ABC's black-ish has been incredibly successful for the network in its six (and soon to be seven) seasons on the air. Part of the reason for that has been how the family comedy melds humor with important social topics, but one such episode which focused on the presidency of Donald Trump a year after his election, was thought to be so controversial by ABC that it shelved it. While it seemed as though "Please, Baby, Please" would never see the light of day, it was finally released on Hulu, and fans who've finally had the chance to watch are now slamming ABC for the decision to lock it away in the first place.
The dust-up over this episode of black-ish seemed to have helped convince the show's creator, Kenya Barris, to flee the network and his overall development deal with ABC Studios. But, he's the one who, again, asked the network to reconsider airing "Please, Baby, Please," and now that it can be seen on Hulu, fans are making no bones about the fact that it should have aired as planned in November 2017.
One of the reasons which Kenya Barris noted had prompted him to ask the network to air this episode, was the fact that two other episodes which deal with race relations in America, "Juneteenth" and "Hope," were recently re-aired. And, while ABC agreed that this episode (which uses conversations between family members interspersed with many decades worth of video footage, music and photographs to discuss why so many people were - and are - fearful about this presidency) should now see the light of day, many viewers take umbrage with the fact that an actual uprising had to take place in real life for those behind the broadcaster to agree:
And, as you might expect, some fans aren't even being that nice about this opinion. After watching the moving episode myself, I can't say that I blame them, either...
There were others who simply sought to understand why ABC wanted to put the kibosh on something that sought to educate people, especially at a time when it was already so obvious that the country was torn in two and we still had a disturbing number of racial issues to address:
What's confusing for many, especially after watching the episode, is the fact that "Please, Baby, Please" isn't really any different from most of what black-ish has brought to audiences over the past six seasons. The show has never made any efforts to sugar coat discussions on race, racism, or anything that dealt with society's many problems. So, the idea that this episode was something radical seems rather ridiculous to many...
Also, a lot of people lamented the fact that, you know, not much has changed since in the years since this black-ish installment was made and pulled from the network.
More than anything, a lot of black-ish fans are just glad to finally be able to lay their eyes on "Please, Baby, Please" and enjoy another episode of one of the best family sitcoms around...
You can watch the formerly banned episode of black-ish, along with the rest of the series on Hulu right now. If you'd like more to watch, be sure to check out our summer TV and fall TV guides!
