Black-ish season 8

Black-ish
Season 8
Promotional poster
Starring	Anthony Anderson Tracee Ellis Ross Marcus Scribner Miles Brown Marsai Martin Peter Mackenzie Deon Cole Jeff Meacham Katlyn Nichol Jenifer Lewis
No. of episodes	13
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	January 4 (2022-01-04) – April 19, 2022 (2022-04-19)
Season chronology

The eighth and final season of the American sitcom Black-ish premiered on January 4, 2022, on ABC, for the 2021–22 television season and concluded on April 19, 2022.[1]

Black-ish centers around the African-American Johnson family, led by Andre "Dre" Johnson, who struggles with finding his cultural identity while raising his kids in a white neighborhood with his wife, Bow. The series stars Anthony Anderson as Dre, alongside Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Peter Mackenzie, Deon Cole, Jeff Meacham, Katlyn Nichol, and Jenifer Lewis.

Cast and characters

Main Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow "Bow" Johnson Marcus Scribner as Andre ("Junior") Johnson Jr. Miles Brown as Jack Johnson Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson Peter Mackenzie as Leslie Stevens Deon Cole as Charlie Telphy Jeff Meacham as Josh Oppenhol Katlyn Nichol as Olivia Lockhart Jenifer Lewis as Ruby Johnson Recurring cast Laurence Fishburne as Earl "Pops" Johnson Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson Nicole Sullivan as Janine Reid Scott as Griffin

Guest cast Michelle Obama as herself Stephen A. Smith as himself Dwight Howard as himself DeAndre Jordan as himself Magic Johnson as himself Montrezl Harrell as himself Vivica A. Fox as herself Daveed Diggs as Johan Johnson Babyface as himself Anna Deavere Smith as Alicia Johnson Simone Biles as herself

Episodes

See also: List of Black-ish episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
164	1	"That's What Friends Are For"	Jude Weng	Laura Gutin Peterson	January 4, 2022 (2022-01-04)	811	2.75[2]
Michelle Obama meets the Johnsons.
165	2	"The Natural"	Linda Mendoza	Christian Lander	January 11, 2022 (2022-01-11)	805	1.98[3]
Dre wants to make anything in order to be promoted. Meanwhile, Diane gets a new friend.
166	3	"Bow-Mo"	Natalia Anderson	Melanie Boysaw	January 18, 2022 (2022-01-18)	802	2.05[4]
Dre humiliates himself in front of Diane, while calling a radio. Bow finds a cool clique.
167	4	"Hoop Dreams"	Todd Biermann	Lizzie Donaldson	January 25, 2022 (2022-01-25)	809	2.14[5]
Jack's new job quickly gets on his head. Meanwhile, Junior and Olivia help Pops and Ruby whose couple become too routine addicted.
168	5	"Ashy to Classy"	Kevin Bray	Edgar Momplaisir	February 1, 2022 (2022-02-01)	801	1.97[6]
Dre and Bow disagree about educating Devante. Meanwhile, Jr helps Jack with the picture class.
169	6	"Mom Mentor"	Ryan Case	Esa Lewis	February 8, 2022 (2022-02-08)	803	1.84[7]
Bow helps Junior to convince Olivia to go in the same university than him. Jack and Diane are outraged about how Dre inspires from familial stories in order to make his business.
170	7	"Sneakers by the Dozen"	Toby Burge	Isaiah Lester	February 15, 2022 (2022-02-15)	806	1.64[8]
Diane skips school while Dre discovers his colleague has more snickers in his closet.
171	8	"My Work-Friend's Wedding"	Shiri Appleby	Julia Wiener	February 22, 2022 (2022-02-22)	812	2.03[9]
Charlie invites everybody to his wedding, but Diane.
172	9	"And the Winner Is..."	Stacey Muhammad	Graham Towers & Ben Deeb	March 22, 2022 (2022-03-22)	807	1.67[10]
Dre has a hard choice to make. Jr crosses roads with Olivia again.
173	10	"Young, Gifted and Black"	Pete Chatmon	Keisha Ansley	March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)	804	1.82[11]
Dre and Bow discover that Devante could be gifted. Jr is devastated after his break-up.
174	11	"The (Almost) Last Dance"	Rob Sweeney	Story by : Courtney Lilly & Tracee Ellis Ross Teleplay by : Courtney Lilly	April 5, 2022 (2022-04-05)	808	1.88[12]
Pops and Ruby plan to move out. Bow has menopause.
175	12	"If a Black Man Cries in the Woods..."	Iona Morris	Robb Chavis	April 12, 2022 (2022-04-12)	810	2.16[13]
As Dre, Jr and Pops go to hunting trip, old injuries open again. Jack and Diane have to choose university.
176	13	"Homegoing"	Anton L. Cropper	Steve White	April 19, 2022 (2022-04-19)	813	2.52[14]
In the series finale, after eight years of highs and lows, the Johnsons consider making some life changes as well as they move from Sherman Oaks to a big house in Baldwin Hills.

Production

Development

On May 14, 2021, it was announced that ABC had renewed Black-ish for an eighth and final season.[15] Production on the series had concluded by December 2021.[16]

Casting

On October 28, 2021, it was announced that Michelle Obama would guest-star in an episode of the season as herself.[17] Obama's appearance was later revealed to be in the season premiere, "That's What Friends Are For".[18]

Marketing and Release

When ABC announced their fall schedule for 2022, it was revealed that the series would be held for mid-season.[19] On November 1, 2021, it was announced that would premiere on January 4, 2022. The season airs after first seasons of Judge Steve Harvey and Abbott Elementary, and lead into first season of Queens.[20][21] A retro-style promo for the season was aired during the third installment of Live in Front of a Studio Audience, on December 7, 2021.[22] The promotional poster for the season was released in November 2021.[23]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Black-ish season 8

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"That's What Friends Are For"	January 4, 2022	0.5	2.75[2]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	"The Natural"	January 11, 2022	0.4	1.98[3]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	"Bow-Mo"	January 18, 2022	0.4	2.05[4]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
4	"Hoop Dreams"	January 25, 2022	0.4	2.14[5]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
5	"Ashy to Classy"	February 1, 2022	0.4	1.97[6]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
6	"Mom Mentor"	February 8, 2022	0.4	1.84[7]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
7	"Sneakers by the Dozen"	February 15, 2022	0.3	1.64[8]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
8	"My Work-Friend's Wedding"	February 22, 2022	0.4	2.03[9]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
9	"And the Winner Is..."	March 22, 2022	0.3	1.67[10]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
10	"Young, Gifted and Black"	March 29, 2022	0.3	1.82[11]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
11	"The (Almost) Last Dance"	April 5, 2022	0.3	1.88[12]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
12	"If a Black Man Cries in the Woods..."	April 12, 2022	0.4	2.16[13]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
13	"Homegoing"	April 19, 2022	0.4	2.52[14]	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

References

1. Jacobs, Meredith (March 31, 2022). "Spring 2022 TV Schedule: Your Full List of Network Finale Dates". TVInsider.
2. Metcalf, Mitch (January 6, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.4.2022 Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
3. Metcalf, Mitch (January 12, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.11.2022 Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
4. Metcalf, Mitch (January 20, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.18.2022 Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
5. Metcalf, Mitch (January 26, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 1.25.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
6. Metcalf, Mitch (February 2, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Tuesday 2.1.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily.
7. Metcalf, Mitch (February 2, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Tuesday 2.8.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily.
8. Metcalf, Mitch (February 16, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Tuesday 2.15.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily.
9. Metcalf, Mitch (February 24, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 2.22.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
10. Metcalf, Mitch (March 23, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 3.22.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
11. Metcalf, Mitch (March 30, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Tuesday 3.29.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily.
12. Metcalf, Mitch (April 6, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Tuesday 4.5.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
13. Metcalf, Mitch (April 13, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Tuesday 4.12.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
14. Metcalf, Mitch (April 20, 2022). "SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Tuesday 4.19.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
15. Petski, Denise (May 14, 2021). "'Black-ish' Renewed For Eighth & Final Season On ABC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
16. Pierre, Mekishana (December 1, 2021). "'Black-ish' Cast Reflects on Series and Says Goodbye as Production on Final Season Wraps". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
17. Del Rosario, Alexandra (October 28, 2021). "Michelle Obama To Guest Star On Final Season Of 'Black-ish'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
18. Mitovich, Matt Webb (December 14, 2021). "black-ish Photos: Michelle Obama Is the Johnsons' Very Special Dinner Guest in Final Season Premiere". TVLine. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
19. Andreeva, Nellie (May 18, 2021). "ABC 2021-22 Schedule: 'Big Sky' On Thursday & Comedy Block In Fall, 'Black-Ish' Farewell In Midseason". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
20. Pedersen, Erik (November 1, 2021). "ABC Winter Premiere Dates: 'Bachelor', 'Black-ish' Final Season, New Series & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
21. Cordero, Rosy (November 29, 2021). "'Judge Steve Harvey': ABC Sets Series Premiere In New Teaser". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
22. Schneider, Michael (December 7, 2021). "ABC Promos Go 1980s Retro In Honor of 'Live In Front of a Studio Audience' (WATCH)". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
23. ABC (November 22, 2021). "The Johnsons Say Farewell in Vibrant New Season Eight Key Art with a Special Nod to the "black-ish" Beginnings" (Press release). Retrieved January 3, 2022 – via The Futon Critic.