The Johnsons have returned! After Black-series ish’s finale in April, fans may have said goodbye, but a new chapter for the fictitious family begins with season five of its Freeform spinoff, Grown-ish. ET is the only outlet to exclusively premiere the new chapter’s trailer.
As Andre Johnson Jr. (aka Junior) sets off on his own path to being “grown,” franchise star Marcus Scribner has finally joined his TV sister, Yara Shahidi, on the spinoff. We can already tell from the teaser that it’s going to be a trip.
As Junior adjusts to leaving the “real world” of a 9–5 job to attend Cal U, which requires forging connections as a freshman in college, sibling antics ensue. That includes spending quality time with Luca’s younger sister Kiela (Daniella Perkins), who is briefly cut off by his older sibling. Bring on the suitably frightened yelling.
In the Grown-ish season 4 finale, Zoey and her friends received their degrees from the California University of Liberal Arts, which signalled the beginning of their adult life. The six original cast members of the programme, including Francia Raisa (Ana), Emily Arlook (Nomi), Chloe Bailey (Jazz), Luka Sabbat (Luca), Halle Bailey (Sky), and Jordan Buhat, also left the programme (Vivek).
For the fifth season, Shahidi, Diggy Simmons (Doug), and Trevor Jackson (Aaron) are back to discuss their post-graduation experiences, including Aaron’s new position as a professor at the university.
But our favourite Cal University alumni won’t be missing from the season! Vivek, Nomi, and Ana can be seen returning to celebrate with their pals in the trailer, which also hints at a possible romance between the latter two. (We can see them holding hands!)
Naturally, a new beginning calls for a new gang, and Junior’s group of pals includes several well-known characters, including Kiela from Perkins, who is back as a regular. The sophomore wants to stand out at university without being overshadowed by her famous big brother.
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Zaara, a first-generation Muslim-American sophomore who is a type-A overachiever with a lot of swaggers, is played by Tara Raani. Amelie Zilber plays Lauryn, a freshman who is a little shy and awkward, and sometimes a bit naive, so she overcompensates in an effort to mask her insecurities; Ceyair Wright plays Zeke, a modern all-American football player who is super confident and comfortable in his skin, but still endearing; and Matthew Sato plays Brand. Justine Skye portrays Annika, a funny, sharp, and extremely ambitious freshman who chose California University
On the red carpet of the 39th Annual PaleyFest LA, ET talked with the cast, and Scribner expressed his excitement about tackling the new surroundings with his character.
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I’m eager to carry on Junior’s tale and see where he goes and how he develops as a character, the actor told ET. “Because many comedy characters remain static and just have one line to say throughout the show, I absolutely adore the fact that our writers are able to allow our characters to develop. However, Junior has had the opportunity to develop as a character and he will continue to do so in Grown-ish, so it truly is the logical progression.”
Shahidi shares that she constantly pushes for the inclusion of more members of her fictional family in the spinoff and that she agrees with that notion. The actress is really happy for her friends’ future endeavours when it comes to the departure of her co-stars.
She said, pointing out all the ways her former co-stars have advanced in their careers, “I’m really excited by the way our family’s extending and I think one thing we knew to be true about a show like Grown-ish is it’s special to get a group of people like that together and everyone has blossomed in such incredible ways that I feel like the cast will be around forever.”
The Grown-ish group has proven that they are prepared to compete in the industry, as evidenced by Chloe’s foray into solo music, Halle’s accumulation of feature film jobs, and Francia’s landing of the lead in Hulu’s How I Met Your Father.
“Grown-ish has been a part of everyone’s growth path, and I think it’s been fantastic to be in a cast where we’re so interested to watch what the next step is for everyone,” Yara said. “This is only a stopping ground; it’s not about standing still here.”
Executive producers include Courtney Lilly, Shahidi, Kenya Barris, Zakiyyah Alexander, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins, and Michael Petok. Co-showrunners include Black-ish executive producer and showrunner Courtney Lilly and award-winning playwright and producer Zakiyyah Alexander.
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