Black-ish‘s Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) is heading to college and viewers will be able to to experience the new stage in her life thanks to Freeform. TVGuide.com reported the news today that the spin-off of the popular TV series will feature a 13-episode season on ABC’s sister network. The new series is currently being referred to as College-ish, though it is only a working title and will likely change. Shahidi will reprise her role as the oldest child of Andre “Dre” Johnson (Anthony Anderson) and Rainbow “Bow” Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross). The series will deal with Zoey trying to find herself as she matures into a young adult throughout her college experience. Deon Cole is also set to reprise his role as Charlie in the new series. While Charlie works with Dre during the day, it has been revealed that he also works as an adjunct college professor at the university Zoey will attend.
The creative minds behind the series are just as excited as the fans. Black-ish creator Kenya Barris recently said in a statement,”I never thought they’d let me put Black-ish on the air let alone give me a spinoff. I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to continue working with Yara and the rest of this talented young cast.” He then added, “To any aspiring writers struggling to make it out there, I highly advise adding an ‘-ish’ to any working title you might have. It seems to be the move.”
While Freeform seems like the perfect place for a show based on the life of a college student, the series was originally a contender for ABC’s 2017-2018 schedule. It was then decided that the concept of the show will fit better with Freeform’s younger demographic. The network features popular teenage shows including the long running Pretty Little Liars and The Fosters. College-ish will join the ranks of popular millennial sitcoms featured on the network such as Young & Hungry.
Deadline spoke to Freeform’s Executive Vice President of Programming and Development, Karey Burke. She stated, “Our goal at Freeform is to celebrate the power, possibility and inclusivity of youth culture through our shows.” She went on to say, “Kenya Barris blazes new trails in the funniest way possible with College-ish, and we can’t wait to get schooled by the incredibly talented Yara Shahidi, who is the perfect addition to our Freeform family.”
A premiere date for College-ish has yet to be announced, though the series is expected to air in early 2018.