Black-ish had some surprising celebrities as guest stars over the show’s eight-season run. Because Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) worked at an advertising agency, there was a natural avenue to bring in figures from the worlds of music, sports, and even politics as cameos. Despite having the incredibly funny main cast of Black-ish, new faces were always welcomed to bring a different flavor to the episode. A few of the guest stars had preexisting relationships with the creator, Kenya Barris, or stars of Black-ish, like Tracee Ellis Ross, but many guests did not.
Black-ish used comedy to explore issues of race, identity, and politics through the lens of Dre and his suburban Black family, and many stars wanted to be a part of Black-ish’s cultural conversation, with many even playing heightened versions of themselves. Some of these guest stars appear in some of Black-ish’s most powerful episodes. From the season 1 finale to the premiere of season 8, Black-ish always augmented its cast with cameos that would add to the episodes and overall impact of the show.
10
Mary J. Blige Lent Her Voice To The Season 1 Finale
Season 1, Episode 24, “Pops’ Pops’ Pops”
Black-ish season 1 ended with a very special episode, a love story set in the 1920s where the main cast was recast as the spitting image of their ancestors. Black-ish went all-out with the set design and costuming for the speakeasy, one of the first times Black-ish played with format. What truly elevates this Black-ish episode is the inclusion of legendary singer Mary J. Blige as the speakeasy singer, the enchanting Mirabelle.
Having Blige fully commit to the character, urging Dre’s great-grandfather to pursue Dre’s eventual great-grandmother makes the episode feel like an event, and that is before Blige sings her hit song “I’m Going Down.” Blige’s star power in the music world brings credence to the fantasy love story that Black-ish was going for in “Pops’ Pops’ Pops,” delivering a magical and memorable conclusion to its freshman season.
9
Zendaya’s Character Helps Dre Bond With His Daughter
Season 2, Episode 4, “Daddy’s Day”
After Shake It Up but before Spider-Man: Homecoming or The Greatest Showman, an 18-year-old Zendaya guest starred in an episode of Black-ish playing Resheida, a friend of Dre’s daughter, Zoey (Yara Shahidi). Resheida serves as a perfect foil for Zoey, as Dre is feeling unappreciated at home. Zoey declines Dre’s offer of driving lessons, but Resheida, who comes from a neighborhood like Dre’s where fathers are not always present, is far more appreciative of Dre’s involvement, takes him up on the lessons.
Zendaya’s guest role speaks to how adept Black-ish was at finding and cultivating young talent, since she was not a star yet. Zenyada infuses Resheida with an effortless coolness and holds her own against veteran comedian Anthony Anderson. Resheida serves as a catalyst to help Zoey appreciate Dre more, embracing his new school “Daddy’s Day” to celebrate the active, present father he is in the series.
8
Michael Strahan Is Perfectly Cast To Play A Stereotype With A Heart Of Gold
Season 2, Episode 6, “Jacked o’ Lantern”
Black-ish had the best Halloween episodes, a notion that’s highlighted by the time NFL linebacker Michael Strahan was brilliantly cast as Dre’s cousin June Bug. Black-ish is about the contrast between Dre’s Compton roots and his current Sherman Oaks suburban lifestyle, and June Bug’s surprise arrival on Halloween forces Dre to confront his past. June Bug is supposed to seem like a stereotypical kid from Compton, freshly out of jail, showing up in a bulletproof vest and backward cap, but Dre learns he went to jail protecting Dre, proving that looks can be deceiving.
Strahan, known for his imposing presence from his NFL days and his friendly charm in TV hosting roles, brings a nuanced and charismatic energy to June Bug. Watching June Bug tease Dre like he did when they were kids, complete with Strahan’s signature lisp, creates a quintessential Black-ish moment. Having an athlete and media personality like Michael Strahan guest star underscores the broad, intersectional appeal of Black-ish—extending its influence well beyond the traditional sitcom audience.
7
Tyra Banks’s Childhood Friendship With Kenya Barris Is Reflected In Her Black-ish Character
Season 2, Episode 11, “Plus Two Isn’t A Thing” & Season 3, Episode 10, “Just Christmas, Baby”
Tyra Banks grew up a childhood friend of Black-ish creator, Kenya Barris ( via Entertainment Weekly). Dre has always been a version of Barris played by Anthony Anderson, and now Banks plays a pop star version of herself, Gigi, in an episode that reveals a lot about Barris and Banks’s lifelong friendship. Gigi and Dre’s friendship is intimate but platonic, the type of friendship where they want to smell each other’s armpits and get mani-pedis together, but are so tightly connected it makes their significant others feel excluded.
Watching Dre and Gigi celebrate their success as two people from Compton is even more powerful knowing that it reflects the real-life pride Banks and Barris feel for each other. Dre connects with Gigi in ways he does not with his wife, who learns to accept his friendship with Gigi when she learns the hard way that being Dre’s best friend is a lot of work. While having Banks guest-star on Black-ish might seem random without the context of her relationship with Barris, her chemistry with Anderson is both silly and sweet, adding a heartfelt layer to the episode.
6
Daveed Diggs & Rashida Jones Play Siblings Of Bow’s Who Help Her Understand Herself Better
Season 3, Episode 8, “Being Bow-Racial” & Season 3, Episode 21, “Sister, Sister”
Black-ish season 3 began offering more perspective from Tracee Ellis Ross’s Rainbow “Bow” Johnson’s point of view. While Bow always defined herself as a doctor, wife, and mother, Bow begins to struggle with her identity as a biracial woman in “Being Bow-Racial” and turns to her brother, Johan (Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs), a hippy and world traveler, for advice. Johan helps Bow parse her past to figure out how she wants to define herself moving forward.
Bow’s sister, Santamonica (Parks and Recreation’s Rashida Jones), also forces Bow to reconsider how she labels people. Santamonica shows Bow that their different paths but do not need to compete. Black-ish was in a unique position to tackle an issue like racial self-identity with nuance, humor, and heart. Bow’s character gets a prequel series, Mixed-ish, that delves further into these topics. Having incredible actors like Diggs and Jones guest star as Bow’s siblings helps create a more fully developed Rainbow.
5
Aloe Blacc Played Himself To Help Dre Teach The World About Juneteenth
Season 4, Episode 1, “Juneteenth”
Black-ish opened season 4 with a powerful musical episode addressing Juneteenth and America’s discomfort in confronting the ongoing impact of slavery. Grammy-nominated singer Aloe Blacc made a guest appearance as himself, showing up at Dre’s advertising agency. Blacc had a charming rapport with Dre, often stepping on his toes with corrections when Dre is used to being the one spitting the facts at the office. Blacc and The Roots have an animated song, “I’m Just a Slave”, a parody of Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill”.
Having Blacc as a musical guest and educational presence makes “Juneteenth” the event episode it rightfully should be. Black-ish used its platform to spotlight Juneteenth in a network sitcom—an important step in raising awareness. The inclusion of Black talent like Aloe Blacc and The Roots brought authenticity and gravitas to the episode. “I’m Just a Slave” and two other Hamilton-inspired theatrically dramatized hip-hop numbers are bitingly clever, informative, and endlessly rewatchable.
4
Octavia Spencer Plays Herself In “Black History Month”
Season 5, Episode 14, “Black History Month”
The Johnsons are fiercely debating who is the best candidate for Dre’s Black History Month Presentation, and to make the exposition more exciting, they borrow a trick from The Big Short and have a celebrity state facts directly to camera. Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer plays herself giving an overview of the person being discussed as if delivering a news report. This is a clever way to bring a platform to unsung heroes narrated by Spencer’s dulcet tones.
Education was always a key component of the best episodes of Black-ish, and bringing someone with the gravitas of Spencer enhanced the recurring bit. Spencer seemed to be a figment of Dre’s imagination – as she only knew the people he knew – but the end reveals Dre actually hired Spencer to record the clips. Black-ish had the unique ability to attract Oscar-winning talent like Octavia Spencer because it combined entertainment with education, making learning fun and accessible to a broad audience.
3
Loretta Devine Brings A Softness To Pops
Season 6, Episode 1, “Pops the Question,” Season 6, Episode 8, “O Mother, Where Art Thou?”, & Season 6, Episode 10, “Father Christmas”
By Black-ish season 6, Pops’ bachelor shtick was starting to feel tired, so a real romance felt like an overdue fresh change. Pops becomes immediately smitten with Lynnette, played by the wonderful Loretta Devine. Throughout Devine’s long stage and screen career, she has always brought a sweetness and sincerity that Lynette infused into Pops. While Devine was not the biggest name to guest star in Black-ish, she brought a unique charm that made Lynnette’s whirlwind engagement to Pops—and their eventual breakup—feel authentic.
While she ultimately breaks Pops’ heart, Lynette’s effect on Pops leads to his eventual reconciliation with Dre’s mother Ruby (Jenifer Lewis). The growth Pops experiences during his relationship with Lynnette resonates throughout the final seasons, shaping him into a better father to Dre. Devine’s signature warmth and Hallmark-like essence elevated her three-episode arc, allowing Black-ish to rise to her level rather than simply fitting her into its usual rhythm.
2
The Cast Of Girlfriends Appear As Bow’s Friends From College
Season 6, Episode 3, “Feminisn’t”
Tracee Ellis Ross starred in the hit sitcom Girlfriends, and her three co-leads, Persia White, Golden Brooks, and Jill Marie Jones appear in Black-ish as Lila, Malika, and Tina, Bow’s friends from college. Black-ish treats the Girlfriends reunion with the perfect amount of fanfare, with Bow referring to them as her “girlfriends” and their entrance filmed in glamorous slow-motion. The lack of subtly makes the Girlfriends reunion even more enjoyable, punctuated with Lila cheekily saying “it’s been too long!”
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Bow calls on her old friends as backup (or as they say, “blackup”) when Bow confronts the racial blind spots in her all-white feminist activist group. The meta nature of bringing her former castmasts as her support system brings an extra layer of nostalgia and fun to the episode “Feminisn’t”. Black-ish was never afraid to take risks, and the delightfully over-the-top Girlfriends cameo brings humor and levity to an episode tackling intersectionality in feminism.
1
Michelle Obama Plays Herself In The Season 8 Premiere
Season 8, Episode 1, “That’s What Friends Are For”
Black-ish kicked off its final season with its biggest guest star: former First Lady Michelle Obama, playing herself. Mrs. Obama’s extended appearance underscores how significant Black-ish had become by its final season. The Johnson family’s reaction to the news of Obama coming over for dinner is met with manic excitement. Mrs. Obama is shown to be down-to-earth, fitting in effortlessly at an intimate dinner at Bow and Dre’s home.
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Black-ish treats Obama like a movie star, lighting her entrance to perfection. Black-ish also includes an animated montage showing how Dre and Bow envision their future friendship with Mrs. Obama blossoming. Bow and Dre’s immediate connection with Obama is foreshadows their decision to move out of their predominately white neighborhood in the finale. This is the type of fun filler episode that only Black-ish had the reach to pull off, and what a fantastic cameo to kick off Black-ish’s final season.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly
Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross star in Black-ish, a sitcom that follows the lives of the Johnson family – an affluent black family that all have their own comedic mishaps and incidents they tackle while dealing with culturual and social issues of its era and beyond. The show ran for eight seasons before it concluded in 2022.
- Release Date
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September 24, 2014
- Finale Year
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November 30, 2021
