D-ISH
EING THE NEW KID IN CLASS
can be hard, especially if you
just moved to town because
your family’s peaceful com-
mune (or “radicalized cult,” if
you ask the government) was
recently broken up by the feds.
And things can get exponentially worse if it’s
1985 and you have a black mom and a white
dad and no concept of what being “mixed”
means. That’s what Rainbow (Arica Himmel)
and her siblings (Ethan William Childress and
Mykal-Michelle Harris) are working with as
they start school in the premiere of this new
comedy. “They’re fish out of water,” says show-
runner Karin Gist. “We’re telling a story about
identity and trying to figure yourself out when
you don’t really know where you fit in.”
As for where mixed-ish fits in, it’s the second
spin-off of black-ish. Unlike Freeform’s grown-
ish, which follows eldest Johnson daughter
Zoey (Yara Shahidi) and just concluded its sec-
ond season, this new series is a prequel that
focuses on a 12-year-old version of Tracee Ellis
Ross’ black-ish character. “Tracee really wants
to be a part of it creatively,” Gist says of the
mixed-ish EP, who herself is of mixed heritage.
“She visited the writers’ room and shared some
of her personal experiences.” Ross’ Bow nar-
rates the series, which also stars Mark-Paul
Gosselaar and Tika Sumpter as Rainbow’s par-
ents (the older versions of which are played by
Beau Bridges and Anna Deavere Smith on
black-ish) as well as Gary Cole and Christina
Anthony as her grandpa and aunt.
Gist looks forward to exploring more than
racial politics through the retro lens, “like the
Challenger explosion and other social issues,
to see how our characters react.” But don’t
have a cow, ’80s fans—she also promises a rad
soundtrack and wardrobe. “Oh,” Gist says
with a laugh. “We’re having fun with it.” �
B
New Comedy
SEPTÑ 24
9 PM ● ABC
PHOTOGRAPH BY
Magdalena Wosinska
Mark-Paul Gosselaar,
Tika Sumpter,
Arica Himmel, Ethan
William Childress, and
Mykal-Michelle Harris
photographed
exclusively for EW
on Aug. 26, 2019,
in Los Angeles
fall
tv pre
view
2019
