#’black-ish’ to Air Animated Election Special Ahead of Season 7 Premiere

The Johnsons are getting animated as ABC announced plans for a black-ish special ahead of the show’s Season 7 premiere.

The one-hour special will air Sunday, October 4 on the network in a series of two back-to-back episodes. The episodes will follow the Johnsons as they navigate the upcoming presidential election, with Junior (Marcus Scribner) preparing for his first time voting. Meanwhile, Dre (Anthony Anderson) will launch an exploration into local politics.

What makes this so unique is that one of the two episodes will be presented in the form of an animated installment, a first for black-ish. Oscar winner Matthew A. Cherry (Hair Love) will direct the special which will air ahead of Season 7. An official premiere date has yet to be announced.

In “Election Special Pt. 1,” Junior is excited to vote for the first time but learns that he’s been purged from the voter polls, so he ends up doing a deep dive to find out why and the issues behind voter registration. In “Election Special Pt. 2,” the Johnsons will be animated as Dre’s colleague Stevens (Peter Mackenzie) decides to run for Congress. In an attempt to thwart his ill-advised choice, Dre enlists his family to help campaign against Stevens, but the move gets Dre caught up in fundraising and private interest groups.

Both parts will be directed by Cherry while Eric Horsted will write Part 1 and Graham Towers and Ben Deeb take on writing Part 2. In Season 7 of black-ish, stories that shine a light on current events will continue to be told through the lens of the Johnson family, from the global pandemic to systemic racism and the movement for social justice and equality.

Stay tuned for a Season 7 premiere date and don’t miss these exciting episodes when they air this October on ABC.

black-ish, “Election Special Pt. 1” and “Election Special Pt. 2,” Sunday, October 4, 10/9c, ABC (*Note: Airdate and timing are subject to change due to the NBA Finals schedule)