Top Ten Black-ish Episodes

More than just A Cosby Show for the millennial age, Black-ish is not just one of the best comedies on TV today, but one of the greatest black shows ever. It features Anthony Anderson (co-producer of the show) as Andre Johnson, an advertising executive who takes his blackness very seriously. He’s married to Rainbow (played by Tracee Ellis Ross), a surgeon and his college sweetheart. Together they raise their four (five as of Season 4) wildly different kids and try and help them navigate a ‘post-racial’ America where their race is still an important factor. For its ability to make its audience think as much as laugh, it has earned numerous awards and nominations over its five year – and counting – run.

Ten

Purple Rain

Season 5 Episode 4

“Dearly beloved! We’re gathered here today to get through this thing called life…”

What better way to celebrate the hundredth episode of Black-ish than to do a tribute of one of the most iconic black entertainers of all time? In a way it was only right that Black-ish dedicated such a significant episode to the purple one as Anderson and Ross just happened to be co-hosts of the BET Awards in 2016 (held a few weeks after Prince’s untimely passing), an event that celebrated Prince’s 37 year career. This episode saw Jack and Diane learn just how influential Prince had been to 3 different generations of the Johnson family. His music (much like his legacy) will always live on.

Nine The Real World S1 E19

Several episodes in season 1 detailed the backstories of Dre and Bow and how they met and became a couple. In this episode, we get to see a bit more of Bow’s backstory when she decides to hold a dinner party for her college buddies. Only problem is Dre can’t stand Bow’s old friends (possibly because the group includes her lame ex). But Bow insists and Dre goes with it. Unfortunately Dre finds out that not only was his precious Bow dumped (as opposed to doing the dumping), but Bow was actually once engaged to him! Meanwhile, the Johnson kids decide to pass the time documenting all the drama of the night in a style reminiscent of MTV’s The Real World.

Eight Daddy’s Day S2 E4

When Dre finally gets fed up with the disproportionate amount of love showered on Bow by the kids on Mother’s Day (especially compared to the lack of interest on Father’s Day), he manages to convince his colleagues to coin a new holiday called Daddy’s Day. The way he sees it, modern daddies like him deserve more appreciation than the ‘barely there’ fathers that were all too common in his childhood years. But when his zeal comes up against the stone cold apathy of his beloved daughter, Zoey, a Johnson civil war is inevitable.

Seven Lemons S3 E12

Following Trump’s unexpected victory in the 2016 Presidential election, feelings were understandably pretty raw in the Black-ish writers’ room. Feelings ranged from anger to despair, denial to confusion. It was with this weird cocktail of emotion that Kenya Barris, the showrunner, decided to quickly pen this episode that would address the fallout from Trump’s victory. The overall mood is decidedly heavier than you’d normally get in a Black-ish episode but that’s completely understandable. There is an acceptance at the end that although Trump’s victory was not ideal, there was no reason lemonade couldn’t be made out of the lemons.

Six

Crime and Punishment

S1 E5

As modern parents, Dre and Bow try to use more sophisticated methods in raising their children than what they experienced growing up. Which basically means that corporal punishment is a big no-no for the couple. But when Jack starts giving them more trouble than Zoey, Jr. and Diane gave them (even after repeated warnings), they have to face the unthinkable - maybe spanking Jack is the only solution. Dre finds himself wedged in-between a rock and a hard place. Does he listen to Pops and use the rod (metaphorical) on his son or does he stick to his resolve to do things differently from what he experienced?

Five

The Word

S2 E2

It’s so controversial a word that it’s only referred to by its first letter. No, not the f word, the n word. When Jack performs a rap song at his school’s talent show (Kanye West’s “Goldigger”), he performs the uncensored version, “niggas” and all. Unfortunately this means he faces expulsion considering his school’s zero tolerance policy towards hate speech. It’s up to Dre and Bow to help convince the mostly white school board why their nine year old son doesn’t deserve to be treated so harshly. Like the best Black-ish episodes, “The Word” takes an important cultural topic and examines it from all angles, breaking it down from all aspects and doing it with great humor.

Four

Juneteenth

S4 E1

Episodes like these are why Black-ish is one of the most essential comedies on television right now. In its own inimitable way, it dissects some of the most prevalent topics in black America in a way that isn’t condescending to their non-black viewers and does this in most entertaining fashion. In this fourth season premiere, the writers break down one of the most notable days in black American history, the titular Juneteenth. It marks the day slavery was officially abolished in Texas on June 19, 1865. It’s a holiday that most of Dre’s white coworkers know nothing about despite it been a recognized holiday in 42 different states. With a little inspiration from smash musical Hamilton, the Black-ish characters teach us about the origins of this oft-overlooked holiday and in the process deliver one of the greatest episodes in its run.

Three

Hope

S2 E16

In what felt like a particularly bloody year for black males in 2016, Black-ish summed up the pent up anger and frustration that filled black homes with “Hope”. In this bottle episode, we watch the Johnsons transfixed on the news as they await the verdict of a court case of a white police officer killing a black man. Three generations are represented here (with Pops and Ruby present) and while they await the results of the grand jury, they seriously discuss the seemingly rising numbers of police killings. The understandably high tensions threaten to boil over when the officer isn’t convicted. But there is a sweet moment at the end when the adults realize hope is worth holding on to for the kids’ sake.

Two

Advance To Go (Collect $200)

S4 E4

Like most sitcoms, Black-ish has a formula that it relies on for the most part. You get your intimate scenes with just Bow and Dre, you get the office scene with Dre’s crazy coworkers, you get might get a scene at the kids’ school or Bow’s job and then it wraps up with another intimate scene. “Advance to Go” is the rare episode that bucks the trend as Black-ish opts for a bottle episode built around family game night. The game in question is monopoly and there are four teams going at it: Dre and Bow, Ruby and Pops, Junior and his white girlfriend, Megan, and Jack and Diane. The episode is a laugh-a-minute stuff as it examines all the dynamics of typical family hangouts. It’s not often the entire Johnson clan shares the same plot but the rare times it happens like “Hope” or “Advance to Go”, it’s clear to see that this is one of the most talented casts on television.

One

The Johnson Show

S2 E20

I started this out by comparing Black-ish to The Cosby Show and it’s easy to draw comparisons between the two shows. They both centre on successful black families, with happily married and well-to-do parents taking care of their dynamic, talented kids. Both shows spawned successful spin-offs (A Different World and Grown-ish) that focused on college life and both shows are award magnets. However, the major difference between the two shows lie in the way race is dealt with. Where it’s mostly ignored on The Cosby Show, Black-ish deals with it on a regular basis. In this episode, Dre finds out that due to a change in ownership at the agency where he works, his job might be on the line. This not only threatens Dre’s self-image as a man but as a black man. The way he sees it, as a black man he is expected to fail and as such his success (or failure) counts for a lot. Bow also faces a somewhat similar issue as the parent-in-charge of an upcoming school auction. She fears that the other parents think she can’t do it all in terms of balancing her demanding job with this responsibility. As such she forces her kids to help her which leads to disastrously, hilarious results. The episode is quite clearly a homage of sorts to The Cosby Show (hence, the title) but what makes it the quintessential Black-ish episode is how well it balances laughs with pointed social commentary.

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