Tell-Tale TV Panel: Black-ish Season 3

ABC’s Black-ish continues to be a hit, and with good reason.

See what our panel of writers thought of Black-ish Season 3, and be sure to join the discussion by responding in the comments below!

Our panelists are:

• Jasmine Peterson, staff writer for TV Fanatic
• Milka Väinämö, staff writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Samantha Coley, senior writer for Tell-Tale TV

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the season overall?

Jasmine: I’m going to give it a 7. It was good, and it did a pretty decent job at touching on some dicey topics with their usual aplomb and good humor, but it had a few weak moments too.

Milka: I am going with 8. The season touched a wide array of topics from the presidential election to racial identity in America with humor and sensitivity, and in general I really enjoyed my time with the Johnson family.

Samantha: I’ll go ahead and give it a 10! I enjoyed every episode. I was really pleased to see them going after topics you don’t typically see on sitcoms and they handled them really well.

What was this season’s biggest problem?

Jasmine: They added in new characters and didn’t properly utilize all of their characters. Jack and Diane were sort of neglected most of the season compared to Junior and Zoe.

I was annoyed when Lucy disappeared, then reappeared, then disappeared again. Same with Charlie, who I love. They just struggled trying to balance all of the characters that they already have and make room for new people they threw in, too.

Milka: Like Jasmine said, the characters on the show were definitely treated in a quite unbalanced manner (more of Junior and Zoey, less of Jack and Diane), which kind of makes me worried thinking about the next season and the fact that there is now one more Johnson to cover.

Samantha: I’d agree with Jasmine and Milka, they didn’t need so many new characters, and Jack and Diane could’ve used more stories.

What worked really well this season?

Jasmine: Two things in particular stand out for me. The first, is how well and how often they took on so many social issues.

They covered the election, racial identity, police brutality, the importance of representation, therapy… what used to be a matter of them having two episodes, tops, of thoughtfully taking on a specific issue in a charming way that also educates others, turned into an entire season where they tackled everything under the sun. They managed to do all of this without it being too preachy, which I absolutely love.

I also LOVED the addition of Johan. I am one of the few people out there who hasn’t had the pleasure of experiencing Hamilton, but I loved the addition of Daveed Diggs and that extra generational layer he added being an older, bordering on satirical Millennial. Usually Millennial digs make me roll my eyes, but I found him enjoyable.

Milka: I really liked how Bow’s pregnancy was portrayed as an actual story arc, as we got to see her adjusting to the fact that she will be a mother of a newborn again. Like Jasmine, I also think the use of current social and political issues worked really well (as it did on the previous two seasons of the show) — while the episodes definitely made me laugh, they also made me think and reflect on things, which, in my opinion, is always a good thing.

Samantha: The best thing about this season is easily how well they handled social issues. They tackled issues like Jasmine listed, with grace and humor and did it in a way that I feel really appealed to everyone. Like Milka and Jasmine, I also really enjoyed Bow’s pregnancy and the addition of Daveed Diggs! I’m always happy to get more stories about Bow so I was very pleased with the new baby and getting to see more of her family this season.  

What was the biggest surprise of the season?

Jasmine: How much I have enjoyed Bow’s baby arc. I wasn’t a fan when I found out that she was pregnant. I thought it would take away from the show. However, I am pleasantly surprised with how they’ve tackled an “older” woman being pregnant. Most shows don’t even bother to address the realities and issues that women over 30-35 face when they’re pregnant because they’re considered high-risk pregnancies.

Most shows don’t bother to make a woman’s pregnancy an entire character arc, but rather one-off episodes here and there before being shoved into the background. Even when it was subtle, it was something that was consistent the entire season, right up to the emotional, scary, and realistic events in the season finale, leading up to little Davonte’s early birth.

Milka: I agree with everything Jasmine said — Bow’s baby arc was done really well, as a result of which it was a definite positive surprise of the season for me.

Samantha: Jasmine said it perfectly. Bow’s pregnancy isn’t one we’d typically see on television. They played this story with realism, humor, fear, and so much emotion. They definitely had me in tears more than once this season!

What are your hopes for next season?

Jasmine: I’d like to see more Diane and Jack focus, especially now that there is a new baby in the picture. I know Yara Shahidi is supposed to be getting her own spin-off, but I hope that doesn’t mean we won’t see her on the show still.

I would love to see more of Jenifer Lewis and Laurence Fishburne. I can never get enough of either of them, to be honest. I’d also like some more consistency with Dre’s work scenes (and colleagues), and for Junior to continue to develop more so he doesn’t slip into being that one-note character.

Milka: I am curious about Yara Shahidi’s possible spin-off and how that will connect to the storylines of Black-ish. How the new baby will be portrayed is something I am also looking forward to see. Finally, I also wish that the kind of focus the show gave to Bow’s pregnancy turns into focus on her and her attempt to balance her career and her family life.

Samantha: I’m interested in how they’re going to handle Zoe going to college and the addition of the new baby. I’m seconding Milka and hoping we get more of Bow’s daily life now that she’s not pregnant. I’d like to see more of her job and have it treated similarly to Dre’s and not just used as a punchline.

I’d also really like some more LGBT representation as well. This show has already proven it can handle just about any social topic and if I recall correctly, Dre’s sister is married to a woman. I’d just like to see them embrace that a little more!

What did you think of this season of Black-ish? Share your thoughts in a comment below!

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