‘Grown-ish’ to End With Season 6 on Freeform

Lesley Goldberg
·3 min read
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Kenya Barris’ –ish universe is coming to a close.

Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish will end with its previously announced sixth season on Freeform. In making the announcement Wednesday, the Disney-owned basic cable network said the final season will be split into two parts, with the first half airing at a date to be determined this summer and the final episodes airing sometime in 2024.

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“We’ve spent nearly a decade telling our stories through the -ish series, and to say it has been an amazing journey would be an understatement,” Barris said in a statement announcing the news. “To be able to watch Yara, Marcus and our entire Grown-ish family grow up in front of (and in many ways alongside) us over these past several years has been both a joy and an honor. From the stories we’ve told to the talent we’ve fostered and, most importantly, the memories made, I could not be more proud of everything we’ve accomplished and the -ish family I’ve been a part of.”

Grown-ish marks the conclusion of the –ish universe that started with Barris’ ABC comedy Black-ish. The Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross series earned multiple Emmy nominations before wrapping its run last year after eight seasons. Flagship star Yara Shahidi was spun off into Grown-ish, which Barris originally developed for ABC but skewed too young for the broadcast network and was ultimately picked up to series at the younger-focused Freeform. Shahidi continues to star in the comedy, which added Black-ish star Marcus Scribner to its regular cast in season five, after the flagship wrapped its run.

Sources say the decision to wrap Grown-ish was a creative one after the show’s storytelling was leaning toward a shorter shelf life. The comedy will also celebrate its landmark 100th episode — a milestone that few shows, especially on Freeform, reach in the Peak TV landscape — in its final season.

The conclusion of Grown-ish marks the end of the –ish franchise that also included ABC prequel spinoff Mixed-ish (which was canceled after two seasons). ABC in 2020 was also developing another spinoff — Old-ish, starring the flagship’s Laurence Fishburne and Jenifer Lewis — with rumors that the project could be ordered to series at Disney-owned Hulu. While Barris confirmed to THR in April that he, too, was hearing Hulu was considering a greenlight for what would be the fourth show in the franchise, sources say the streamer has no plans to produce Old-ish.

Grown-ish is produced by ABC Signature. Barris exec produces alongside showrunner Craig Doyle, Shahidi, Anderson, Fishburne, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins and Michael Petok.

With the conclusion of Grown-ish, Freeform’s scripted roster now consists of The Fosters spinoff Good Trouble, Cruel Summer, Single Drunk Female, While You Were Breeding and The Watchful Eye.

Freeform, as part of Disney’s latest reorganization under Dana Walden, recently tapped former head of originals Simran Sethi — who currently serves as ABC’s exec vp scripted programming — to oversee the cable network. Former Freeform president Tara Duncan, who was recruited in mid-2020 to replace Tom Ascheim, will now focus exclusively on Disney’s Onyx Collective.

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