‘Black-Ish’ Finally Airs an Episode That Has Been Shelved Since 2018
The controversial episode, ‘Please, Baby, Please’ is available for streaming on Hulu two years after being shelved by ABC.
The series Black-ish has consistently touched on relevant topics, but in 2018 an episode was abruptly shelved due to its political content.
The infamous episode entitled ‘Please, Baby, Please’ was pulled from the channel just days before its original air date. This is said to be caused by creative differences between the creator of the show, Kenya Barris, and ABC Studios. Many viewers speculate that these differences are part of the reason that Black-ish moved their business from ABC Studios to Netflix.
The “lost” 2018 episode of #blackish, “Please Baby Please”, that #ABC refused to air due to dialog critical of the president has finally been made available on #Hulu. The refusal to air the episode led show creator #KenyaBarris to strike a new deal with #Netflix. pic.twitter.com/P4kqvQCEwK
— HOTCHKA (@Hotchka) August 10, 2020
The episode includes actual news footage of Donald Trump, the Charlottesville attacks, and athletes in the NFL kneeling in protest. In 2018, just a year after the election, the studio decided against airing the controversial episode.
Kenya Barris took to social media to announce the premiere of the episode on Hulu this week. Barris made a statement that he was and still is incredibly proud of the contents in the never before seen episode.
— kenya barris (@funnyblackdude) August 10, 2020
The premiere of ‘Please, Baby, Please’ is announced just after the re-airing of two other Black-ish episodes, ‘Juneteenth’ and ‘Hope’. The episode seems more relevant than ever during the time of the Black Lives Matter movement and just after the death of George Floyd.
Viewers have been waiting for this episode and are glad that it is finally available for streaming.
the please, baby, please episode of blackish should have aired 2 years ago but i’m glad its here
— Cor-antine (@CorDeForce) August 11, 2020
It is promising to see content creators recognizing the importance of sharing messages like these. We are excited to see what else Black-ish and Kenya Barris have in store.
