Politically-themed Black-ish episode to air on Hulu after two years in limbo

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

ABC's critically acclaimed and popular comedy series, Black-ish, has never been shy about tackling serious subject matter with a bit of a comedic slant. The show has often garnered praise for its honesty during a time when some network television programs might avoid certain issues as to not divide the audience that happens to tune in week after week. There has been one time that ABC decided to not air a politically-charged episode of the show and that was two years ago. Citing "creative differences" at the time of the announcement, news of the episode being pulled made some headlines, and now fans of the show will get to see exactly what the episode was all about because it will air for the first time via the show's streaming home, Hulu.

The episode, which was originally intended to air on February 22, 2018, featured Dre (Anthony Anderson), the Johnson family patriarch, telling his infant son, Devante, a bedtime story that reflected on the events of his first year on earth. The episode offered a mix of political allegory (an animated fairy tale about a character named The Shady King) and actuality (news footage of Donald Trump, the Charlottesville attacks, and the NFL kneeling protests). When ABC pulled the episode, meant to air during the show's fourth season, Black-ish creator Kenya Barris was not happy with the decision and it ultimately led to Barris departing ABC for a deal with Netflix. Barris had this to say about the episode finally being aired on Hulu:

“In November 2017, we made an episode of black-ish entitled ‘Please, Baby, Please.' We were one-year post-election and coming to the end of a year that left us, like many Americans, grappling with the state of our country and anxious about its future. Those feelings poured onto the page, becoming 22 minutes of television that I was, and still am, incredibly proud of. ‘Please, Baby, Please’ didn’t make it to air that season and, while much has been speculated about its contents, the episode has never been seen publicly… until now.  I’m excited to share that “Please, Baby, Please” is now available on Hulu. Following the re-airing of “Juneteenth” and “Hope,” I asked Walt Disney Television to revisit making the episode available. Recognizing the importance of this moment, they listened and agreed. I cannot wait for everyone to finally see the episode for themselves and, as was the case nearly three years ago, we hope it inspires some much-needed conversation — not only about what we were grappling with then or how it led to where we are now, but conversations about where we want our country to go moving forward and, most importantly, how we get there together."

ABC's decision to make the episode available now comes as the world is going through a bit of a cultural examination following the death of George Floyd in police custody. That incident made media outlets, studios, and networks to take notice that things can not move along as they once did in terms of addressing these divisive issues head-on. in the days and weeks immediately following Floyd's death, ABC re-aired two powerful episodes of the series that touched on themes including police brutality. The fact that the episode will now see the light of day is a positive sign that shows even though certain subject matter may make viewers uncomfortable, it's necessary to present them so that the viewers can judge the outcome on their own.

Do YOU think it was finally time to make this episode of Black-ish readily available?