Mixed-ish

Rainbow Johnson from Black-ish recalls her childhood. She was 12 in the summer of 1985. She grew up in a commune but they got raided by the government. Her family is forced to move into the suburbs.

This is a spin-off and a prequel to Black-ish. It's a fun. To be honest, Black-ish had been losing steam over the years. Any sense of ground-breaking is fading from that franchise. I like this spin and I like this family group. I like the awkwardness of teenage Rainbow. I actually like this show more than its parent show. It's a simple coming-of-age show. It's canceled after two seasons. I don't know what's going on with Kenya Barris skipping from deal to deal. I would have liked this to continue. I like both the nostalgia and the coming-of-age aspect.

The season started funny and educational about an American sub culture I was not as familiar with. Then as the show goes on, the show at times plays humour in the white guilt category. Thai makes the comedic show, not funny. And offensive. Still it is interesting to learn the origin of another's subcultures view/ beliefs in the world.

However, if half of the info is correct or to the level it is described, I am not sure even the 21st century is enough time to bring all sides to the middle (equality....maybe best described as a non-issue to describe the source of misfortune). While the show is waning in its funny time slot , it does serve as a good tool to bring up topics for us to talk about, consider and adjust.

I have watched the first 5 episodes, and so far I love Mixed-ish! I am not black nor did I grow up in the 80's, but I still enjoy everything this show has to offer. The story follows 12-year old Bow and her mixed family when they move from a hippy commune to a suburb, as they try to fit in to their new world while maintaining their old values. It is definitely an interesting scenario that hasn't really been done before. Each family member faces their own issues in their new community: The kids try to fit in at school where everyone else is either black or white, their mother Alicia tries to earn respect at work from her all-male, all-white colleagues, and their father Paul tries to earn respect from his own wealthy father as a stay-at-home dad. As the show continues, it seems like the issues also become more nuanced.

It definitely exaggerates some stereotypes. The grandfather is the stereotypical rich white conservative, and their aunt Denise is the stereotypical hard-working, sassy black woman. But, you have to understand that their characters are purposefully exaggerated to emphasize the issues that Bow's family dealt with, especially being caught between those two worlds. (And coming from the commune, this was the children's first experience with popular society, so of course everything seems extreme to them.)

Tracee Ellis Ross, as the narrator, also inserts occasional mini-lessons of black history, which I really enjoy. Aside from the more serious issues, the show is dappled with humor, especially from the two younger children, Johan and Santamonica. In the end, Mixed-ish is a comedy about a loving family who try to find their place in American society, and all the issues and joys that come with that.

I don't watch many comedies because most of them are just stupid. I happened to run across this one and from the first episode thought it was hilarious! Especially the characters of the aunt, grandfather and the youngest child. As someone who was in school in the 80s, I never thought about what life could be like for somebody of a mixed race. Love how they developed Rainbow's character and focused on her finding her identity as both a black and a white person.

But then suddenly all of the things that made season one great were ruined with season 2's focus on racism. Now the show is all about being black and suddenly being partially white no longer matters. Themes are more focused on the parents and less on the children which also ruined what made the first season so great. Really disappointed with the direction the producers took this show. This is why I can only give it a five-star rating instead of 10.

Mixed-ish follows the formula of all those old Norman Lear sitcoms that wanted to use comedy to teach you lessons about something. In this case the lessons are about how we categorize each other (which is sort of the lesson of the whole -ish universe) and the laughs are supplied by a first-rate cast of actors.

This is a really cute show, sometimes very funny. I also appreciate how Bow got a bit ornery in season 2 after being so noble in season 1; it's ice it didn't ignore the inherent obnoxiousness of teenagers.

Sadly, this only lasted two seasons, but it's worth checking out.