‘Black-ish’ Episode Pulled Over “Creative Differences”

Sorry, Black-ish fans–there’s one chapter of the Johnson family’s life that you will never get to see. An episode of the family sitcom’s current season has been indefinitely shelved by ABC over creative differences. The network has no plans to make the episode available in any format.

This may come as a surprise, as Black-ish has never shied away from political episodes or ones that tackle current events. Over the course of its run, the show has done episodes on topics ranging from police violence to the presidential election. So what could make ABC and showrunner Kenya Barris reach an impasse?

The episode in question is titled “Please, Baby, Please” and was originally scheduled to air on February 27. ABC announced a few days before the scheduled airing that the episode would instead be replaced with a rerun, and further context was not given at the time. Variety learned that the episode, which was filmed in November and directed by Barris, focused on Dre (Anthony Anderson) as he tried to console his crying infant son during a thunderstorm. Dre’s improvised bedtime story included many of the character’s fears about the current state of America, and touched on many hot-button issues. In one scene, Dre and his oldest son Junior argued over football players kneeling during the national anthem.

Both Barris and a spokesperson for ABC gave statements to Variety about the shelved episode, a development that Barris says was mutual. “Given our creative differences, neither ABC nor I were happy with the direction of the episode and mutually agreed not to air it,” said Barris. “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.”

“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,” an ABC spokesperson told Variety. “However, on this episode there were creative differences we were unable to resolve.”

Where to stream Black-ish