Deon Cole Left 'Black-ish' Due to a Prior Commitment With Another Show

If you consider yourself to be a bonafide black-ish fan, then you know there are some things you can always count on: never-ending laughter and a hilarious take of the cast tackling political issues. And while the show continues to gain major acclaim for its talented cast and interesting storyline, there are a few questions that continue to come up in regards to the show.

There is no denying that major cast changes have taken place, such as Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) starting college. However, there is one cast shakeup that has left fans wondering what is going on behind the scenes. And that question is: Why did Deon Cole leave black-ish? Here’s everything we know. 

When it comes to the entertainment industry, it's common to believe that drama is brewing once an actor steps away from a show. And while sometimes there is controversy happening behind the scenes, other times it's strictly business. And that was the case for Deon. 

According to JETMAG, Deon had a lot of things going on in his career in the midst of black-ish. In an interview with the publication, he explains that he was double-booked on two shows.

"I have another show on TBS called Angie Tribeca, written and produced by Steve and Nancy Carell, and stars Rashida Jones and myself," he shared. "I had that show before I had black-ish."

He also admits that the person who was supposed to play Charlie never showed. "The person that was supposed to play Charlie didn’t show up so Kenya Barris, the creator, asked me to play that character because he knew that I knew how to write that character," he continued. "So, when black-ish blew up, I still had to go do my other show."

While many fans were sad to see Deon go on Season 2, Episode 10, it was clear that the show producers were far from done with the star. After all, who can play Anthony Anderson’s lovable co-worker Charlie like Deon can?

And the showrunner came through with their promise, as fans were able to see Deon grace the small screen before the end of the second season.

"We said a very tearful goodbye to Charlie in episode 10," executive producer Jonathan Groff told TVGuide. 

"We're going to see him again in a little bit. He's going to come play for a little bit so we're really excited about it."

And after delivering a memorable performance for fans, Deon was later promoted to a main role in Season 4 and beyond. He has also appeared in episodes of the spinoff grown-ish as an adjunct professor turned dean of students at the fictional Cal U institution. 

Naturally, many fans were excited to see him on the show.

So, while fans were upset that Deon temporarily left black-ish, there's no longer any need to worry. Not only is he set as a main cast member, he will also be appearing in the six-order episodes that has been granted by ABC. 

According to Deadline, the backorder comes two days after the seventh season premiere of Black-ish, which also did an hour-long election special earlier in February 2020.

black-ish airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.