The "Black-ish" Cast Say Farewell Ahead of Series Finale

It's a sad day for "Black-ish" fans because the hit ABC family series is coming to an end. After eight laughter-filled seasons, "Black-ish" will air its series finale on April 19. The show kicked off its last season premiere on Jan. 4 with a special guest appearance from former First Lady Michelle Obama. Yet we're still struggling to say goodbye to the Johnson family — Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), Andre "Dre" (Anthony Anderson), Zoey (Yara Shahidi), Junior (Marcus Scribner), Diane (Marsai Martin), and Jack (Miles Brown) — after growing up with them over the years.

Even some of the cast are still grappling with the fact that the show is finishing up its final season. In an Instagram tribute post to her castmates, Ross wrote, "It is so hard to say goodbye to the @blackishabc family. But, I leave full of joy and pride. It was an honor to go to work every day, to create our hilarious and important show. We changed the landscape of modern primetime television."

Scribner echoed his TV mom's sentiments in an interview with POPSUGAR, stating, "It was definitely hard, but we were so thankful that we were able to get an eighth and final season to send it off the right way . . . we really get to send them off in a celebratory manner, and just celebrate all the amazing storylines that we've had over the years and what we've been to Black culture."

In a farewell video from ABC, scored to Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," the cast reflected on their time together and the show's success. "As a family and as a cast, we are very powerful," Martin says. Ross adds, "It is such an honor to have been doing this show with you for all these years."

Ahead, see how the rest of the "Black-ish" cast is bidding farewell to the show.

01
Tracee Ellis Ross
ABC

Tracee Ellis Ross

"It is so hard to say goodbye to the @blackishabc family. But, I leave full of joy and pride," Ross wrote in an Instagram post alongside a series of photos and videos with the "Black-ish" cast and crew. "It was an honor to go to work every day, to create our hilarious and important show. We changed the landscape of modern primetime television. It is more than a notion to keep rising above the limiting ideas people have for Black women. To keep feeling the hits and to keep being free and shining anyway. 'Black-ish' was a place where I could shine and be free. Let this show be a promise of what is to come, let the space we leave in our departure be an invitation for an eternity of Black women leads who reflect the truth of who we are in the world and more shows that shift the narrative so that we can be seen in our fullness, and reflected as the important, loving, powerful humans that we are."

02
Anthony Anderson
ABC

Anthony Anderson

Ahead of "Black-ish"'s final season premiere, Anderson shared a cast photo on Instagram captioned, "It's been an amazing journey over the last 8 years. I've watched these kids grow into young adults and can't be more proud of them. My tv wife and parents ain't so bad either. I love and miss them all! #justakidfromcompton #huskyandhandsome #bigzaddy."

A few days before the show's series finale, Anderson appeared on "Good Morning America" to discuss what it was like filming the episode that he describes as a "victory lap." "It was very emotional, and more emotional than I thought it was going to be," he said. "We had time to gear up to that finale day and I was like, 'Oh, I got it' . . . on that final day, it was the final scene . . . I could not keep it together."

03
Yara Shahidi
ABC

Yara Shahidi

In a 2021 interview with Extra TV, Shahidi shared her thoughts on "Black-ish"'s final season. "Honestly, I'm just honored that we've been able to go on this journey for eight years and that we're ending it because it feels like a great place to end," she said. "This wasn't a rush, but we've been able to see every character evolve in such beautiful ways."

A day before the series finale, the "Grown-ish" actor shared a photo series of her castmates on Instagram captioned, "GRATEFUL TO GROW UP TOGETHER ✨ 🤎. 🤎THANK YOU to Mr. Never the Same 'fit twice, @kenyabarris and my paDRE @anthonyanderson for creating spaces to thrive and carry on with @grownish ! What a beautiful 8 years ✨."

04
Marsai Martin
ABC

Marsai Martin

During an interview with ET Canada, Martin spoke about filming the series finale for "Black-ish" alongside her costar Miles Brown. "I think, speaking for everyone, we are super honored just to have an experience like this and to be able to say that we worked on a show like this that has impacted so many lives and changed the way people see television," she said.

05
Marcus Scribner
ABC

Marcus Scribner

Before "Black-ish" aired its season eight premiere, Scribner posted a heartwarming video on Instagram paying tribute to the cast, crew, and fans of the show. "This is my final scene filming 'black-ish.' Im so thankful to each and every person who helped to make blackish possible. These past 8 years have been the best of my entire life and have allowed me to make my dreams come true. To my beautiful cast and crew. I love you and you are my family. Lastly, thank you to you all for allowing our family into your homes and tuning in each week to laugh and learn with us. This is only the beginning!!! ❤️❤️❤️."

Ahead of the show's series finale, the actor spoke to "Daily Pop" about the final table read for the emotional episode. "I honestly said I wasn't going to cry . . . but at our last table read, I'm going to blame it on Miles, [he] started crying a little bit and it started to get the waterworks going for me," he said. ". . . when you've been on a show for so long it's like everyone feels like a family. We've really grown together as a cast and crew, and it was just like the realization of it all being over."

06
Miles Brown
ABC

Miles Brown

Back in November 2021, Brown posted an emotional video of his farewell to his "Black-ish" cast and crew on Instagram with a caption that reads, "And that's a wrap on Black-ish. Thank you to ANYONE who's been involved these past 8 seasons. I started when I was 9 years old. I'll be 17 next month. It's been an honor to grow up on this set and be able to call this my second home. Love you all and I will NEVER forget this amazing opportunity. ❤️."

Ahead of the series finale, he opened up about what it was like during the last day of filming in an interview with ET Canada. "I feel like when we were filming it, it was just so nervous, to me, because it was [a] like seconds-before-it's-ending type thing. . . . There was a scene we were filming, and it was like every time we pressed cut, we were wondering if that was it and we would [say], 'No, we're going to do it again.'"

07
Jenifer Lewis
ABC

Jenifer Lewis

"Just - simply - WOW WOW WOW!!!," Lewis captioned an Instagram post, sharing a "Black-ish" poster montage of all eight seasons. "Thank you to all who loved and supported this grounding breaking show. We made history in so many ways. I am insanely grateful."