What Is black-ish + Interviews with Cast

*I was provided with this opportunity on behalf of Disney/ABC/Marvel. Any opinions are 100% my own.

If “The Nod” means nothing to you, and you haven’t talked about spanking in the last month, chances are you haven’t been watching black-ish on ABC. If you haven’t been watching black-ish, you have been missing out on some of the funniest television right now. Not only is it hilarious, but it’s relevant and relateable. But, what is black-ish?

“The world is a lot more homogenized than it appears.”  – Kenya Barris (creator/executive producer of “black-ish”)

(KENYA BARRIS, creator/executive producer of “black-ish” (ABC/Bob D’Amico)

We live in a world with a vast amount of cultures blending together. black-ish isn’t about being black, or not being black, or being white, or not being white, black-ish is about establishing a cultural identity for yourself and your family. Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, and Tracee Ellis Ross star in black-ish, a family comedy that airs on ABC on Wednesday nights at 9:30 PM ET. While in LA recently, we got the chance to sit down with the other stars of the show, the kids from black-ish, as well as the shows creator/executive producer, Kenya Barris.

It was great chatting with Kenya about creating the show. He did take away from his life (his wife’s real name is Rainbow), and the lives of the writers to bring us all these relateable episodes. The writers all get together and chat about life and some of it ends up on TV. Good to know aren’t the only ones that have these moments in our families. 😉

I’ve watched all but one episode of black-ish and the kids crack me up every time! They mesh so well on screen that you almost forget they aren’t really family, and the sass……if you’ve watched,  you know what I’m talking about! 😀

“Being on black-ish doesn’t even feel like work. It’s been such an enjoyable experience.” -Yara Shahidi

“It’s so awesome to come to work each day and learn from Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Kenya Barris, and the rest of the cast.” – Miles Brown

“Everyone is like our mentors. We are like a real family.” – Marcus Scribner

“Together, we are unstoppable.” – Marsai Martin

Watching the kids of black-ish while we chatted, you could see in real life, what is seen on screen. They knew what each other was thinking, finished sentence, and at one point, the on-screen twins, played by  Marcus Scribner and Marsai Martin, were sitting together in once chair. There were plenty of chairs to go around, but it just went to show how close these kids have become. We learned that Marcus and Marsai auditioned together, just by fluke that they were there at the same time. The parents took a pic of them together, not really thinking they would both be cast, and low and behold….after they auditioned, everyone else was dismissed for the day. 🙂

We also got the chance to chat with the parents of the kids of black-ish. Hearing from parents of child stars was really interesting. They all give up their time to play a prominent role in their child’s work. They are there on set during shooting, keep life normal at home, and support as well as lend a shoulder to cry on when needed. They were all so grounded and level-headed, heck their kids behave better than mine and we aren’t dealing with Hollywood in our lives!

Tonight’s black-ish Episode, “The Gift of Hunger” is a GOOD one! We screened it while in LA and I will be watching it again tonight. With my kids. It has a great message and will make you rethink how you are raising your children. There are lots of laughs too, as usual, and make sure to keep your eye our for the scenes with Tracee Ellis Ross and Nicole Sullivan. 😀

 “The Gift of Hunger”– After the kids turn their collective noses up at Dre’s favorite cheap restaurant in his old ‘hood, he decides it’s time to give them a reality check. He insists all of them get jobs. But when Andre Jr. and Zoey start working at his office, he can’t help but interfere, and Jack and Diane’s efforts to make some spare cash leave the neighbors thinking the family has fallen on hard times, much to Bow’s embarrassment.

If you haven’t checked out black-ish on ABC, tonight is a great time to do it. Tune in at 9:30 PM ET for sneeze-guards….

….a dad with a plan….

….and kids that get their first jobs. Like I said, it’s a good one!

Stay up to date on everything black-ish by liking the black-ish Facebook Page and following @black_ishABC on Twitter

ABC’s “black-ish” stars Anthony Anderson as Andre “Dre” Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, special guest star, Laurence Fishburne as Pops Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr., and Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson. (ABC/Bob D’Amico)