This article originally appeared on EW.
To celebrate Fall TV and our huge Fall TV Preview issue — hitting stands on Sept. 15 — EW is bringing you 50 scoops in 50 days, a daily dish on some of your favorite shows. Follow the hashtag #50Scoops50Days on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest, and check EW.com/50-Scoops for all the news and surprises.
ABC’s Black-ish has always been fearless when it comes to storytelling, whether it’s tackling the N-word or racial profiling or the 2016 election. So for its fourth season premiere, creator Kenya Barris naturally decided to do something bold: a musical episode revolving around June 19, 1865, considered to be the last day of slavery.
“I think it’s the most ambitious episode we’ve ever done,” Barris tells EW. “The episode takes place with Dre (Anthony Anderson) at a Columbus Day pageant with his kids and he’s like, ‘This is bulls–t!’ and he starts spiraling. With the help of The Roots and Aloe Blacc, he tries to create an advertising campaign to bring back June 19th and we do a Broadway-level musical with the cast in the parts.”
In the above exclusive image, guest star Aloe Blacc and Dre work on composing a new song for Dre’s campaign.
Black-ish returns for its fourth season with a new day and time—Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. on ABC.