'Black-ish' season 3 cast news 2016: 'Hamilton's' Daveed Diggs joins cast as Bow's brother, Yara Shahidi speaks on promoting activism through her role as Zoey
Production for "Black-ish" season 3 begins next week and when the popular ABC comedy returns this Fall, the Johnson family opens its home to relative who might be a frequent thorn in Dre's (Anthony Anderson) side.
Fresh from winning a Tony Award for hit broadway musical "Hamilton," Daveed Diggs will join the cast as Bow's (Tracee Ellis Ross) brother Johan for a multiple-episode arc. In an interview with Variety, series creator/showrunner Kenya Barris described Johan's personality and how his arrival will affect the Johnson family. "He's sort of a hipster, entitled kid who gets on Dre's nerves," she explained. "He's constantly on a search for the best conditioner for his hair. He's probably gone to Penn or Wharton and could have gotten a great-paying job, but he's trying to find himself. That attitude more than anything makes Dre want to strangle him."
One of the issues Bow and Dre face in the show is how they will raise their children since they grew up in completely opposite households. Dre constantly worries about his kids being overly pampered, and it seems that Johan will be the "personification of those fears." Barris did not mention exactly when Diggs will appear but confirmed that he will be introduced "early" in the season.
On another note, Zoey's portrayer Yara Shahidi recently gave a speech about racism in the entertainment industry which quickly went viral. After accepting an award from the Points of Life Conference on Volunteering and Service, the young actress called out Hollywood for continuously promoting racial stereotypes. She emphasized that the industry leads young African-Americans to believe that "they are an anomaly if they succeed and the expectation if they fail." Shahidi also stressed that through her character in "Black-ish," she is able to promote activism in her own way. "It is through my character and characters like her that the barrier of racism, ageism, sexism and other -isms can be broken down," she said (via Eurweb).
Catch the season 3 premiere of "Black-ish" on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
