The Best Episodes Written By Kenya Barris

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   7.7/10(9 votes)

   #1 - Hope

   S2:E162/24/2016

   When the kids ask some tough questions in the midst of a highly publicized court case involving alleged police brutality and an African-American teenager, Dre and Bow are conflicted on how best to field them. Dre, along with Pops and Ruby, feel the kids need to know what kind of world they’re living in, while Bow would like to give them a more hopeful view about life. When the verdict is announced, the family handles the news in different ways while watching the community react.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris
2. 

   7.2/10(10 votes)

   #2 - The Nod

   S1:E310/8/2014

   Dre tries to help Andre Jr. expand his social circle. Rainbow tries to inspire Diane.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris
3. 

   7.2/10(12 votes)

   #3 - Pilot

   S1:E19/24/2014

   Advertising executive Dre happily anticipates a promotion; Andre Jr. wants to covert to Judaism and have a bar mitzvah like his friends.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris
4. 

   7.1/10(9 votes)

   #4 - The Word

   S2:E19/23/2015

   Jack performs the song “Gold Digger” at a school talent show and when he sings a lyric that includes THE word, it leads to his possible expulsion from school. Dre and Bow work together to get him reinstated, and along the way, examine the evolution of THE word through the generations and just who, if anyone, has the right to use it.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris
5. 

   6.3/10(3 votes)

   #5 - Liberal Arts

   S3:E235/3/2017

   Dre tearfully drops Zoey off to college for her two-day orientation, and she hits it off with fellow incoming freshman Miriam after they ditch the campus tour. They are smitten upon meeting Aaron, who is running the Black Student Union booth at the club fair. When Zoey finds out that Dre never turned in her housing application, she pays a visit to President Schock and Dean Parker to plead for mercy.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Writer:Kenya Barris
6. 

   6.3/10(9 votes)

   #6 - Lemons

   S3:E121/11/2017

   The nation is still reeling after the outcome of the presidential election, and tensions are particularly high at Dre’s work. Much to his frustration, they haven’t been able to get anything done since election night – eight weeks ago. Meanwhile, Junior is dealing with a disenfranchised student body as class president, and when he is asked to deliver Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at school, Pops teaches him there is more to the speech than Junior thought.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Writer:Kenya Barris
7. 

   6.2/10(6 votes)

   #7 - Late Registration

   S1:E11/3/2018

   Zoey Johnson arrives at California University certain she will be a hot shot on campus, but quickly learns she may have a little more growing to do.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris
8. 

   6.0/10(5 votes)

   #8 - Public Fool

   S4:E510/31/2017

   An incident at school threatens Junior’s future at his beloved Valley Glen Prep.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris
9. 

   5.7/10(3 votes)

   #9 - Becoming Bow

   S1:E19/24/2019

   Rainbow Johnson’s parents decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to better provide for their family. As her parents struggle with the challenges of their new life, Bow and her siblings navigate a mainstream school in which they’re perceived as neither black nor white.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris

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   Director:N/A

   Writer:Kenya Barris
10. 

    4.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Please, Baby, Please

    S0:E28/10/2020

    Dre reads a crying Devante a bedtime story.

    Director:N/A

    Writer:Kenya Barris

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    Director:N/A

    Writer:Kenya Barris