Black-ish Is Getting Its Own A Different World-Style Spinoff

Somebody get Sinbad's agent on the phone: Black-ish is getting a spinoff, and it pretty much sounds like the second coming of A Different World. Deadline reports that the popular sitcom is working with ABC to develop a spinoff show that would follow the Johnsons' oldest daughter, Zoey (Yara Shahidi), as she heads to college. If that sounds familiar, it's because it's the same premise as A Different World, the 1987-93 Cosby Show spinoff that focused on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) leaving home to study at a fictional Black university. Bonet left the show after the first season, paving the way for Jasmine Guy's spoiled Whitley Gilbert and Kadeem Hardison's spectacularly spectacled Dwayne Wayne to emerge as leads. Will series creator Kenya Barris and former show runner Larry Wilmore draw inspiration from the Hillman College crew? At this point, it's too early to say. While Black-ish will reportedly introduce Zoey's college journey in a backdoor pilot episode airing later this spring, nothing has been formally finalized. All that said: We're here for this. A show about a bright, Black young woman embarking on new adventures at school in this political climate has serious potential.