Yara Shahidi-Led “Black-ish” Spinoff Greenlit at Freeform
Zoey Johnson is officially heading to college. “Black-ish” star Yara Shahidi will topline a spinoff of the ABC comedy, Variety reports. The 13-episode first season of “College-ish” will debut on Freeform, ABC’s teen and young adult-skewed sister network, in early 2018.
The new series follows Shahidi’s “Black-ish” character, Zoey, as she leaves home and begins her college education. “College-ish” is “a contemporary take on the current issues facing both students and administrators in the world of higher education,” the source summarizes. “Black-ish’s” Deon Cole will co-star, but the rest of the cast will be composed of new characters and actors.
Starring Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson, and Laurence Fishburne, “Black-ish” centers on the Johnsons, a black family carving out their own identity in a mostly-white, upper-middle class environment. It recently wrapped its third season and will return this fall.
“College-ish” was developed by “Black-ish” creator/showrunner Kenya Barris. He will executive produce the series with Anderson, Fishburne, Helen Sugland, and Brian Dobbins. Barris wrote the back-door pilot with “Nightly Show” host and “Insecure” writer-producer Larry Wilmore. ABC Studios will produce.
“I never thought they’d let me put ‘Black-ish’ on the air, let alone give me a spinoff,” Barris commented. “I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to continue working with Yara and the rest of this talented young cast. To any aspiring writers struggling to make it out there, I highly advise adding an ‘–ish’ to any working title you might have. It seems to be the move.”
In February Shahidi was honored at Essence’s 2017 Black Women in Hollywood Awards alongside Janelle Monaé, Issa Rae, and Aja Naomi King. Her credits include “Scandal,” “The Fosters,” and “Trollhunters.”
