The WORST episodes of black-ish
Every episode of black-ish ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of black-ish!
An upper-middle-class black man struggles to raise his children with a sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions and obstacles coming from his liberal wife, old-school father and his assimilated, color-blind kids.
#1 - Election Special Pt. 2
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/4/2020
Dre’s colleague Stevens makes an ill-advised decision to run for Congress, so Dre enlists his family’s help and campaigns against him but gets caught up with fundraising and private interest groups.
#2 - The Natural
Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/11/2022
Dre can’t seem to land a good pitch now that he’s moved up to general marketing at his firm and begins to doubt himself. Meanwhile, Bow and Ruby question the new boy Diane is dating who doesn’t necessarily meet her standards.
#3 - And the Winner Is…
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/22/2022
Dre gets news that he’s been nominated for an Ad World Award but may have to miss an important family function if he attends. Meanwhile, Olivia returns from Yale to visit Junior who has a full day of L.A. fun planned for their visit.
#4 - Blue Valentime
Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/1/2018
Tensions are high between Dre and Bow as their contractor arrives to remodel the kitchen, realizing they have grown apart. Dre reflects on the good times in his relationship with Bow.
#5 - Bow-Mo
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/18/2022
Dre calls into a radio show and gets humiliated in front of Diane and tries to redeem himself. Meanwhile, Bow tries to bond with a group of young female doctors and learns a hard truth.
#6 - Sneakers by the Dozen
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/15/2022
Dre spirals after finding out his white co-worker Griffin has a better sneaker collection than him. Meanwhile, Bow lets Diane take a day off from school against Pops’ advice.
#7 - Pops' Pops' Pops'
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/20/2015
Jack and Diane look for clues about their roots for their class assignment, a history of the Johnson family. But when they can’t find anything out about the family’s past, Pops comes to the rescue with the colorful story of how “Pops’ Pops’ Pops’” great-great grandfather, Drex Johnson, bet the future of the Johnson family against a ruthless gangster, Elroy Savoy, during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance
#8 - Mom Mentor
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/8/2022
When Junior’s girlfriend, Olivia, gets into Yale, he asks Bow to convince her to stay and attend USC instead. Meanwhile, Diane and Jack discover Dre’s inspiration for his ads is hitting a little too close to home.
#9 - What About Gary?
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/2/2021
Going against Bow’s warning, Dre tries to educate her white cousin Gary about how to be an ally. Meanwhile, Olivia is trying to impress Junior’s family by attempting to psychoanalyze everyone and their relationships with each other.
#10 - Young, Gifted and Black
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/29/2022
When Dre and Bow get a note that Devante may be falling behind at his private school, they expect he is being discriminated against because he is the only Black student in class. But during their visit to his classroom, they realize there may be more to it and gravely overstep in one of his school projects. At home, Junior is still coping with heartbreak, and Jack and Diane enlist Charlie to cheer him up.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#11 - Waltz in A Minor
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/22/2019
Dre’s teenage cousin Kyra needs a place to stay and the Johnsons decide to take her in, but they have different approaches to helping her adjust to suburban life. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane try to vet Kyra on social media to get information on her.
#12 - Compton Around the Christmas Tree
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/2/2020
Dre realizes he’s out of touch with his roots after Junior claims he’s turned into a “valley dad,” so he takes the family to his hometown of Compton. Meanwhile, Bow tries to teach Jack and Diane about the spirit of giving by having them volunteer in Compton for Christmas.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#13 - First Trap
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/9/2021
After Bow makes history as the first Black female partner at her hospital, Dre feels like he is not supporting the Black community as much as he would like and tries to convince Stevens & Lido to hire another Black executive. Meanwhile, after her promotion, Bow struggles with the burden of being a Black, female trailblazer at her hospital and tries to mentor others.
#14 - 100 Yards and Runnin’
Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/30/2021
Bow and Dre let their competitive streaks out during their family game night and things escalate when they place a bet. Meanwhile, Junior and Olivia are at a turning point in their relationship when one person says “I love you.”
#15 - Ashy to Classy
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/1/2022
Dre overreacts to Devante leaving the house ashy and Bow intervenes, making the situation worse. Jack makes a bold outfit choice for picture day, and while Junior does not approve, Dre attempts to be more supportive.
#16 - Son of a Pitch
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/19/2019
Junior shakes things up at Stevens and Lido as an intern; Bow has a meeting with one of Kyra’s teachers and learns that she has an aptitude for chemistry, but Kyra doesn’t want to transfer to a magnet school.
#17 - Things Done Changed
Season 7 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/2/2021
In trying to prove to Diane that hip-hop isn't dead, Dre realizes he may be more of out of touch with current trends and his clients than he thought. Meanwhile, Jack thinks that he has somehow become Bow's best friend now that Junior is too busy with his new girlfriend.
#18 - Christmas in Theater Eight
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/11/2018
The Johnsons have a tradition of going to the movies on Christmas and they can never agree on what to see. Dre wants to see an important film about Rosa Parks, but they all want to see the latest action-packed superhero blockbuster. Meanwhile, Junior becomes embarrassed about taking a gap year after he runs into his ex-girlfriend Megan at the theater.
#19 - Friends Without Benefits
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/4/2018
Bow makes a new friend at work and Dre thinks she has broken bird syndrome. Meanwhile, Junior transforms his shared room with Jack into a frat house, and Ruby and Diane gang up against them.
#20 - Hero Pizza
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/21/2020
The episode takes us to the beginning of the global pandemic for the Johnsons. As a first responder, Bow receives her family’s praise for her work, with Junior being her biggest fan. But over time, the family loses their enthusiasm, and Bow discovers someone in her house is breaking the quarantine lockdown rules. Meanwhile, Dre tries to convince everyone that he too is an essential worker.
#21 - Age Against The Machine
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/4/2020
Dre and Junior butt heads over the most effective way to protest in the age of social media. Meanwhile, Jack grows jealous as Diane starts to hang out with the older kids at school.
#22 - Each One, Teach One
Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/2/2019
Dre feels like he has made a difference with the diversity at Stevens & Lido as the head of the Urban Division, but when Junior tells him that Josh is his mentor, Dre flips out. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane show their friends a video of Bow dancing and now she’s become the hot mom.
#23 - Babes in Boyland
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/25/2020
Dre and Bow find out that Diane has a secret social media account and realize that she’s not their little girl anymore. After reprimanding her but allowing Jack more flexibility, Diane calls them out for the double standard in how they are parenting. Meanwhile, Junior and Ruby come clean to their respective romantic partners about white lies they’ve told since the beginning of their relationships.
#24 - The (Almost) Last Dance
Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/5/2022
Pops and Ruby announce they are moving out of the house to travel the United States in their RV, garnering mixed reactions from the Johnson family. When Bow realizes she is beginning perimenopause, Dre enlists her mother’s help.
#25 - Father Christmas
Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/10/2019
Pops doesn't do Christmas, so when he shows up to the house full of holiday cheer with Lynette (Loretta Devine), Dre is thrown off. Pops wants to make up for lost time and go all out this Christmas. The whole family gets into the holiday spirit until someone from Lynette's past shows up.