History Series / BlackIsh

''[[AllLowercaseLetters black•ish]]'' is an American {{dom com}} created by Creator/KenyaBarris which premiered on Creator/{{ABC}} in 2014.

-->'''Dre:''' It is happening. Film/{{Contagion|2011}} is here and it is gonna get me and gonna get us!
** Junior complains about being told he looks like "Raven-Symoné with a fade"; Raven-Symoné plays Dre's sister Rhonda.
* Dre complaints about Bow not taking his last name, citing if Amber Rose did, Bow could, too. Amber Rose was playing Charlies loveinterest Dominique in the second season.

* CoolLoser: This is PlayedWith in regards to Junior: He's awkward and nerdy, but later on it turns out that he just never fit in with his mostly white private school due to not fitting the usual black stereotypes (he later transfers to a public school, where he fits in with a few black nerds). He's also played by Marcus Scribner, who by all accounts is an attractive guy, so despite his awkwardness ([[NerdsAreSexy in some cases]] ''[[NerdsAreSexy because]]'' [[NerdsAreSexy of it]]), he's able to get a couple of girlfriends as well as more than a few female admirers. One of which was Sky from sister show ''Grown-ish'', leaving Zoey and Jazz completely baffled.

''[[AllLowercaseLetters black•ish]]'' is an American {{dom com}} created by Creator/KenyaBarris, which premiered on Creator/{{ABC}} in 2014.

''black•ish'' was one of very few [[MinorityShowGhetto minority-led sitcoms]] to air on a major network when it premiered, and has since been regarded as having helped led a new wave of diversity in American television during UsefulNotes/TheNewTens. Because of its subject matter, it's also considered something of a 2010s update of ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', which discussed similar themes.

Due to its success, ''black•ish'' has also spawned a franchise of spinoffs. The first spinoff, ''Series/GrownIsh'', which follows eldest daughter Zoey (Creator/YaraShahidi) as she begins her college studies, premiered on Creator/{{Freeform}} in 2018. The second spinoff, ''Series/MixedIsh'', a Bow-centric {{prequel}} that follows her upbringing as a mixed-race child in UsefulNotes/TheEighties, premiered on ABC in 2019 and ran for two seasons. There are a few spin-offs in development/development hell; ''old-ish'' (which ended up not getting picked up), that centered on Dre's parents Pops (Creator/LaurenceFishburne) and Ruby (Creator/JeniferLewis) and ''brown-ish'', will follow a Latino family with Creator/EvaLongoria serving as a producer.

The show ran for 8 seasons, with a series finale that aired on April 19, 2022.

* ButNotTooBlack:
** As the name implies, a running theme of the show revolves around the family (particularly Dre) trying not to seem like they're selling out or "acting white" now that they have achieved financial success. Bow receives the brunt of it thanks to being half-white. [[LampshadeHanging "If I'm not black, could someone tell my hair and my ass?"]] Ironically, when we meet her mother, she's more "white" looking than Bow.
** "Black Like Us" discusses colorism specifically, dealing with Diane being the darkest-skinned one in the family.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: "The Talk" is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, centering around Dre having to have [[TheTalk this conversation]] with Junior after he accidentally [[CaughtWithYourPantsDown catches him in the act]].

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Bow's college friends in "Femenisn't" are played by Tracy Ellis-Ross' co-stars from ''Series/{{Girlfriends}}''.

* OverprotectiveDad: Dre automatically dislikes Zoey's boyfriends.

* InMemoriam: One episode had one to Producer Gail Lerner's children Lily and Hart Campell, who died in a car crash. The tribute scene showed Jack and Diane bonding with each other after the latter has a nightmare about slipping away from each other.

-->'''Dre:''' It is happening. Film/{{Contagion}} is here and it is gonna get me and gonna get us!

* TheWhitestBlackGuy: Andre was raised in an impoverished urban family while his kids live an upper-middle class suburban one. He's concerned with things like his oldest son having no black friends or trying out for field hockey (a sport that is typically only played by girls in US schools) but they took it UpToEleven.

* NiceHat: Pops' signature hats.

* SequelHook: The finale ends with a small Spanish family moving into the Johnsons' old home, with the couple being greeted by [[BookEnds Janine]] and her misplaced attempts to bond with them by giving them a Dorito "taco salad". Time will tell if this is the setup for ''brownish''.

* GrandFinale: The series finale sees the Johnsons moving out of their the home for eight seasons to an affluent black neighborhood and Andre leaving Stevens & Lido, marking the CharacterDevelopment that they are no longer wanting to deal with racist microaggressions and are now secure enough to seek out closer relationships with the black community. They hold a homegoing/funeral for their old house and memories and from there, the entire cast and crew joins them outside in celebration.

* MoneyDumb: In one episode, Bow admits she let's Dre take control of the family's finances, as she finds it confusing and intimidating. It turns out, Dre is just as confused by finances as she is. The episode ends with Dre and Bow agreeing to work together to help understand the family's finances.

* SequelHook: The finale ends with a small Spanish family moving into the Johnson's old home, with the couple being greeted by [[BookEnds ]] and her misplaced attempts to bond with them by giving them a Dorito "taco salad".

** After episodes of Ruby being an over-critical but funny Mother in Law to Bow, things come to a head when she disrespects Bow's wishes to feed D'evante with breast milk rather than formula and (a post-partum depressed) Bow tells her that she is tired of taking her disrespect and tells her to get out of her house, with Dre backing Bow up.

** After years of dealing with the InnocentlyInsensitive behaviors of Janine and the rest of the neighbors, [[spoiler:Dre and his family end the show by finally getting fed up and moving away to an all-black neighborhood, where they won't be on their guard all the time.]]

* AdultFear: "God" features a truly chilling scene where Bow has a sonogram, and the doctor just can't seem to find the baby's heartbeat.
** "Hero Pizza" has Bow freaking out [[spoiler:when she learns that Junior lied to her about Olivia coming over to the house in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.]]
** "Age Against the Machine" has Bow again freaking out over Junior being at a protest that turned violent.

* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: "Liberal Arts" is a barely veiled trial-run for the potential Zoey college spinoff series. Complete with her own funny sidekick and romantic interest.