Will Black-ish return for a 5th season on ABC?

ABC’s Black-ish has been on the bubble for renewal all season. With a host of shows being cancelled over the past several days, the verdict was finally handed down for the Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross-led sitcom.

It feels like watching the end of Avengers: Infinity War for TV fans currently. The cancellations have been coming fast and furiously from the broadcast networks to the cable networks. The cancellation of Brooklyn Nine-Nine over at Fox led to strong fan campaigns for the show to be picked up.

Back at ABC cancellations were handed out for Quantico and Designated Survivor. We know Roseanne was renewed, but with ABC already introducing a host of new comedies, Black-ish remained in limbo. Fortunately for fans, the wait has ended as ABC announced that Black-ish will return for a fifth season. The show made the announcement via Twitter with the following tweet:

Finally some good news

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This news could not come at a better time. The show has had a myriad of controversy this season, so many feared the worst. First, they dealt with a story coming out that Tracee Ellis Ross was making less than Anthony Anderson for the show. Then they dealt with controversy over an episode addressing the Colin Kaepernick protests that ABC refused to air. There was also word that the creator of the show, Kenya Barris, was in talks to head to Netflix, following Shonda Rhimes’ path.

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Besides all of the behind the scenes controversy, the show is also in the midst of a risky arc. Though they are a sitcom, the last three episodes have not been full of the humor that fans are used to. Barris felt that the shows he grew up on never prepared him to deal with marital issues and he wanted to make sure that his show did.

With the season finale airing on Tuesday, May 15th, Black-ish will conclude a four-episode arc dedicated to the Johnsons dealing with trouble in their marriage. The reception has been somewhat mixed. Most fans are tuning in hoping that the Johnsons stay together, but some more casual viewers have been complaining. Those fans are saying that this current arc is too dramatic.

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Where do we go from here

With the new season secured the show can get back to making us laugh. While it looks like the Johnsons are headed for divorce, a co-parenting situation can still make for good family comedy. If the Johnsons do stay together, then the arc will have served as a good experiment that allowed Barris to accomplish his goal. Regardless, it’s great to know that this Tuesday won’t be the last time we see the Johnsons.

Catch the season finale of Black-ish season 4 this Tuesday at 9/8 Central as we find out the fate of the Johnson marriage.