# Mixed-ish

Mixed-ish (stylized as mixed·ish) is an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that aired on ABC from September 24, 2019, to May 18, 2021. The series is a prequel to Black-ish, and the second series to be spun off from the parent series after the Freeform series Grown-ish. In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on January 26, 2021. In May 2021, the series was canceled after two seasons.

## Premise

Loosely based on the early life of Dr. Rania Barris (co-creator Kenya Barris' ex-wife), Mixed-ish chronicles Rainbow Johnson's childhood years as she recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the 1980s. The family faces dilemmas over whether to assimilate or stay true to themselves when Rainbow's parents move from a hippie commune to the suburbs in 1985.

## Cast
### Main

* Tika Sumpter as Alicia Johnson, Bow's mother who works hard as a lawyer at her father-in-law's practice and helps Bow embrace her African-American heritage.
* Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Paul Johnson, Bow's father. Paul is a stay-at-home white dad and is always there for the family. In season 2 he starts working as a teacher.
* Christina Anthony as Denise, Bow's maternal aunt; Alicia's sister. A very-loving woman from Tennessee who is not afraid to express her African-American heritage (since her idea of culture is "influenced" by 227 and Eddie Murphy), even though she tends to be stereotypical towards the family's biracial culture.
* Arica Himmel as Rainbow Sojourner "Bow" Johnson, a 12-year-old preteen who is coming into her own while embracing her biracial heritage.
** Tracee Ellis Ross as adult Rainbow Johnson (narration), who details her background and actual real-life events in each episode.
* Ethan William Childress as Johan Johnson, Rainbow's younger brother, who has started to adopt a street culture and muscular attitude.
** Daveed Diggs as adult Johan Johnson (in fast-forward clips)
* Mykal-Michelle Harris as Santamonica "Santi" Elizabeth Johnson, Rainbows younger sister, mischievous and full of Sass
** Rashida Jones as adult Santamonica Johnson (in fast-forward clips)
* Gary Cole as Harrison Johnson III, Bow's paternal grandfather; Paul's father. He died in 2007.

### Recurring

* Paulet Del Castillo as Michaela
* Caitlin Kimball as Ms. Collins
* Trinitee Stokes as Tamika
* Isabel Myers as Rebecca
* Luca Luhan as Bryce

### Guest

* Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, Bow's future husband ("Becoming Bow", "Doctor! Doctor!", "Forever Young")
* Marcus Scribner as Andre "Junior" Johnson, Bow's future oldest son ("Becoming Bow")
* Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, Bow's future second oldest son ("Becoming Bow")
* Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson, Bow's future youngest daughter ("Becoming Bow")
* August and Berlin Gross as Devante Johnson, Bow's future youngest son ("Becoming Bow")
* Blake Anderson as Shaman Dave ("Becoming Bow")
* Dallas Young as Rodney ("Let Your Hair Down")
* Leiloni Arrie Pharms as Young Denise ("Love Is a Battlefield")
* Daria Johns as Shanice ("It's Tricky")
* Carolyne Maraghi as Wendy Whiteman ("Weird Science")
* Wayne Brady as Geoffrey, a geologist and Denise's boyfriend ("Every Little Step")

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 23 | 23 | September 24, 2019 (2019-09-24) | May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) |
| 2 | 13 | 13 | January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26) | May 18, 2021 (2021-05-18) |

### Season 1 (2019–20)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Becoming Bow" | Anton Cropper | Teleplay by : Kenya Barris & Peter Saji Story by : Kenya Barris & Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross | September 24, 2019 (2019-09-24) | 101 | 3.91 |
| Bow is introduced to the real world after living in a commune for 12 years. She learns what it means to be mixed race. Note: This was originally produced as the twenty-fourth episode in the fifth season of Black-ish. ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Warrior" | Anton Cropper | Peter Saji | October 1, 2019 (2019-10-01) | 102 | 3.51 |
| 3 | 3 | "Let Your Hair Down" | Michael Spiller | Karin Gist & Peter Saji | October 8, 2019 (2019-10-08) | 103 | 3.43 |
| 4 | 4 | "Love is a Battlefield" | Stephanie Laing | Angela Nissel | October 15, 2019 (2019-10-15) | 104 | 2.73 |
| 5 | 5 | "All She Wants to Do is Dance" | Matt Sohn | Jim Brandon & Brian Singleton | October 22, 2019 (2019-10-22) | 106 | 3.02 |
| 6 | 6 | "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" | Oz Rodriguez | Tim Edwards & Kevin Marburger | October 29, 2019 (2019-10-29) | 105 | 3.10 |
| 7 | 7 | "Puttin' on the Ritz" | Sam Bailey | Heather Flanders | November 12, 2019 (2019-11-12) | 107 | 2.80 |
| 8 | 8 | "Weird Science" | Charles Stone III | Chuck Hayward | November 19, 2019 (2019-11-19) | 108 | 2.62 |
| 9 | 9 | "Papa Don't Preach" | Todd Biermann | Angela Nissel | November 26, 2019 (2019-11-26) | 110 | 2.75 |
| 10 | 10 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | Anu Valia | Rachelle Williams | December 10, 2019 (2019-12-10) | 109 | 2.96 |
| 11 | 11 | "When Doves Cry" | Andrew DeYoung | Jim Brandon & Brian Singleton | January 7, 2020 (2020-01-07) | 111 | 4.77 |
| 12 | 12 | "It's Tricky" | Maggie Carey | Heather Flanders | January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14) | 112 | 3.68 |
| 13 | 13 | "Pride (In the Name of Love)" | Chris Robinson | Spencer Taylor | January 21, 2020 (2020-01-21) | 113 | 2.36 |
| 14 | 14 | "True Colors" | Michael Spiller | Tim Edwards & Kevin Marburger | January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28) | 114 | 2.32 |
| 15 | 15 | "This Charming Man" | Michael Spiller | Andrew Ti | February 11, 2020 (2020-02-11) | 115 | 2.35 |
| 16 | 16 | "She Works Hard for the Money" | Anu Valia | Chuck Hayward | February 18, 2020 (2020-02-18) | 116 | 2.52 |
| 17 | 17 | "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" | Natalia Anderson | Jesse Esparza | February 25, 2020 (2020-02-25) | 117 | 2.30 |
| 18 | 18 | "Parents Just Don't Understand" | Melissa Kosar | Melanie Kirschbaum & Alexandra Decas | March 17, 2020 (2020-03-17) | 118 | 2.86 |
| 19 | 19 | "Doctor! Doctor!" | Shiri Appleby | Jim Brandon & Brian Singleton | March 24, 2020 (2020-03-24) | 119 | 2.86 |
| 20 | 20 | "Bad Boys" | Matthew A. Cherry | Heather Flanders & Angela Nissel | April 7, 2020 (2020-04-07) | 120 | 2.84 |
| 21 | 21 | "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" | Matt Sohn | Peter Saji | April 14, 2020 (2020-04-14) | 122 | 2.46 |
| 22 | 22 | "Every Little Step" | Pete Chatmon | Rachelle Williams | April 28, 2020 (2020-04-28) | 121 | 2.75 |
| 23 | 23 | "You Got It All" | Natalia Anderson | Jesse Esparza & Spencer Taylor & Andrew Ti | May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) | 123 | 2.63 |

### Season 2 (2021)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 24 | 1 | "Sweet Child O' Mine" | Todd Biermann | Jordan Reddout & Gus Hickey | January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26) | 201 | 2.67 |
| 25 | 2 | "Brand New Funk" | Anton Cropper | Angela Nissel | February 2, 2021 (2021-02-02) | 202 | 2.25 |
| 26 | 3 | "On My Own" | Todd Biermann | Jim Brandon & Brian Singleton | February 9, 2021 (2021-02-09) | 203 | 1.99 |
| 27 | 4 | "Livin' on a Prayer" | Anton Cropper | Spencer Taylor | February 16, 2021 (2021-02-16) | 204 | 2.16 |
| 28 | 5 | "My Prerogative" | Anton Cropper | Emilia Serrano | February 23, 2021 (2021-02-23) | 205 | 2.11 |
| 29 | 6 | "Just the Two of Us" | Shiri Appleby | Jesse Esparza | March 2, 2021 (2021-03-02) | 206 | 1.74 |
| 30 | 7 | "You Give Love a Bad Name" | Gail Lerner | Andrew Ti | March 23, 2021 (2021-03-23) | 207 | 1.90 |
| 31 | 8 | "She's a Bad Mama Jama" | Anton Cropper | Helen Krieger | March 30, 2021 (2021-03-30) | 208 | 2.05 |
| 32 | 9 | "Material Girl" | Natalia Anderson | Lindsey Shockley | April 6, 2021 (2021-04-06) | 209 | 1.66 |
| 33 | 10 | "You Dropped a Bomb On Me" | Todd Biermann | Jordan Reddout & Gus Hickey | April 20, 2021 (2021-04-20) | 211 | 1.72 |
| 34 | 11 | "Tainted Love" | Millicent Shelton | Carolyn Portner | April 27, 2021 (2021-04-27) | 210 | 1.75 |
| 35 | 12 | "Walk This Way" | Anton Cropper | Jim Brandon & Brian Singleton | May 11, 2021 (2021-05-11) | 212 | 1.50 |
| 36 | 13 | "Forever Young" | Anton Cropper | Eric Ernst | May 18, 2021 (2021-05-18) | 213 | 1.63 |

## Development

On May 2, 2019, it was announced that the Black-ish episode that was set to air May 7, 2019, would be shelved. The episode, titled "Becoming Bow", introduces a younger version of the character Rainbow living with her family, and would instead serve as the pilot episode for the new series, with the cast of the parent show appearing in a flash-forward cameo introduction. On May 14, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere in the Fall of 2019 and air on Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M. The series premiered on September 24, 2019.
Tracee Ellis Ross, who plays the adult Bow in Black-ish, serves as both an executive producer and narrator for the series, with flagship costars Anthony Anderson and Laurence Fishburne also executive producing. Mixed-ish is the final series that Barris helped create prior to signing his deal with Netflix in August 2018. Barris had asked for an exit from his ABC Studios deal because of the studio's handling of controversial Black-ish episodes and of rejected pilots he had helped put together.
Anders Holm was originally set to play Bow's father, Paul Jackson, and played the role in the series’ pilot episode, but he left the series before it was picked up by ABC. On June 19, 2019, Mark-Paul Gosselaar replaced Holm in the Paul Jackson role, and scenes with Holm in the "Becoming Bow" episode-turned-pilot were subsequently reshot with Gosselaar.
In the promos, the family is called "the Johnsons" (the same surname as Bow's family on Black-ish), even though the surname of the characters Harrison and Paul is Jackson, which implies that Bow's maternal family still uses the name Johnson. This was brought up during the Black-ish second season episode "Johnson & Johnson," in which Dre learns that Bow never formally took his last name after their marriage. In addition, the episodes listed are named after songs, television shows, and movies that were made during the 1980s.
On October 28, 2019, the series received a full season order of 23 episodes.
On May 21, 2020, ABC renewed the series for a second season which premiered on January 26, 2021. On May 14, 2021, ABC canceled the series after two seasons.

## Release
### Marketing

On May 14, 2019, ABC released the first official trailer for the series.

## Music

On August 5, 2019, singer-songwriter Mariah Carey confirmed that she recorded the series' theme song, entitled "In the Mix." The song was written and produced by Carey and songwriter-producer Daniel Moore and reached number nine on the Billboard U.S. R&B Digital Song Sales chart.
During a panel discussion with Barris and Carey, Barris explained that he wants Carey to appear as a guest on the show.

## Reception
### Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Mixed-ish holds an approval rating of 76% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it needs more time to establish its own comedic voice, mixed-ish and its appealing cast are off to a sweet and smart start." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of Mixed-ish :
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | First aired | Last aired | Last aired | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) |
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | Date | Viewers (millions) | Date | Viewers (millions) | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | Tuesday 9:00 p.m. | 23 | September 24, 2019 (2019-09-24) | 3.91 | May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) | 2.63 | 2019–20 | 87 | 3.82 |
| 2 | Tuesday 9:30 p.m. | 13 | January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26) | 2.67 | May 18, 2021 (2021-05-18) | 1.63 | 2020–21 | 110 | 2.54 |

#### Season 1

Viewership and ratings per episode of Mixed-ish :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Becoming Bow" | September 24, 2019 | 0.9/4 | 3.91 | 0.6 | 1.76 | 1.5 | 5.67 |
| 2 | "The Warrior" | October 1, 2019 | 0.7/4 | 3.51 | 0.4 | 1.30 | 1.1 | 4.81 |
| 3 | "Let Your Hair Down" | October 8, 2019 | 0.7/3 | 3.43 | 0.4 | 1.24 | 1.1 | 4.66 |
| 4 | "Love is a Battlefield" | October 15, 2019 | 0.6/3 | 2.73 | 0.4 | 1.07 | 1.0 | 3.80 |
| 5 | "All She Wants to Do is Dance" | October 22, 2019 | 0.7/3 | 3.02 | 0.4 | 1.02 | 1.1 | 4.03 |
| 6 | "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" | October 29, 2019 | 0.8/3 | 3.10 | 0.3 | 0.91 | 1.1 | 4.01 |
| 7 | "Puttin' on the Ritz" | November 12, 2019 | 0.6/3 | 2.80 | 0.3 | 0.91 | 0.9 | 3.71 |
| 8 | "Weird Science" | November 19, 2019 | 0.6/3 | 2.62 | 0.3 | 0.90 | 0.9 | 3.52 |
| 9 | "Papa Don't Preach" | November 26, 2019 | 0.6/3 | 2.75 | 0.2 | 0.84 | 0.8 | 3.60 |
| 10 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | December 10, 2019 | 0.5/3 | 2.96 | 0.3 | 0.93 | 0.8 | 3.89 |
| 11 | "When Doves Cry" | January 7, 2020 | 1.1/5 | 4.77 | 0.2 | 0.76 | 1.3 | 5.54 |
| 12 | "It's Tricky" | January 14, 2020 | 0.7/4 | 3.68 | 0.2 | 0.78 | 0.9 | 4.46 |
| 13 | "Pride (In the Name of Love)" | January 21, 2020 | 0.5/3 | 2.36 | 0.2 | 0.79 | 0.7 | 3.14 |
| 14 | "True Colors" | January 28, 2020 | 0.5/3 | 2.32 | 0.2 | 0.75 | 0.7 | 3.07 |
| 15 | "This Charming Man" | February 11, 2020 | 0.5 | 2.35 | 0.2 | 0.73 | 0.7 | 3.08 |
| 16 | "She Works Hard for the Money" | February 18, 2020 | 0.5 | 2.52 | 0.2 | 0.69 | 0.7 | 3.20 |
| 17 | "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" | February 25, 2020 | 0.5 | 2.30 | 0.2 | 0.72 | 0.7 | 3.02 |
| 18 | "Parents Just Don't Understand" | March 17, 2020 | 0.6 | 2.86 | 0.3 | 0.82 | 0.9 | 3.68 |
| 19 | "Doctor! Doctor!" | March 24, 2020 | 0.6 | 2.86 | 0.2 | 0.74 | 0.8 | 3.60 |
| 20 | "Bad Boys" | April 7, 2020 | 0.6 | 2.84 | 0.1 | 0.62 | 0.7 | 3.44 |
| 21 | "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" | April 14, 2020 | 0.5 | 2.46 | 0.2 | 0.67 | 0.7 | 3.14 |
| 22 | "Every Little Step" | April 28, 2020 | 0.5 | 2.75 | 0.2 | 0.66 | 0.7 | 3.40 |
| 23 | "You Got It All" | May 5, 2020 | 0.5 | 2.63 | 0.2 | 0.74 | 0.7 | 3.38 |

#### Season 2

Viewership and ratings per episode of Mixed-ish :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Sweet Child O' Mine" | January 26, 2021 | 0.6 | 2.67 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 2 | "Brand New Funk" | February 2, 2021 | 0.5 | 2.25 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 3 | "On My Own" | February 9, 2021 | 0.4 | 1.99 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 4 | "Livin' on a Prayer" | February 16, 2021 | 0.5 | 2.16 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 5 | "My Prerogative" | February 23, 2021 | 0.4 | 2.11 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 6 | "Just the Two of Us" | March 2, 2021 | 0.4 | 1.74 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 7 | "You Give Love a Bad Name" | March 23, 2021 | 0.4 | 1.90 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 8 | "She's a Bad Mama Jama" | March 30, 2021 | 0.4 | 2.05 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 9 | "Material Girl" | April 6, 2021 | 0.3 | 1.66 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 10 | "You Dropped a Bomb On Me" | April 20, 2021 | 0.3 | 1.72 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 11 | "Tainted Love" | April 27, 2021 | 0.3 | 1.75 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 12 | "Walk This Way" | May 11, 2021 | 0.3 | 1.50 | 0.1 | 0.54 | 0.5 | 2.04 |
| 13 | "Forever Young" | May 18, 2021 | 0.3 | 1.63 | 0.1 | 0.55 | 0.4 | 2.19 |