Taking cues from ’s iconic spinoff but updated for some 30 years later, , the spawn premiered on in January 2018 by following ’s Zoey Johnson, Dre (Anthony Anderson) and Bow’s (Tracee Ellis Ross) firstborn, to college. Similar to its predecessor, tackled many controversial topics, including university investment in the prison system, drug use, pre-NIL exploitation of college athletes, sex, the value of college and more, but did so with . Zoey’s college world included her competing love interests — woke Black campus activist Aaron (Trevor Jackson) and ultimate hipster Luca (Luka Sabbat) — as well as Latina Republican Ana (Francia Raìsa), Jewish rebel Nomi (Emily Arlook), first generation Indian American and all-around hustler Vivek (Jordan Buhat), Olympic-bound South Los Angeles track stars Jazz and Sky (sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey, who perform the show’s theme song) and later, laidback East Coast cool kid Doug (Diggy Simmons).
Fortunately, Zoey’s own graduation didn’t end the . Instead, Marcus Scribner, who played Zoey’s younger brother Junior (also Andre or Dre) on , took the reins in season five, joining holdovers Aaron (a Cal U instructor), Doug (an ambitious bar manager), the recurring Zoey who’s pursuing her fashion career in New York, and Luca’s younger sister and fellow student Kiela (Daniella Perkins). Cal U newcomers like influencer Annika (Justine Skye) and driven first generation American Zaara (Tara Raani), who is queer, among a few ot.
