ABC has given acclaimed comedy Black-ish a fifth season renewal, it was confirmed today.
Black-ish has been a critical darling since its first season, with positive buzz generated from its frank discussions of sensitive topics ranging from homophobia to racism, police brutality, and protests. After three seasons following Modern Family, the series, which has earned significant award attention for leads Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, was shifted to Tuesdays at 9:00, where it’s put up decent numbers while keeping the slot basically even from last season. Black-ish will hope that its impending entry into syndication will further solidify its ratings, though the show’s acclaim and status as the first in-house ABC comedy in several years to enter syndication should keep it safe until it ends on its own terms.
There is a wrinkle there, though, with creator Kenya Barris reportedly looking to exit his deal with ABC. The strife stems from the network pulling a planned episode that focused on recent police brutality protests led by former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Should Barris get his wish and move over to Netflix, it would be interesting to see not only what happens to Black-ish as far a life span or scheduling, but how the show’s creative changes in the face of ABC’s Middle America-oriented rebrand.
The season finale of Black-ish is set to air Tuesday, May 15th at 9:00 on ABC.
