Culture August 10, 2020

Never-before-seen episode of 'Black-ish' now available on Hulu

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A never-before-seen episode of "Black-ish" made nearly three years ago is now available to watch on Hulu.

"In November 2017, we made an episode of 'black-ish' entitled 'Please, Baby, Please.' We were one year post-election and coming to the end of a year that left us, like many Americans, grappling with the state of our country and anxious about its future," series creator Kenya Barris wrote in a statement released on social media Monday.

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He continued, "Those feelings poured onto the page, becoming 22 minutes of television that I was, and still am, incredibly proud of. 'Please, Baby, Please' didn't make it to air that season and, while much has been speculated about its contents, the episode has never been seen publicly… until now."

The episode's description on the streaming site simply reads: "Dre reads a crying Devante a bedtime story."

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Barris said he asked Walt Disney Television to make the episode available in the wake of renewed interest in the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd's death on Memorial Day.

"Recognizing the importance of this moment, they listened and agreed," he added.

Craig Sjodin/ABC
ABC's "black-ish" stars in 2019, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson, Jr., Jenifer Lewis as Ruby Johnson, Austin and Berlin Gross as Devonte Johnson, Laurence Fishburne as Pops Johnson, Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Anthony Anderson as Andre "Dre" Johnson, and Miles Brown as Jack Johnson.

"I cannot wait for everyone to finally see the episode for themselves and, as was the case nearly three years ago, we hope it inspires some much-needed conversation -- not only about what we were grappling with then or how it led to where we are now, but conversations about where we want our country to go moving forward and, most importantly, how we get there together," Barris explained.

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Barris concluded by thanking ABC Entertainment "for allowing this moment to happen," and thanking the entire "Black-ish" family "for never shying away from tough conversations, making telling stories like this possible."

"Please, Baby, Please" is now available to watch on Hulu and can be found by going to the season 4 episode section under "Black-ish."