ABC is shuffling a lot in their upcoming TV season.
The biggest news is probably that black-ish starring Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson has set its eighth and final season. Show creator Kenya Barris announced the news on Instagram to let us know that we will be saying goodbye to the critically acclaimed ABC sitcom and the Johnson family soon.
“This show has changed my life in so many ways and I am so proud of the conversations we’ve started along the way. None of this would have been possible without our audience and supporters, who have championed the show every step of the journey; allowing us to change not just the narrative of Black Families, but of Family, Culture, and the World in general,” wrote Barris. “All the while allowing us to talk about things that people were not supposed to talk about period… especially on a network television comedy.”
The black-ish universe will also see the end mixed-ish starring Tika Sumpter and Mark-Paul “I didn’t know he was half-Asian” Gosselaar. The Rainbow-centric spinoff will say good-bye after two seasons.
In addition, ABC axed the 50-cent produced For Life starring Nicholas Pinnock after two seasons. The legal drama is inspired by the life of Isaac Wright Jr. who was wrongfully convicted as drug kingpin but got his conviction overturned while in prison and became a licensed attorney.
The network also canceled American Housewife which featured Ali Wong and, most recently Jake Choi as well as freshman series Rebel and Call Your Mother.
But it wasn’t all cancelation fest at ABC. The network gave series orders to Quinta Brunson’s (A Black Lady Sketch Show) workplace comedy Abbott Elementary which follows a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.
Bruson serves as writer and executive producer. She also stars as Janine Teagues alongsideTyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, Janelle James as Ava Coleman, Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill, Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti and Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard.
They also ordered Maggie which is based on the short film by Tim Curcio, Maggie follows a young woman trying to cope with life as a psychic. The series stars Rebecca Rittenhouse, David Del Rio, Nichole Sakura, Angelique Cabral, Leonardo Nam, Ray Ford, Chloe Bridges, Kerri Kenney and Chris Elliott.
The Black reboot of The Wonder Years featuring Don Cheadle also received an order. The coming of age story is set in the late 1960’s and takes a nostalgic look at a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama through the point-of-view of imaginative 12 year-old Dean (Elisha “EJ” Williams). With the wisdom of his adult years, Dean’s hopeful and humorous recollections show how his family found their “wonder years” in a turbulent time.
Dulé Hill stars as Bill Williams, Saycon Sengbloh as Lillian Williams, Laura Kariuki as Kim Williams, Julian Lerner as Brad Hitman, Amari O’Neil as Cory Long and Milan Ray as Keisa Clemmons. The pilot episode is written by Saladin Patterson and directed by Fred Savage — who also serves as EP. He also starred in the original. It all comes full circle.
Last but not least, ABC ordered Queens, a drama that follows a group of women in their 40s reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had as the Nasty Bitches—their ‘90s group that made them legends in the hip-hop world. Queens stars Eve as Brianna aka Professor Sex, Naturi Naughton as Jill aka Da Thrill, Nadine Velazquez as Valeria aka Butter Pecan, Taylor Selé as Eric Jones, Pepi Sonuga as Lil Muffin and Brandy as Naomi aka Xplicit Lyrics. I am so here for this show.
Over at NBC, the sixth and final season of multicultural, United Colors of Benetton blended family tear-jerking drama This Is Us was absent from their fall schedule because the network will likely air the season uninterrupted in 2022.
NBC is gonna be swimming in lots of Dick for the upcoming season… Dick Wolf, that is. In addition to the network’s triple serving of their Chicago series Wednesday nights, they have a triple serving of Law & Order on Thursdays: the newly-ordered For the Defense as well as the 23rd season SVU and season two of Organized Crime.
There will be no funny on NBC this fall as they are likely saving renewed comedies Kenan, Mr. Mayor and Young Rock for 2022.
However, the the final season of the GLAAD Media Award-winning Brooklyn Nine-Nine is set to debut on NBC in the coveted post-summer Olympics timeslot in August.
Meanwhile at CBS, they have decided to cancel the legal drama All Rise starring Simone Missick as well as the single-camera comedy The Unicorn which stars Omar Benson Miller and Maya Lynne Robinson. However, CBS has decided to renew the divisive United States of Al which revolves around Riley (Parker Young), a Marine combat veteran struggling to readjust to civilian life in Ohio, and Awalmir, or Al (Adhir Kalyan), the interpreter who served with Riley’s unit in Afghanistan who has come to start a new life in America. Based on the logline alone, you can tell why this show has been divisive.
