Tracee Ellis Ross and her new personal Young Sheldon, actress Arica Himmel Photo: Gregg DeGuire
Continuing and expanding its successful line of ish-branded sitcoms, ABC announced tonight that it’s giving a series order to Mixed-ish, a prequel series to Kenya Barris’ celebrated Black-ish. The news comes at the same time that Variety reports that the show’s parent series is also getting a sixth-season renewal, despite the fact that Barris left it as a showrunner last year, having been scooped up in one of Netflix’s infamous nine-figure development deals. Ish.
Mixed-ish has been in development since back in February, and centers on Tracee Ellis Ross’ character, Bow, as she grows up in a mixed race family in the 1980s. Arica Himmel (God Friended Me) has been cast as the young Rainbow, while Tika Sumpter—who played the future Michelle Obama in 2016's Southside With You—will play her mom, Alicia. (Anna Deavere Smith plays her in Black-ish.)
Mixed-ish will be the third series to operate in what we’re now legally obligated to call the Black-ish Extended Universe; in addition to the original show, it’s also joined by Grown-ish on Freeform, which recently wrapped up its second year on the air.
