ABC Moves ‘Black-ish’ To Fall, Pushes ‘Call Your Mother’ To Midseason

Black-ish will return to the fall after all after ABC restructured its schedule to add the Kenya Barris-created comedy to its Wednesday night comedy lineup.

This pushes new comedy Call Your Mother to midseason.

Earlier this week, ABC unveiled its fall schedule with a Wednesday night comedy block featuring The Goldbergs, Call Your Mother, The Conners and American Housewife.

However, the network said after speaking to Barris, it decided that it was “important to tell these meaningful stories during this moment in time”.

Black-ish has led the way in terms of telling stories about Black America on broadcast network television with episodes such as Juneteenth, which explains the significance of the proclamation that all slaves in Texas were now free, and Hope, which saw the Johnson family waiting to hear if a grand jury will indict a white police officer accused of killing a black teenager.

Fall 2020 Primetime TV Grid: Pandemic-Proof vs. Pandemic-Contingent Lineups, Kim Cattrall vs. Kim Cattrall, Olivia Benson vs. Meredith Grey

“Black-ish has a long-standing history of shining a light on current events and honoring Black voices through the lens of the Johnson family,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “After speaking with Kenya and our creative partners, we decided it was important to tell these meaningful stories during this moment in time, so we are adjusting our premiere schedule and are committed to doing whatever it takes to bring this series back as soon as we possibly can. Following recent monumental events, it’s imperative that the dialogue continues and empowers viewers to raise their voices, and there is no other show that does that like Black-ish.”

“We are incredibly grateful to Karey, Dana and Peter for recognizing the importance of Black-ish in this moment and applaud them for making the necessary shifts to bring the show back as soon as possible,” added Kenya Barris. “While the last few months have felt overwhelming at times, they have also underscored just how important it is that Black voices are not only heard but empowered and amplified as well; and our entire Black-ish team is humbled to be a small part of telling our stories and are excited to get back to these conversations.”