The black-ish series finale aired earlier this year after eight seasons, but the Kenya Barris project’s legacy lives on through its Freeform spin-off grown-ish, which is now in its fifth season.
For five seasons, fans have followed along as Zoey Johnson, played by Yara Shahidi, made a place for herself in the world as a college student at California University studying fashion. In the course of the show, we’ve seen Zoey make a fair share of mistakes, fall in and out of love, and find a career she’s proud of, all while building a community amongst her group of supportive, hilarious, and loyal friends. The crew graduated and started branching out into their own paths in the Season 4 finale, and it was later announced that a majority of them—including Francia Raisa, Luka Sabbat, Emily Arlook, and Chloe and Halle Bailey—wouldn’t be returning to the show as season regulars.
Instead, this new season will focus on a new batch of students at Cal U, including Zoey’s little brother Andre Johnson Jr. (mostly known as Junior), played by Marcus Scribner, who after taking a long gap “year” is on a mission to get his college degree at his big sister’s alma mater. Scribner has appeared on the spin-off in various episodes and he fit right in with the OG cast while maintaining the same brother-sister chemistry he had with Shahidi on black-ish. His time at the school will be a little different than hers, though, and as much as he wants to avoid the typical college lifestyle he gets roped right in, and fans should expect to see Scribner in raunchier, more adult scenarios they haven’t seen from him yet.
The new cast members, who include Justine Skye and Slick Woods, will be under the stewardship of some of the original cast including Trevor Jackson, who plays Aaron, and Diggy Simmons, who plays Doug. The show has entered new territory as Zoey begins her life as a professional while her brother experiences the college life she got to experience for four seasons, which Shahidi says is the reason why the show was never meant to be just about college.
Complex caught up with Yara Shahidi and Marcus Scribner to talk about ushering the show into a new era, embracing their new cast members, and growing up alongside their characters.