If you haven’t been watching Black-ish, you should be. Since its controversial episode addressing police brutality aired last month, people have been paying more attention to the show. But it isn’t just the police brutality episode that makes Black-ish a phenomenal show. The sitcom follows the struggles of the Johnsons, a black family living, working and going to school in almost all-white environments as they try to maintain their black identity — hence the title, Black-ish.
Andre (Anthony Anderson) and Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), along with Dre’s parents, Earl (Laurence Fishburne) and Ruby (Jenifer Lewis), are trying to raise four kids: Zoey (Yara Shahidi), Andre Jr. (Marcus Scribner) and twins Diane (Marsai Martin) and Jack (Miles Brown) to be good people. But they also want the kids to remember that they’re black. Together, the family faces various challenges and begins to understand that being black means so many fantastic things – and those things can be different for each of them.
The lessons the Johnson family learns along the way make Black-ish a must-watch show. Here are 17 reasons to watch Black-ish if you aren’t already:
1. The show is honestly hysterical.
From Junior weirdly sharing the shower with Dre to be more environmentally friendly to Dre almost drowning in the neighbor’s pool, laughter is plentiful when it comes to Black-ish.
2. Dre’s attempt to give Junior “the talk” might be the best (and strangest) thing ever.
Dre’s attempt to discuss sex with Junior in just the second episode of the series emphasizes how important it is to honestly and openly talk with your kids about difficult topics, even if you feel uncomfortable.
3. It shows that black people can be nerds, too.
Junior is proudly a nerd, which is great for the blerds out there looking for a black primetime TV character who is relatable.
4. The characters are constantly showing that they’re more complex than you thought.
Zoey, for instance, who’s painted as the superficial popular child, learns everything there is to know about taking care of cars and more. She even learns to speak German at one point!
5. The family rejects traditional gender roles.
Dre and Bow switch responsibilities and Jack and Diane refuse to be forced into doing “boy stuff” and “girl stuff.”
6. Bow is an amazing role model.
She’s smart, grounded, sassy, silly and sexy. As a mom and a surgeon, Bow demonstrates the awesomeness that is motherhood while running after her kids, supporting her husband and openly discussing the sacrifices she must make as a working mom. Talk about #momgoals.
7. Grandparents Pops and Ruby are all about old-school parenting.
And in doing so, they sometimes find that Dre and Bow’s ‘hippie’ parenting style works better.
8. But sometimes old-school, tough parenting is the way to go.
And Black-ish does a great job of showing the times when Dre and Bow’s parenting approach doesn’t work, like when they consider giving Jack an old-school spanking.
9. The parents check their kids when they need it.
Bow gives her kids a serious reality check when an old artist friend of Dre’s comes to visit and the kids decide they want to be artists.
10. Charlie.
In a recurring role, Charlie (Deon Cole) provides some of the show’s funniest moments. My personal favorite is his D’Angelo moment. If you watch nothing else, you have to see Charlie do D’Angelo.
11. Wanda Sykes’ recurring role is a reason to watch all on its own.
You knew Charlie had to leave sometime (excuse me for a moment while I stifle the tears) and you wondered how the show could possibly go on without him – then Daphne (Wanda Sykes) shows up, and the show just gets funnier.
12. Stellar guest stars make the show even more fun.
Michael Strahan’s character wrestles with Dre, Tyra Banks plays Dre’s BFF, Amber Rose shows up as Charlie’s ex-lover, Zendaya plays Zoey’s friend Rasheeda…the list goes on.
13. It comments on the differences between white churches and black churches in a very humorous way.
When Dre and Bow decide to say ‘yes’ more, they start visiting different churches. But they can’t decide which they hate more: The neighbors’ (white) church or Ruby’s (black) church.
14. Dre and Bow’s Valentine’s Day blow-up highlights that couples fight – and that’s okay.
In fact, it’s downright healthy for couples to fight sometimes. Dre and Bow remind us that having a fight every now and then is a good thing.
15. Fighting isn’t just important for the parents…
After growing tired of being bullied by their cousins every Halloween, the Johnson kids begin to understand that there can be value in fighting and learning to defend themselves.
16. Speaking of Halloween, their family costumes put all other group costumes to shame.
First they were the Jackson 5, then the Obamas. It’s safe to say the Johnsons are killing the costume game so far.
17. No topic is off-limits.
Black-ish already isn’t shy about tackling topics such as guns, the n-word, fear of doctors and the sex talk, but after its iconic episode discussing police brutality, we know we can count on this show to address tough, complex topics in a meaningful way.
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