The black-ish spinoff has taken a significant step forward. Just a few short weeks after the project was announced, it has started finding its stars. In more good news, fans will not even have to wait for the spinoff to get the go-ahead to see them in action. Here's how and who has been cast to star in the still-untitled project so far.
First and foremost, the reason casting may have commenced so quickly is that Season 5 will feature a flashback episode centered on Rainbow's childhood. The installment will serve as a backdoor pilot of sorts for a potential prequel that accordingly focuses on a young Bow. First, Bow's parents have gotten cast for the special outing, which will take viewers back to the 1980s. So, who is playing them?
Tika Sumpter has been cast in black-ish prequel as Rainbow's mother, Alicia, circa the ‘80s. Sumpter currently stars on the OWN hit, The Haves and the Have Nots as Candace Young (pictured above). Anna Deavere Smith plays Alicia in the presently-set, black-ish.
Alicia's husband and Bow's father, Paul, will be played by Champions' Anders Holm, as EW also noted. Beau Bridges had played Paul on black-ish. As of present-day black-ish, Bow's father has passed away. Her mom visited for the first time since his death earlier in the season during the episode "Good Grief."
Since fans are familiar with Bow's parents, they should be curious to take a trip down memory lane--or at least the network seems to be hoping. Whatever happens with the project, what precipitates the flashback installment will be exciting to see. Stay tuned in regards to how the episode will pan out.
ABC's black-ish fans are familiar with Bow's parents in the present day. Now they will get a chance to see how they were when she was growing up. Speaking of which, Arica Himmel has been cast to play young Bow. As fans know, Tracee Ellis Ross plays her adult self on the series. In related news, Veep's Gary Cole will star as Bow's grandfather on her father's side.
The casting news marks another critical step for the proposed spinoff. Should the backdoor pilot be well-received, a series order would be the next step; black-ish already has the successful spinoff grown-ish on Freeform, which centers on Bow and Dre's daughter, Zoey.
When can fans expect to see this backdoor pilot? Well, the episode is set to air later on in Season 5. It will be worth the wait as fans will garner an in-depth look into Rainbow's backstory.
If the series is picked up, black-ish will have two spinoffs, one a prequel and the other a sequel series. Hence, it will have two timelines covered. Although the regular series is on ABC, grown-ish ended up going to Freeform. It is unclear if this prequel series would air on ABC or grown-ish's network. More will undoubtedly be understood when the episode airs.
New episodes of black-ish air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
