Episode six of my new favorite series Grown-ish, entitled “Cashin’ Out”, opens with the naturally charming Zoey (c) raving about everything she loves—from Beyoncé’s Lemonade album to Kobe beef tacos. With natural ease, Yara delivers this lovely monologue that anyone, who has been in love right out of high school, can relate to.
For episode five of 9-1-1, “Point of Origin”, the writers’ focus on character’s background stories gave me moments I’ve been waiting for since the series began.
“Worst Day Ever” is the emotional packed fourth episode of FOX’s 9-1-1. The episode opens with various passengers on a plane returning home. Two of the passengers sneak away to join the mile-high club while another pair of passengers, a mother & son are enjoying some quality time together. Moments, every flyer’s worst feat happens, the descent into a crash! Breaking the show’s usual routine, we hear a different operator taking the phone call as opposed to Abby (Connie Britton).
Freeform’s spinoff series Grown-ish, continues its stellar freshmen season with its fifth episode “Cash Rules Everything Around Me.” After getting his mojo at the end of last week’s episode, basketball Phenom Cash Mooney (Da’Vinici) is now dating Zoey (Yara Shahidi). Zoey seems to have forgotten about Cash’s special treatment he received during midterms in episode four and is moving towards a serious relationship with Cash.
College sports are the dramatic backdrop of Episode 4 of Grown-ish titled “Starboy.” Starboy” opens with Zoey giving a voice over on how noteworthy millennials have archived goals before the age of twenty-five. Wanting to make her place in the world, and take out of the competition, Zoey makes a deal with Dean Parker to tutor a star basketball player, hoping to get a letter of recommendation, but her friends believe the relationship is something more. We were introduced to the basketball player last week, in a coda moment.
Episode three of the new FOX Drama 9-1-1- is entitled “Next of Kin” and the show is finally on the right track. Opening with a sequence at a child’s birthday party where an overzealous dad decides to jump into a bouncy castle with his son and friends. The party which is taking place in in the California hills with strong winds all around. Dramatically the bouncy houses are picked up and taken mid-air, before landing on the side of a cliff.
After a mediocre debut, Ryan Murphy’s new show 9-1-1 seems to have found it’s footing with the second episode, “Let Go.” Opening with a terrifying roller coaster accident, involving two friends, the opening sequence was very realistic. The strength in this episode written by Murphy with his two co-co-writers, was the realism, as one moment you’re cracking jokes with your best friends, and the next you watch him perish.
The core storytelling aspect of what makes a spin-off great for me is breaking itself from its parent show. Freeform’s Grown-ish continues this trend with Episode 3, “If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late”. Since the backdoor pilot episode aired last season, Zoey has been trying to get Aaron (Trevor Jackson) to notice her.
Since its inception back in 2014, I’ve always found Black-ish to be one of the smartest written and relatable shows on Network Television. Centered on the upper-middle-class African American Johnson family, I look forward to watching the show weekly. When I heard that Zoey (Yara Shahidi) would be getting a spin-off, following her transition into college, I knew that I would have a new comedy to watch. Airing on the Freeform Network, Grown-ish picks up where the backdoor pilot “Liberal Arts” episode of Black-ish left off. Episode 1 Late Registration introduces us to our cast who are all forced to take a late-night class, taught by the hilarious Deon Cole, respiring his role as Charlie from the parent series.
TV Wunderkid Ryan Murphy returns to the FOX network for the drama 9-1-1. The dramedy which follows the lives of Los Angeles first responders: cops, paramedics, firefighters, and dispatchers, in their jobs as well as their personal lives. With an ensemble cast, the show three leads are Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, and Connie Britton, who have all worked with Murphy in the past. Given the title, one would expect the show to have some imaginative 911 scenarios, and in that aspect, it succeeds. One phone call involving a baby and a toilet peaked my interest right away. However, with most series created by Murphy, the real bread & butter comes with the casting.
