “However, on this episode there were creative differences we were unable to resolve.”
Directed by Barris, “Please, Baby, Please” shows father Dre (Anthony Anderson) with his baby boy while a thunderstorm keeps the whole family awake. Dre reads the baby a bedtime story, but when the baby begins to cry, Dre improvises a story that eventually reveals his anxieties about some of the issues facing the country. The episode also discusses the rights of football players to kneel during performances of the national anthem.
“Given our creative differences, neither ABC nor I were happy with the direction of the episode and mutually agreed not to air it,” Barris told Variety. “‘Black-ish’ is a show that has spoken to all different types of people and brought them closer as a community and I’m so proud of the series.”
In the past, the show has addressed a handful of delicate topics like Donald Trump’s election and police brutality. The show’s spinoff Grown-ish debuted in January on ABC’s sibling channel Freeform. Barris executive produces both shows.
