Have you guys been watching ABC’s hit tv show black-ish? If not what are you waiting for! Its so funny, refreshing and I love all the characters on the show. While out in Los Angeles, we bloggers had the opportunity to visit the set and chat with Actress Tracee Ellis Ross who plays Rainbow Johnson on the sitcom. She was mad cool and shared so many secrets with us about filming the show, her style and so much more! Check out what she told us inside…
About black-ish
Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson (Anthony Anderson) has a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids and a colonial home in the ‘burbs. But has success brought too much assimilation for this black family? With a little help from his dad (Laurence Fishburne), Dre sets out to establish a sense of cultural identity for his family that honors their past while embracing the future.
black-ish stars Anthony Anderson as Dre, Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow, Yara Shahidi as Zoey, Marcus Scribner as Andre Jr., Miles Brown as Jack, Marsai Martin as Diane and Laurence Fishburne as Pops.
“black-ish” was created by Kenya Barris and is executive-produced by Barris, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland and E. Brian Dobbins. The series is produced by ABC Studios.
Fun Facts I Learned From Tracee Ellis Ross:
- Tracee shared with us that she stashes her scripts/cell phone in various drawers to refresh her memory during takes lol.
- The beds on set have signs that ask the cast and crew to keep off, but she and Anthony Anderson take naps on them whenever they are not filming.
- I asked Tracee about her character’s style verses her own. She said “I do have a lot of input on my wardrobe. We have a wonderful costume department led by Michelle Cole, who’s very incredible, and been doing this forever. I do have input but they do the shopping. I don’t really specify any designers. My style is a little bit different than Bow, which I kind of love. Bow doesn’t wear heels ever. I wear heels all the time. Bow rarely wears a heal, which I find liberatingly wonderful. It’s so great to not put heels on. One of the things that was very clear to me that I really wanted to bring to Bow is that she dressed hair and makeup wise really like a woman that was authentically a mother of four with a career and a husband and like all of that.” “So I usually don’t wear mascara, I mean, I don’t wear eye shadow and stuff like that. It’s sort of like the mascara and the lipstick is sort of her sort of regimen and routine. There’s usually not a lot of jewelry. I feel like the way she pulls from her closet is the way people pull from their closet, so it’s usually a dress and sneakers or jeans and a cute top. It’s not like styled, you know. I wear a lot more stuff than she does, but I like to keep it really authentic. I usually, if we can – because of the shooting schedule – I usually remove my mascara and most of my makeup when I’m in the bed. Sometimes, we can’t ’cause we’re about to go back to another scene where I need to have my mascara on, but mostly I try to be authentic and not have makeup on when I’m in the bed. It’s a pet peeve of mine when you see an actress wake up with lip gloss. Somehow, it’s not on the pillow.”
- I didn’t know that it takes about 4 days to shoot one 22 minute episode, wow! Most people think it takes less time.
- After working with the cast for over a year now, they have grown a special bond and connection like no other and you can tell.
- In the episode, “Charlie in Charge“, Tracee, Yara Shahidi and Anthony did not go to Brown University to film. And, although Tracee is an actual alumni, she did not know the “Brown song” she sings out in the show.
- We asked Tracee what were some of her favorite episodes, she stated: “Churched” — direction was great and little moments between the kids was perfect “Jacked o’ Lantern” — kids were magical when they attacked their cousins had her in hysterics “The Word” — writing-wise the subject was handled well and they were able to make it funny by introducing it through Jack.
- On working with the kids on set, Tracee said this…“Honestly, talent aside, yes they’re talented, but they’re wonderful people. I mean, it’s really joyful. There’s that myth, don’t work with kids or animals. I can’t understand that. I had such a good experience. You can say it this way, but like they’re, they’ve been on the planet for less time than us and they’re not jaded, they just have a pure joy – when you see Miles and Marsai in the morning, they run towards you for a cuddle. It’s magic. Usually between takes, there’s a lot of giggling and laughing and videos being taken and pictures and everything, so I really enjoy it. They’re extremely talented.”
On tonight’s episode of BLACK-ISH titled “Man at Work” there is a special guest appearance by Wanda Sykes
There is also an appearance by Comedian Faizon Love.
Dre has always looked out for the crew he grew up with, but when his childhood friend Sha (guest star Faizon Love) comes to stay at the house for a few days, Bow thinks he is taking advantage of Dre’s generosity. Meanwhile, Daphne Lido (played by Wanda Sykes), the now ex-wife of Stevens & Lido’s founding partner, gains control of half of the company and wants to start inserting herself in company business. When Daphne starts to question Charlie’s work ethic, Dre must decide who he remains loyal to.
Faizon, Tracee, Anthony Anderson
Black-ish airs on Wednesdays at 9:30pm on ABC. Check out this funny clip…
Wanda Sykes ready to shake things up on #blackish.
Posted by black-ish on Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Photo Credits: Eddy Chen & Adam Taylor/ABC
