UrbanBridgez.com was in attendance at the private screening of the new ABC sitcom “black-ish” recently. Continue reading to find out why this new show is “must see TV” and definitely worthy of watching live or setting your DVR for.
“black-ish” is a new ABC sitcom featuring our favorite girlfriend Tracee Ellis Ross who plays Rainbow, Anthony Anderson who plays Dr. Johnson and Laurence Fishburne who plays Dr. Johnson‘s father. Andre ‘Dr’ Johnson (Anthony Anderson) has a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids and a colonial home in the suburbs. But has success brought too much assimilation for this black family? With a little help from his Dad (Laurence Fisburne), Dre sets out to establish a sense of cultural identity for his family that honors their past while embracing the future.
During the private screening, Tracee Ellis Ross explained that she doesn’t want the viewers to get too caught up into the shows title. “The show is simply about a black family that goes through ish” says Tracee. “Of course we poke fun at racial topics but that’s the point of the show simply because it’s a comedy. We are here to make you laugh.” While laughing is an understatement (prepare for your stomach to hurt from non stop laughter), there are also many lessons that are taught throughout the show and its’ definitely a great show for the entire family to sit down and watch.
It’s amazing to see a new black show with black lead characters on network television. What’s even better is to see that the ABC network truly believes in this program from their relentless marketing campaigns and also placing “black-ish” behind It’s lead-show, Modern Family. As long as people tune in and watch, it’s a win-win situation for the entire “black-ish” cast and ABC. They definitely deliver the goods, now it’s time for you to support them.
– JDot. (UrbanBridgez.com)
“black-ish” airs Wednesday, September 24th at 9:30|8:30c.
————
About “black-ish”
ABC’s new family comedy, “black-ish,” takes a fun yet bold look at one man’s determination to establish a sense of cultural identity for his family. The series stars Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross and special guest star Laurence Fishburne.
Like any parents, Andre “Dre” (Anthony Anderson) and Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) Johnson want to give their children the best. But their offspring’s childhood is turning out to be much different than theirs. They now realize at least two things: there is a price to pay for giving their children more than what they ever had, and these loving parents are totally unprepared for the fallout.
Dre considers himself the family patriarch and when he looks at his life – he sees a beautiful wife and four kids living happily in their colonial home in the ‘burbs. But when he looks a little closer — have the trappings of success brought too much assimilation for this black family? The world he sees has a much different lens than the one he would like his family to look through.
He may disagree with some of the liberal viewpoints of his bi-racial wife, Rainbow, an anesthesiologist. But they are in agreement that they want to successfully raise their family in a better situation than what they had. Much to her husband’s wonderment, she believes their children can exist in a colorless society. She takes pride in that her husband will break down barriers by becoming the first black senior VP of his ad firm. She is also looking forward to the salary increase that will follow.
Dre’s father, affectionately referred to as “Pops” (Laurence Fishburne), has an affinity for velour tracksuits and going to the racetrack. He can be quite the curmudgeon and takes every opportunity to offer his opinion on family issues. But when Pops offers his usually curt and spot-on old school wisdom, it is difficult to disagree with him.
Dre’s son Andre Jr. asks to be called “Andy,” and then announces that like his schoolmates, he wants a bar mitzvah for his 13th birthday — and their family isn’t Jewish. When the boy says he wants to play for his school’s field hockey team instead of basketball, Dre has to wonder: would he rather Andre play basketball because it is a black-ish sport? Or could it be Dre wants his namesake to like the sport he prefers?
Zoey, 15, has everything going for her. She’s pretty, popular and super smart. However, she is dripping in privilege and unearned entitlement. Zoey’s idea of success is rooted in material things, rather than hard work. The definition of accomplishment for Zoey? To have 100,000 Instagram followers.
Rounding out the family are six-year-old twins, Diane and Jack. Diane is gifted and talented. She thinks she has all the answers but has yet to develop a filter to put them through. Although she is one minute older than Jack, she likes to think she is smarter than her twin brother by ten thousand minutes. Young Jack is more of the sensitive type and idolizes his dad. He is quick to give his father a compliment, even if it does come out a little awkward.
Dre is sincere about honoring his family’s past, while also embracing its future. As he defines what the American dream means to his family in a multi-cultural world, one idea keeps surfacing. It appears that in this melting pot called America, we are all a little um, black-ish.
“black-ish” stars Anthony Anderson as Andre “Dre” Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr., Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson and special guest star, Laurence Fishburne.
“black-ish” was created by Kenya Barris and is executive-produced by Barris, Larry Wilmore, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland and E. Brian Dobbins. The series is produced by ABC Studios.
