On Wednesday nights, millions tune in to watch the Johnson family on ABC’s “Black-ish”: a comedy series about a husband and father on a mission to provide and maintain a strong sense of cultural identity in his home located in a predominantly white neighborhood. Since 2014, the show has implemented Black history lessons, highlighted important issues and perpetuated positive images of the Black family. Now, it looks like ABC has its sights set on Yara Shahidi, who plays the eldest daughter, Zoey Johnson on the show, to star in a “Black-ish” spin-off.
The new series would follow Zoey’s (Shahidi) day to day life as she begins her collegiate journey. Are you thinking that this could be a modern day version of the hit sitcom “A Different World”? We are too! “A Different World” was a spin-off from the classic sitcom “The Cosby Show”, and went on to brilliantly depict the historically Black college experience, address a wide range of issues that young people still face today, and make a lot of us wish that Hillman College was a real HBCU.
“Black-ish” creator, Kenya Barris and its showrunner, Larry Wilmore have not yet received the green light, but if (when) they do, the pilot episode is set to be introduced on the existing show this spring.