After two years in limbo, a controversial Black-ish episode titled “Please, Baby, Please” has premiered on ABC-controlled Hulu, along with the rest of the show’s catalog.
Days before its original air date in February 2018, the episode was mysteriously shelved.
The decision was seen as the final nail in the coffin for show creator Kenya Barris’ relationship with Walt-Disney Co., and not long after that, he made a move from ABC Studios to Netflix.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the episode featured Dre (Anthony Anderson) “telling his infant son, Devante, a bedtime story that reflected on the events of his first year on earth.” The storyline had racial and political undertones and featured real news footage of President Donald Trump, the Charlottesville attack and the NFL kneeling protests.
“When you’re putting a baby to sleep, you’re trying to soothe whatever anxieties they’re having,” Barris said at the time. “So, this was about me trying to pat the butt of the country and soothe people.”
While Barris has remained diplomatic in his response to the episode being shelved, Anderson was more vocal about his disappointment in the network for the decision to pull the episode.
“He’d given his blood, sweat and tears to [the episode], which they had signed off on every step of the way — from the outline, to the script, to the table read, to the point where they actually spent the money and made the episode,” the actor shared in a statement at the time. “And I don’t know what those conversations were, but we entered into this partnership with the understanding that we would be able to tell the stories that we wanted to tell.”
Now, two years later amid racial unrest in the country, along with a new management team at ABC Entertainment, the episode has finally seen the light of day on Hulu.
Barris shared his excitement on Instagram this week, saying it was a “lost episode.”
Barris included a statement in his post, and thanked ABC Entertainment for finally allowing the episode to air.
He added, “Soooo soooo soooooo happy to finally be able to share this episode of television with you at this time means everything to me. Please tune into HULU to watch under Season 4’s slate.”
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