'Black-ish' Creator Kenya Barris Leaves ABC Studios

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Kenya Barris Makes Early Exit From ABC Studios

Kenya Barris will officially exit ABC Studios.

The award-winning writer/producer secured a multi-year overall deal with the studio, serving as the showrunner for ABC’s hit sitcom Black-ish, along with its Freeform spinoff Grown-ish. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barris’ contract with the studio was set to expired in 2021, but both parties were able to negotiate his early exit, which will officially take place next month.

“I’m very grateful to Patrick Moran and his team at ABC Studios, who have supported me every step of the way as I created the worlds of Black-ish, Grown-ish, and now Besties,” Kenya wrote in a statement. “It has been an incredible ride including a Peabody and Golden Globe win, Emmy nominations, and many other accolades. But most importantly, they’ve allowed me to realize my dream of creating my own shows and I’m so proud of the work we’ve done together […] Leaving is bittersweet, but between my series on the air and projects currently in development, I know I’ll continue to work with ABC Studios for a long time.”

THR reports that despite his exit, Barris will continue to serve as the executive producer for both Black-ish and Grown-ish.

Earlier this year, rumors started circulating that Barris was attempting to get out of his ABC contract in light of a creative disputes regarding an unaired, politically-charged episode of his series.

Though his team hasn’t confirmed the writer/producer’s next move, sources told THR that Barris is looking at a hefty nine-figure overall deal with Netflix–which would follow rght behind both Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy securing bags with the streaming service.

Netflix declined to comment.