Watch: Yara Shahidi Posts Thoughtful Farewell To “Grown-ish” After Series Finale Announcement

Actress Yara Shahidi says goodbye to nine years of her character Zoey Johnson and Cal U. The “Grown-ish” star shares a thoughtful post on social media after the network confirmed season six will be the final one of the series. Check out her post and read more inside.

This marks the end of Kenya Barris’ “-ish” universe. The “Black-ish” spinoff will come to a close with its sixth and final season on Freeform. The announcement came Wednesday (April 5) when the network announced the final season will be split into two parts. The first half will air at a date to be determined this summer and the final episodes next year in 2024.

“We’ve spent nearly a decade telling our stories through the -ish series, and to say it has been an amazing journey would be an understatement,” Barris said in a statement announcing the news. “To be able to watch Yara, Marcus and our entire Grown-ish family grow up in front of (and in many ways alongside) us over these past several years has been both a joy and an honor. From the stories we’ve told to the talent we’ve fostered and, most importantly, the memories made, I could not be more proud of everything we’ve accomplished and the -ishfamily I’ve been a part of.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources say the decision to conclude Grown-ish with season six was a creative one after the show’s storytelling was leaning toward a shorter shelf life. The comedy are set to celebrate its 100th episode in its final season, which is something Shahidi mentions in her goodbye to “Grown-ish” post on Instagram.

The star thanks her “Grown-ish” family for the opporunitiy to have grown with Zoey over the past nine years, her castmates for their wonderful gifts and the fans who have supported the series for five seasons.

Yara captions her video, “Cheers to 6 beautiful years of Grownish 💕 I won’t get too sappy now (because we still have a whole season left🤪) but it truly took a village of super talented people to build Cal U and make it what it is! Thank you @kenyabarris for the vision and to everyone who stepped in to blossom it beyond our wildest dreams. Let’s go out with a bang 🎓 #Grownish.”

The conclusion of the series is the final chapter in the “–ish” franchise that also included ABC prequel spinoff “Mixed-ish” which was canceled after two short seasons.  ABC also planned to develop a separate spinoff, “Old-ish” in 2020, starring Laurence Fishburne and Jenifer Lewis. There were rumors that the project could be ordered to series at Disney-owned Hulu. While Barris confirmed to THR in April that he was also hearing the same news of Hulu’s consideration for the universe’s fourth show, sources say the streamer has no plans to produce “Old-ish.”

Check out Yara’s thoughtful farewell here.