Just days after it was announced that Kenya Barris‘ award-winning sitcom “Black-ish” was renewed for its eighth and last season, reports now indicate the writer is in talks to create another series under the “ish” umbrella. However, the possibility of a new show appears to have fans saying enough is enough-ish.
On Tuesday, May 18, Deadline reported that Barris has been tossing around the idea of another “Black-ish” spinoff. The Emmy-nominated series, starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, gave way to Freeform’s “Grown-ish,” starring actress Yara Shahidi who portrays Zoe on the flagship show, and “Mixed-ish,” which has been canceled after only two seasons.
Now it appears that Barris and actress Eva Longoria are looking to do “Brown-ish,” which would focus on a modern-day Latinx family. In a statement to the media outlet, ABC president Craig Erwich expressed that “‘Brown-ish’ is still a concept that is in development. We haven’t rolled out the firm plans around that yet.” He added, “When we talk about the world of ‘Black-ish,‘ there are so many different iterations that we are open to; it’s really up to Kenya who is the master and the captain of the franchise.”
Early development stage or not, critics took to their respective social media pages, where they voiced their concerns over the potential installment. While few were open to the idea, many expressed a substantial lack of interest.
One Twitter user wrote, “Can we Abol-ish Kenya Barris & his entire brand of television? Blackish was cute, then there was mixedish, and now brownish?..”
Another person commented, “Ummmmmm….. calling it brownish would imply that a Latinx family can’t be Black…as an Afro-Latino I have to ask…WHO ASKED FOR THIS!!! Like….”
“We need a show called Stop-ish. Because y’all need to stop this ish. Next ish is going to be Midg-ish about a man who married a midget….,” expressed a third.
A fourth stated, “Imagine the only shows minorities get is ones that highlight their race….. why can’t the show be called shoes because they sale shoes as a family like… I need more creativity. Minorities do more than be minorities they live and breath.”
Elsewhere, others claimed Barris was doing more harm than good with his various shows surrounding race. In the past, the writer has been accused of colorism and underrepresenting dark-skinned people in his cast.
“Latinx is not a race, and posing a Latinx family as “brown” only contributes to “mestizaje” narratives that have systemically erased Indigenous, Black and Asian communities in the region,” a fifth wrote.
Neither Barris nor Longoria have spoken publicly on the new show concept. However, if plans follow through, “Brown-ish” would be the franchise’s fifth iteration, including the three shows previously mentioned and “Old-ish,” which is still in the early stages.
