''This ain't even the cast anymore'': Grown-ish fans want old cast back as series gets renewed for season 6

Grown-ish is returning for a 6th season. The show's network, Freeform, made the announcement during the recent Television Critics Association winter press tour, along with the release of a trailer for the second half of season five.

To note, the first nine episodes of the fifth season have already hit Freeform, with the latest one titled It's A Vibe premiering on the Disney-owned channel on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.

The penultimate episode will premiere on January 18, 2023, followed by the series finale on January 25, 2023.

The focus of the sitcom's sixth season is scheduled to move entirely from Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) to her younger brother Andre "Junior" Johnson (Marcus Scribner). The arc shift was established in the first half of Season 5, and the trailer for the second half confirmed it.

Twitter was flooded with reactions to the news as soon as it broke, with many users expressing their eager anticipation for the upcoming sixth installment. A few, however, were not happy with the plot twist and demanded that the original cast members be reinstated.

Fans demand return of old cast. (Photo via Twitter/Sportskeeda)

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Bring the OG cast back, fans demand after Grown-ish gets another season

Grown-ish is a Freeform original that has only swelled in popularity since its inception. The show premiered on January 3, 2018, and went on to have five seasons across 78 episodes.

The fifth season was divided into two halves, with the first half streaming from July 20, 2022, to September 14, 2022, followed by a midseason break. So the show has been renewed for a sixth season even before it resumes next Wednesday.

However, it seems there are many who didn't entertain the idea of the show undergoing a change in the next season. Numerous took to Twitter to demand the return of the old cast.

Viewers express their feelings on Twitter. (Photo via Twitter/Sportskeeda)

No jazz? Fans ask on Twitter. (Photo via Twitter/Sportskeeda)

Viewers want to cancel the next season. (Photo via Twitter/Sportskeeda)

However, not everyone reacted negatively. Several viewers expressed excitement for the sixth season and wanted to see Zoey-Aaron Jackson (Trevor Jackson) and Junior-Annika Longstreet (Justine Skye) together.

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Zoey was the initial focus of Grown-ish

For the first four seasons, Grown-ish trained its attention on Zoey, the firstborn of the Johnson family, as she entered college life. It was during Zoey's time at the fictitious California University of Liberal Arts (Cal U for short), Zoey discovered "that her journey to adulthood and her departure from the family does not go the way she hoped.”

The first half of the fifth season revolved around her college dropout younger brother Junior enrolling at Cal U after she graduated. Since Junior has already completed his freshman year, the second half will focus on an entirely new semester.

A still from Grown-ish. (Photo via Twitter/@mefeater)

Given this scenario, it is safe to predict that season 6 will focus completely on Junior emerging from the shadows of her smart sister and finding his own place on the varsity.

Reports said that although Scribner would be the protagonist going forward, Yara Shahidi would remain a prominent character as well, mostly as a guide to the former’s character.

The sixth season of Grown-ish will have Craig Doyle as the showrunner, who takes the mantle from Zakiyyah Alexander and Courtney Lilly. Doyle is an –ish alum having served as the executive producer of Black-ish, the base material for Grown-ish.

The second half of Grown-ish's fifth season premieres on January 18 at 10:30 p.m. ET.