[VIDEO] New ABC Show black-ish: Don’t Compare it to The Cosby Show! #blackishABC

Check out my YouTube video showcasing why I hope people won’t compare the new ABC Show black-ish to The Cosby Show and keep reading for more details on the show including its controversial name.

New ABC Show black-ish


Video recap:

“I feel like I’m especially qualified to tell you to make this distinction as a child who was raised in the 80’s, grew up in NY and actually saw a live taping of The Cosby Show – the one where Lena Horne appeared and sang a melancholy song for Denise who was turning 16….plus I’m Black and in some ways Blackish…

So what makes blackish different from The Cosby’s – a lot – although their similarities are more apparent.

Both are affluent black families – where one parent is a doctor – in this case it’s Tracee Ellis Ross’ character – Rainbow – who plays the mom.

There are several cute kids. They live in a beautiful home. But that’s where it stops.

Cliff Huxtable – didn’t talk about any racial issues he had on the job.

Andre Johnson – talks about it A LOT.

Denise, Theo, Vanessa, Rudy and Sondra – didn’t try to be anything other than what they are.

Andre Jr. – wants to have a Bar Mitzvah

All the Huxtable grandparents – popped in for visits. Dropped their nuggets of wisdom during parties and anniversaries.

Laurence Fishburne’s character – Pops – is there 24/7  – living with the family and showing his approval or disapproval of his son’s parenting skills.

Essentially – The Cosby Show was about a family who happened to be Black. Black-ish – is about a Black family trying to figure out what that means in 2014. It’s an in your face, funny and necessary sitcom for

But one way I do hope you compare blackish to The Cosby show  – is in the “historicness” of a Black family sitcom on a major network – which has been lacking for years.”

[VIDEO] New ABC Show Black-ish: Don’t Compare it to The Cosby Show! #blackishABC ~ MommyTalkShow.com

black-ish Creator

Kenya Barris has something in common with comedy legend Bill Cosby. Barris created the Johnson family based on his own: a wife who’s bi-racial, they have five kids and live an upper class life. Read his interview with the Huffington Post on the title and pitching the show to major networks. Barris said, “We wanted to make this show the same way for me, growing up, “The Cosby Show” was like, “Oh my God! I want that to be my family.” We wanted to make this show aspirational and we wanted to build off of what Dr. Cosby did in a really positive way.”

Anthony Anderson and Laurence Fishburne are the show’s Executive Producers. It’s clear from the premiere episode –  is a well-produced, professional and high quality show.

New ABC Show Black-ish

black-ish Controversy

There’s already plenty of controversy about the title: black-ish.

People are put off by the title because they’re concerned about what the word means,

Watch Black-Ish first, before you make up your mind. The show is NOT just for Black viewers. It’s a family sitcom anyone can learn from.

Granted, there is no show called “White-ish” because there’s no need for it. White characters and themes are throughout network television. This will be the first Black family sitcom  a major network that I can recall since My Wife and Kids.

My question for ABC: Are you trying to attract Black viewers or a cross-section of viewers? The screening I attended in Atlanta only had Black viewers in attendance. Others may have been invited, but I didn’t see any diversity.

black-ish Premiere

The ABC Show black-ish premieres Wednesday, September 24th at 8:30 p.m. CST/9:30 p.m. EST right after Modern Family.

Follow blackishABC on Facebook and tweet @black_ishABC. I’ll be tweeting every Wednesday because I like the premise of the show and not for a paid campaign.

[VIDEO] New ABC Show black-ish: Don’t Compare it to The Cosby Show! #blackishABC ~ MommyTalkShow.com

About Joyce Brewer

Creator & Host of Mommy Talk Show. Emmy award-winning TV journalist.Wife & Mommy; Mom Blogger; Social Media Coach; Long Island, New York transplant living in Atlanta, GA. Follow Joyce on Twitter @MommyTalkShow Author of Use What You Know: A Business Idea Guide for Moms featuring interviews with mompreneurs who created businesses using their skills & backgrounds.

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13 comments

  1. I’m not convinced yet. Only time will tell. I guess I’m offended at the ish part as well. Why can’t the show be called something else? Why do we have to be sort of Black? Everyone hates Chris was a black family that had little to do with race.

    I hope it does well despite my thoughts. People need something to distract them after a long day at work.

  2. I’ve seen the trailers for the show and I must admit I was a bit skeptical with the show title and all but I love the actors involved. I’ll definitely watch the show and see what its all about.

  3. Sounds like an interesting show. My daughter’s good friend is have her Bat Mitzvah…I’m sure my daughter would love to have one too but, being non Jewish that option isn’t on the table!

  4. I already have the show on reminder on. I want to reserve judgement of the show until after I’ve watched it. It looks like it has some sense about it, and not a ‘sitcom’ in the traditional sense (laugh tracks, et al.)

  5. Sounds interesting, and worth a chance to watch. But, yeah, imagine if there was a white-ish show? I think it’s a terrible name personally.

  6. Sounds interesting. I just might watch it now.

  7. It sounds like it might be a good show. I haven’t seen the preview on of it before.

  8. The show looks funny, but I hope it has some “meat” to it and deals with real life issues. I loved the Cosby Show, but everything was super happy and did not dive into too many issues. Interesting that the screening only had black attendees—I would have loved to have gone to the screening (if I lived in Atlanta)!

  9. I’ll be watching for sure. A sitcom based on a black family is long overdue. I’m not offended by the name. It works. Kudos to ABC and grat review Joyce.

  10. I didn’t get a chance to watch the show last night but I’ve read mixed reviews of it. I like to form my own opinion about it so I’m going to watch it.

  11. We shall see on this one. I love Tracee Ellis Ross… I love seeing her on network television again too!

  12. I’ll have to check it out. Are white girls allowed to watch? (Kidding, of course) 🙂

  13. I’ve only watched one show so far, but I liked it a lot. I was a little afraid I wouldn’t like it because of the title and the preview, but I liked it. I’ll try to catch the rest of the of the episodes. I hope it gets renewed for next season, it’s nice seeing a black family on prime time television.