ABC Has Indefinitely Postponed A Political 'Black-ish' Episode

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ABC Pulled A Black-ish Episode 5 Days Before Air

ABC’s series Black-ish is known for never backing down from controversial social and political issues, but that wasn’t the case when it came to airing a recent episode.

The network has indefinitely postponed what seems to be a pretty sensitive episode over certain “creative differences” with the showrunner Kenya Barris, according to Variety. At the moment, ABC doesn’t have any plans to air the episode or make it available at all.

The episode is titled “Please, Baby, Please” and was initially scheduled to air on February 27. But five days before the airdate, it was announced that the episode wouldn’t air and would instead be replaced with a rerun. ABC didn’t reveal why the adjustment had been made or when the shelved episode would actually air.

An ABC spokesperson told Variety, “One of the things that has always made ‘Black-ish’ so special is how it deftly examines delicate social issues in a way that simultaneously entertains and educates. However, on this episode there were creative differences we were unable to resolve.”

The episode titled, “Please, Baby, Please” shows father Dre (played by Anthony Anderson) with his baby boy while a thunderstorm keeps the whole family awake. Dre improvises a bedtime story that eventually reveals his anxieties about some of the issues facing the country. The episode also discusses the rights of football players to kneel during performances of the national anthem.

“Given our creative differences, neither ABC nor I were happy with the direction of the episode and mutually agreed not to air it,” Barris told Variety. “‘Black-ish’ is a show that has spoken to all different types of people and brought them closer as a community and I’m so proud of the series.”