Dre endeavors to take over the role of office Santa from the head of human resources.

When teenager Zoey goes through a mini-rebellion phase by pushing boundaries and acting out, Dre wants to lay down the law, while Bow insists on a softer approach like her mom did with her.

Dre's sister, Rhonda, is in town for Mother's Day and although she hasn't come out to the family, everyone knows she's gay, except Ruby.

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 Dre gets his yearly physical and comes home traumatized, Pops explains his generation's strong aversion towards healthcare and admits that he hasn't seen a doctor in years. Shocked by this disclosure, Dre and Bow try to convince Pops to get a check-up and he begrudgingly agrees. When Pops finds out he has a clogged artery and needs a small procedure, the rest of The Johnson family handles the news in different ways.

After another lackluster Father’s Day overshadowed by graduation parties and summer vacations, Dre and his colleagues decide to come up with a holiday initiative entitled “Daddy’s Day,” celebrating everything that Father’s Day is not. When Dre meets Resheida, a friend of Zoey’s who doesn’t have a Dad, they develop a bond after he is snubbed by Zoey and she backs him up on the fact that Dads should be respected and heralded. Meanwhile, Junior decides to help Bow around the house but ends up becoming more of a hassle than a help.

In the Johnson home, Sundays involve SAT prep and sports, so when the family is invited to Church on Sunday by the neighbors, Dre goes against his instinct of always saying “no” and agrees. When they end up having one of the best Sundays they can remember, they realize they should say “yes” to things more often. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane find out they were never baptized, and take it upon themselves to do whatever they want.

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.

While Bow prepares for the Johnson family’s annual Christmas card shoot, Dre takes Junior and Jack to the Barber Shop to get a hair cut from his lifelong Barber, T. When Junior decides to let another Barber cut his hair, Dre feels Junior has violated the most sacred of codes. The family is not happy with Dre’s new hair cut but Dre is disappointed in Junior’s lack of loyalty to T.

Dre has always looked out for the crew he grew up with, but when his childhood friend Sha comes to stay at the house for a few days, Bow thinks he is taking advantage of Dre’s generosity. Meanwhile, Daphne Lido, the now ex-wife of Stevens & Lido’s founding partner, gains control of half of the company and wants to start inserting herself in company business. When Daphne starts to question Charlie’s work ethic, Dre must decide who he remains loyal to.

Dre thinks Christmas has become commercialized and is all about “stuff,” and no one loves “stuff” more than his kids. Pops and Ruby think they have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas and come up with a new plan to pare down gifts and spend more time together. The kids don’t handle the news well and hope that if they put on their best behavior Dre and Bow will cave in. Meanwhile, Daphne Lido, who is single for her first holiday alone, invites herself to the Johnson family home to celebrate with them.

Dre's childhood best friend Gigi Franklin is in town, and Bow feels like an afterthought whenever the two of them are together. Dre and Gigi are like brother and sister, but it doesn't help that Gigi is an international pop star with model looks. When they get into an argument, Dre turns to Bow, who convinces him that she can fill Gigi's shoes as his best friend and they give it a trial run. Meanwhile, the kids always look forward to a visit from Aunt Gigi and during her stay, they become inspired to film a music video and become Youtube stars.

Dre has never had a problem with Pops dating, but when it comes to Ruby, he won't let anyone come between them. When Ruby invites Dre and Bow to meet the new man in her life, Dre immediately goes on the defensive and finds any reason to dislike him. Once Pops learns that Ruby's suitor is the real deal, he comes up with a plan to distract her. Meanwhile, Junior meets a girl on a dating site, and Zoey, Jack and Diane convince him he's being scammed, so they devise a plan to meet "the girl" in person.

When the kids ask some tough questions in the midst of a highly publicized court case involving alleged police brutality and an African-American teenager, Dre and Bow are conflicted on how best to field them. Dre, along with Pops and Ruby, feel the kids need to know what kind of world they’re living in, while Bow would like to give them a more hopeful view about life. When the verdict is announced, the family handles the news in different ways while watching the community react.

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’s sister, Rhonda, is getting married to her girlfriend, Sharon, and the upcoming nuptials lead to a conversation on tradition. Dre finds out that Bow is against the patriarchal convention of taking the man’s last name, but he never knew this because Bow’s maiden name is also Johnson. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane want to be the ring bearer and flower girl but worry they’ve aged out of the gigs, and Junior and Zoey prep Ruby to embrace her daughter’s relationshi.

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.

When Diane stumbles onto some websites that give her more than she bargained for, Dre and Bow must take action. Concerned that the internet is corrupting their children, Dre and Bow decide to make their home an internet free-zone and deal with the backlash.

When Dre goes back to Compton for a funeral, he is reunited with his old crew and struggles with survivor’s remorse for the friends he left behind. Meanwhile, Bow becomes self-conscious when Ruby criticizes her parenting style.

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’s sister Rhonda is in town, and he feels a little jealous of her close relationship with Pops. Dre and Bow urge Zoey to take Junior to a high school party, and things get out of hand. Meanwhile, the twins feel like they’re soon to be forgotten, so they decide to live life to the fullest.

Dre is selected to run point on a campaign that focuses on “The Talk,” which refers to the conversations that Black parents have with their children through the decades to prepare them for the racial bias they may face in the world. Meanwhile, Bow finds an online group of women that she leans on for advice and support.

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 twins opt out of the family Halloween costume for fear it will hurt their social status in middle school. Dre and Bow take it upon themselves to protect them from bullies by putting together the best haunted house and invite the whole seventh grade. Meanwhile, Junior starts spending time with a girl from Ruby’s choir and Ruby doesn’t know how to feel about it.

Dre and Bow want to send Kyra to Valley Glen Prep, but after the school treats them like a charity case, they are infuriated. Meanwhile, Junior wants to get a job as Josh’s assistant at Stevens & Lido.

Halloween is around the corner and the Johnsons are definitely not seeing eye to eye on the family costume. The only thing they do agree on is that Jack’s new friend Raymond has got to go. Meanwhile, Junior wants Devante’s first trick-or-treating experience to be perfect.