black-ish
Things Were Different Then
TV Flash files “Things Were Different Then” as hour 88 of 173 in the TV Flash guide — black-ish (2014–2022) on ABC, season 4, episode 16, aired 2018-03-20, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E16: listed hour 88 of 173 in the black-ish guide, hour 16 of 23 in season 4. It aired 2018-03-20 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “White Breakfast” (S04E15). Next is “North Star” (S04E17).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Dre reluctantly helps Junior plan Pops' 65th birthday party and starts to see his dad's past in a new light. Meanwhile, Bow decides to say "yes" to everything for a whole year and Jack & Diane take advantage of her.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Things Were Different Then sit in the black-ish guide?
S04E16 is listed hour 88 of 173 — hour 16 of 23 in season 4, season 4 episode 16.
When did black-ish S04E16 air?
Things Were Different Then aired 2018-03-20 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need the spinoffs?
grown-ish and mixed-ish are extras. black-ish is the suburban Johnson engine; start here unless you already live at the college spinoff.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Kenya Barris smuggled race, class, and parenting essays into ABC multi-cam without losing the joke. Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross argue first, lecture later; the kids keep the sitcom engine humming. Broadcast comedy that treated Black suburban identity as weekly debate, not Very Special garnish.
ABC did not park a seminar on a quiet Friday. **2014** put Kenya Barris's Johnsons on the broadcast calendar as multi-cam comfort with race, class, and parenting essays smuggled through the laugh. Anthony Anderson's Dre worries his kids are losing cultural identity in affluent suburbia; Tracee Ellis Ross's Rainbow argues first, lectures later. Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin keep the engine humming. Rex can romanticize a simpler network night; this was issue-driven multi-cam thriving…
Filed against
- Anthony Anderson as Dre Johnson
Anthony Anderson’s Dre Johnson argued first, lectured later on black-ish — Kenya Barris smuggling race, class, and parenting essays into ABC multi-cam without losing the joke. Tracee Ellis Ross opposite, kids keeping the engine humming.…
- Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson
Tracee Ellis Ross’s Rainbow Johnson argued first and lectured later on black-ish — Kenya Barris smuggling race, class, and parenting essays into ABC multi-cam without losing the joke. Anthony Anderson as the other half of the debate; the…
- Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson
Yara Shahidi’s Zoey Johnson kept black-ish’s sitcom engine humming as the kid who could argue — Kenya Barris smuggling race, class, and parenting essays into ABC multi-cam without losing the joke. Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross…
- Marcus Scribner as Andre Jr.
Marcus Scribner grew up in the argument as Andre Jr. on black-ish — Kenya Barris smuggling race, class, and parenting essays into ABC multi-cam, Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross arguing first, the kids keeping the engine humming.…
- Miles Brown as Jack Johnson
Miles Brown’s Jack Johnson kept black-ish’s sitcom engine humming while Kenya Barris smuggled race, class, and parenting essays into ABC multi-cam — Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross arguing first, lecturing later. TV Flash files him…
- Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson
Marsai Martin stole scenes as policy as Diane Johnson on black-ish — Kenya Barris’s ABC multi-cam, race and class as weekly debate, Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross arguing first, the kids keeping the engine humming. A youngest who…