The fourth season of Black-ish aired from October 3, 2017, to May 15, 2018, on ABC in the United States. It is produced by Khalabo Ink Society, Cinema Gypsy Productions, Principato-Young Entertainment and ABC Studios, with creator Kenya Barris, who also serves as executive producer alongside Anthony Anderson, Brian Dobbins, Jonathan Groff and Helen Sugland.
The series revolves around Dre, portrayed by Anthony Anderson, a family man who struggles with finding his cultural identity while raising his kids in a white neighborhood. He lives with his wife, Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross).
From this season forward, Yara Shahidi is a recurring character, due to her character receiving her own spin-off show, Grown-ish.
The Johnsons go to Jack and Diane's school play about Columbus Day and Dre is dismayed by the historically inaccurate way that the holiday is portrayed. He feels like there aren't enough black holidays, so he enlists Aloe Blacc at work to help him create a catchy song to raise awareness for a holiday worth celebrating: Juneteenth.
Bow feels overwhelmed after Devante's birth and learns that she is suffering from postpartum depression. Dre urges her to get help and stands by her side while she works through it. Meanwhile, the kids try to help their parents by baby-proofing the house.
When Ruby gets scammed, Dre suspects that she isn't as sharp as she used to be, particularly because she was the one who used to scam others. Elsewhere, Diane develops a crush on Zoey's friend Aaron.
Dre brings everyone together for a rowdy family game night and the competition is fierce. The game of choice is Monopoly, and as the night progresses, alliances are formed and some are pushed to their limits. Meanwhile, Bow makes clear how she feels about Junior's girlfriend.
An incident at school gets Junior expelled from his beloved Valley Glen Prep. Faced with sending their son to public school, Bow and Dre worry over how he will fare in his new environment.
Diane experiences a big life event; sensing his dominance on the court coming to an end, Dre conducts psychological warfare on Junior before challenging him to a game of basketball.
Dre is chosen to lead Stevens and Lido's new charity campaign, which helps people give back to their community. When Bow advises Dre that there is more to giving back than cutting checks, he decides to donate some of his clothes to a man in need. The man's striking resemblance to Dre results in people thinking he has become homeless himself. Meanwhile, Junior fails his driving test, so Ruby offers to chaperone him and the twins on an informative outing.
Dre is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and resolves to cure himself; Jack is convinced that baby Devante hates him and enlists the help of Junior and Diane in his attempts to win him over.
Bow struggles to adjust when she returns to work after maternity leave; Ruby teaches the twins a way to manipulate teachers in order to get out of doing homework.
Dre runs point on a campaign focusing on the talk black parents have with their children about racial bias; Bow finds an online support group for moms.
Dre and Bow's morning routine with the kids changes; Junior bonds with Diane over teasing Jack's friend Mason now that he is in charge of driving his siblings to school.
Dre and Bow face their own gender biases upon learning that Junior and Zoey have both become sexually active. Ruby's feelings are hurt when she realizes Jack and Diane are spending time with a classmate's grandmother after school.
Dre and Bow try to figure out the right balance of discipline and support when Jack and Diane get in trouble at school. Ruby believes Junior's Spanish teacher might be coming on to him.
Dre sees his father's past in a new light when he and Junior plan Pops' 65th birthday party; Jack and Diane take advantage of Bow's decision to say yes to everything for a whole year.
Dre and Bow learn to love each other's cuisines when their families arrive for Easter; Jack and Diane pretend not to be interested in Junior's Easter egg hunt to impress their cool cousins.
When Junior is accepted into Stanford, Andre tries to convince him to attend Howard University instead. Jack develops a comedy style and Ruby decides to manage his career, forcing Diane to compete for her attention.
The family is divided over the idea of getting a dog after Dre and Bow promise Jack he can get one if he gets straight A's -- and he does. Meanwhile, Bow's brother Johan (guest star Daveed Diggs) is in town and doesn't get the warm welcome he expects from Ruby.
Fighting more than usual, Dre and Bow return to their therapist, who suggests they schedule a date night; when a bounce house gets left behind after Devante's first birthday party, Jack and Diane take advantage of it in different ways.
Feeling that their marriage is on the rocks, Dre and Bow separate. They maintain a civil relationship in front of the kids but, in private, their relationship remains strained. During a graduation party for Junior, Dre and Bow get into a heated argument without realizing their kids are watching, devastating the kids, who blame themselves for their parents' fighting, and diminishing their own hopes for reconciliation.
Dre and Bow try to lead separate lives by splitting their time with the kids and adapting to their new realities: Dre leases his dream glass house in the Hollywood Hills, which proves to be a challenge with the kids, while Bow struggles to be the man of the house. However, a family tragedy prompts Dre and Bow to come together and reconsider their future.
Unaired episode
The would-be fourteenth episode of the season, titled "Please, Baby, Please", was shot in November 2017, and originally scheduled to air on February 27, 2018. However on February 22, 2018, ABC announced that the episode would be pulled from the schedule and that a repeat of a past episode would air instead.[23]USA Today stated that the episode "was apparently too political for the network".[24] An ABC spokesperson said that there "were creative differences we were unable to resolve".[25] On March 10, 2018, it was officially announced that the network had no plans to air the episode.[26] In the episode, Dre tries to read a bedtime story to Devante during a thunderstorm, but instead improvises a new story based on recent social and political issues in the United States.[27] It was added to Hulu on August 10, 2020.[28]
Devante keeps everyone awake on a stormy night with his crying, so Dre is given the task of calming him down with a bedtime story, but when that doesn't work, he tells his own story about the current state of the country.
Reception
Ratings
Viewership and ratings per episode of Black-ish season 4
