It’s been a great run, but fans will have to bid farewell to the Johnson family after the eighth season of “Black-ish,” which show creator Kenya Barris confirmed will be its last.
Barris made the “exciting and bittersweet” announcement on Friday, May 14, in a lengthy Instagram statement. The accompanying network video he shared featured the cast, including Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Laurence Fishburne, reminiscing on the show’s journey so far.
In his post, Barris expresses his gratefulness for being able to end the series on his terms. “#BLACKISH ANNOUNCEMENT!!! -To ALL the people in the world I love, honor, respect, and care for it is both exciting and bittersweet to share that black-ish has been RENEWED by ABC for it’s EIGHTH… and FINAL SEASON,” reads the statement.
“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!” he continued.
Currently in its seventh season, “Black-ish” gained popularity because of its combination of comedy and social timeliness of addressing a variety of issues facing the Black community through the lens of the successful and (mostly) functional Johnson family and Barris is “so proud of the conversations we’ve started along the way.”
He wrote, “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, Culture, and the World in general. All the while allowing us to talk about things that people were not supposed to talk about period… especially on a network television comedy.”
In another hit for fans of Barris’ “‘-ish” universe, ABC announced that “Mixed-ish,” the spin-off centered around “Black-ish” mom Rainbow Johnson’s childhood life, has been canceled after only two seasons, making it the shortest-lived show out of the trio.
On the bright side, “Grown-ish” appears to be going strong, with its fourth season set for a July 8 premiere on Freeform.
