2018 is three quarters of the way through, and has already gifted pop-culture with a number of movies, tv-shows, and music for fan-obsession. 2018 has given us Travis Scott’s Astroworld, Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, and Childish Gambino’s This is America. Among the projects introduced in 2018 is one of my new favorite TV series on air: Grown-ish.
Grown-ish is creator Kenya Barris’ Freeform spin-off of his groundbreaking ABC sitcom, Black-ish. In its first season, which premiered way back in January of this year, arrived to critic and fan approval. The Gen-Z counterpart to Black-ish featured thirteen 30-minute episodes following protagonist Zoey Johnson’s (played by young trailblazer Yara Shahidi) first semester of college.
Covering topics such as dating in the digital age, substances, sexuality, and political activism, the series grounds itself in the college experience. Maybe it’s because I integrated into this jungle of young-adult anguish and excitement alongside Zoey, but I find the series an accurate and entertaining depiction of young America— which is exactly why I was so glad to hear about its renewal.
Set to premiere in January of 2019, the sophomore installation of Grown-ish has been signed on for a 20-episode season. If you missed out on season one, you can catch up on-demand, with a hulu subscription, or stream on freeform.com. Now in filming, you can keep updated on some behind the scenes antics with the cast by following @grownish on Instagram and Twitter.