‘Black-ish’ to air its first-ever animated episode

By Biba Adams

·September 17, 2020

The Johnsons and "Black-ish" return to ABC with a two back-to-back special election episodes on Oct. 4, the second of which will be animated. (ABC/Smiley Guy Studios) BLACK-IS

The exciting first-ever animated episode of the award-winning ABC series Black-ish is set to debut less than 30 days before America’s 2020 presidential election.

It is the second of two back-to-back special episodes airing on Sunday, Oct. 4, starting at 10 p.m., although its scheduling is subject to change due to the NBA Finals.

In “Election Special Pt. 1,” Junior (Marcus Scribner) expresses excitement about his first time voting but discovers he has been purged from the voter polls, so he does a deep dive into why, trying to understand the systems in place for voter registration.

The Johnsons and “Black-ish” return to ABC with two back-to-back special election episodes on Oct. 4, the second of which will be animated.
(ABC/Smiley Guy Studios)

Then, in a special animated episode, “Election Special Pt. 2,” Dre’s (Anthony Anderson) colleague Stevens (Peter Mackenzie) makes an ill-advised decision to run for Congress, so Dre enlists his family’s help, but gets caught up with fundraising and private interest groups.

“Election Special Pt. 2” is directed by Academy Award-winning Hair Love director Matthew A. Cherry.

The official Season Seven premiere of Black-ish will air on Wednesday, Oct. 21st, at 9:30 p.m. The Kenya Barris-created sitcom will continue to explore current events under the gaze of the Johnson family and will address the global pandemic, systemic racism and the social justice and equality movement.

In 2018, an ABC spokesperson told Variety “One of the things that have always made ‘Black-ish’ so special is how it deftly examines delicate social issues in a way that simultaneously entertains and educates.”

Black-ish is nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards this year, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series respectively for Anderson and his co-star, Tracee Ellis Ross.

The show has won Golden Globe Awards, NAACP Image Awards and Peabody Awards for its African American-focused content.

Like most other fall shows in production, Black-ish officials are working to figure out how to safely film amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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