When the kids disapprove of Dre's favorite cheap restaurant, he decides they all need to get jobs.

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.

After a break-in down the block, Dre talks about getting a gun, and Bow is not comfortable with the idea. Which leads everyone to debate — there are many different ways to protect your family, but what’s the “best” way? Jack and Diane are shocked that they have been living in the house unprotected, Junior sets off on a quest to protect the family from the real threat, cyber terrorism, and Zoey has Pops teach her the art of Karate to defend herself.

Ever since he was a kid, Dre has loved Halloween. Now that he lives in one of those “good candy neighborhoods,” kids come from all over the city to trick-or-treat, including Dre’s own nieces and nephews. The cousins are known for roughhousing and The Johnson kids aren’t happy when they come around, but Dre feels his kids could use some toughening. Meanwhile, Dre gets a surprise visit from his own cousin, June Bug, who used to torment Dre as a kid.

After Dre notices that his neighbor Janine has never invited his family to any of her pool parties, he assumes she is racially stereotyping them as a family that doesn’t swim. The kids are shocked to find out that, in fact, Dre doesn’t know how to swim. At work, Dre shares the story with his colleagues, and Daphne Lido is not convinced it’s a race thing, so Dre confronts Janine directly. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane are a part of the Girls’ and Boys’ Rovers Organization, and they envy each other’s activities.

Jack and Diane are doing biography projects about each other in school, and Diane decides to shoot a documentary on Jack's budding basketball career. Jack is the star of rec ball but when Dre and Bow learn about travel ball, a much more serious league where all the pros start out, they find a way to get Jack in. The kids are much more talented than Jack is used to, and to Dre and Bow's dismay, he becomes a bench warmer. Meanwhile, Junior becomes a referee and takes his new responsibilities a little too far, while Zoey meets a new love interest on the court.

Dre has always strived to mirror his life after the model families he grew up watching on TV. When news spreads that Stevens & Lido is going through layoffs, Dre panics that his family’s reputation will be tarnished if he loses his job. Meanwhile, Bow has something to prove when she’s put in charge of the school auction and refuses to ask the other moms for help. Instead, she enlists the kids who end up doing more harm than good to the family name.

After a situation arises at work, Dre’s views are confronted regarding how black people are perceived now versus when he grew up. He wants to be more open-minded about being a part of his community, and his first step is joining his Homeowners’ Association. Meanwhile, Bow wants to spend more time with the kids before the new baby arrives and gets advice from Pops on how to make them want to be around her.

After Junior embarrasses Dre during a basketball game, Dre decides to remind Junior of his master pranking skills so he’ll never challenge him again. Meanwhile, the neighborhood participates in a “mischief night” during Halloween where petty crimes become legal, and Ruby takes it too far with the kids.

Dre is forced to participate in jury duty after Junior responds to the summons that was thrown away. The case is supposed to be open and shut, but when Dre sees that the defendant is a young African American, he feels a civic responsibility to give him a fair trial. Meanwhile, Bow decides to let the kids swear in the house since they are more open with her that way, but she and Ruby soon regret the decision.

Janine gives Diane a white Girlstory doll for her birthday, and when Bow tries to return it for a black doll, she is shocked by the limited options offered. Dre blames the lack of representation of African Americans in the media, but when confronting this systematic problem, he realizes that he has prejudices of his own. Meanwhile, Ruby enlists the help of Junior to be her Spades partner.

Dre is excited about doing a campaign with a popular rap star but becomes conflicted when Bow and Ruby provide feedback suggesting it plays on stereotypes. Meanwhile, Bow is determined to get the family to stop eating so much take-out food.

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

Dre is chosen to lead Stevens & Lido’s new charity campaign which helps people give back to their community. When Bow advises Dre that there is more to giving back than cutting checks, he decides to donate some of his clothes to a man in need. Meanwhile, Junior fails his driving test, so Ruby offers to chaperone a trip with him and the twins on an informative outing.

Dre and Bow confront gender biases of their own after finding out that both Junior and Zoey have become sexually active. Meanwhile, Ruby is hurt when she finds out that Jack and Diane have been hanging out with a friend’s grandmother after school.

When Jack and Diane get in trouble at school, Dre and Bow have to figure out the right balance of discipline and support so that their kids aren’t too afraid of authority nor entitled either. Meanwhile, Ruby thinks Junior’s Spanish teacher is flirting with him, and he begins to realize that girls at school are starting to check him out.

Tensions are high between Dre and Bow as their contractor arrives to remodel the kitchen, realizing they have grown apart. Dre reflects on the good times in his relationship with Bow.

The neighbors decide to rent their house out for homestays and it’s causing problems for the Johnsons. Dre develops a newfound joy of calling the cops over petty neighborhood issues but begins to question the example he is setting for Jack. Meanwhile, Diane develops her first crush and Bow wants to help but lets Zoey take the lead.

Dre must take Jack and Diane on a mandatory camping trip for school and hatches a plan for them to escape to a fancy hotel for some pampering. Meanwhile, Bow gets an award at work, but feels undermined after a colleague is surprised to learn that she went to USC for med school.

Dre is thrilled when Jack makes the football team, but Bow is against the idea. Meanwhile, Diane wants Junior to drive her to her first real date with Jalen, but Junior overstays his welcome.

When Rainbow and Dre realize Junior’s been taking them for granted, they decide it’s time to band together and cut him off for good. Meanwhile, Jack discovers he has a very lucrative talent, only Ruby wants to use it for all the wrong reasons.

Pops doesn’t do Christmas, so when he shows up to the house full of holiday cheer with Lynette, Dre is thrown off. Pops wants to make up for lost time and go all out this Christmas. The whole family gets into the holiday spirit until someone from Lynette’s past shows up.

Bow is heartbroken to learn that Diane is no longer friends with Sophie. Having been scarred by her own friend breakup in middle school, Bow decides to intervene. Meanwhile, Dre discovers a hole in the wall that Junior and Jack were hiding and forces them to fix their own expensive mistake.

Junior is excited for his first time voting but discovers he has been purged from the voter polls so he does a deep dive into why – trying to understand the systems in place for voter registration.

Dre’s colleague Stevens makes an ill-advised decision to run for Congress, so Dre enlists his family’s help and campaigns against him but gets caught up with fundraising and private interest groups.

When the power goes out in the neighborhood, Dre's instinct is to go into survival mode and stockpile on essentials, while Bow focuses on helping their neighbors. Meanwhile, Junior desperately searches for a place to charge his phone to get in touch with Olivia.

Bow convinces Dre to attend a fundraising event for When We All Vote in hopes to make some new couple friends (and to do their part in increasing participation in each and every election), but Dre is convinced there will be nothing but dud husbands there to befriend. Their expectations are far exceeded when the special guest for the evening is none other than Michelle Obama. To their surprise, the former first lady accepts an invitation for dinner at their house. But on the evening of the special meal, the rest of the Johnsons want to crash the occasion.

As Pops and Ruby prepare to move away, Dre and Bow consider if they should make a big life change as well. Grappling with this idea at work, Dre receives some unexpected advice from Simone Biles, who tells him to follow his heart. The Johnsons prepare for their goodbyes in the series finale.