Struggling to figure out where he fits in, Dean decides to pursue his calling as "The Great Uniter" and attempts to organize the first integrated baseball game between his team and his friend Brad's team.
Guest Stars:
Charity Jordan, Chris Whitley, Barbara Hawkins-Scott, Jah'Mir Poteat, Sami Bray
While Dean reckons with his first taste of heartbreak and betrayal, the adults in his life are overly empathetic and assume his grief is from mourning current events.
Guest Stars:
Barbara Hawkins-Scott, Myron Parker Wright, Terrence J. Smith, Bill Kelly, Kristen Wharton
Dean stumbles upon some “racy literature” and shares it with friends at school. When he is caught by the school principal, Bill and Lillian navigate uncharted territory as parents and Dean learns that manhood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Guest Stars:
Charity Jordan, Andrew Tull, Jaylin Webb, Pilot Bunch, Michael Kendall Kaplan
It’s “Take Your Son to Work Day” and Dean heads to band practice with Bill. But the “grown folks’ business” at the music studio prompts Lillian to have to pick up Dean. While at her office, Dean finally learns what his mom does while he’s at school all day, gaining a newfound respect for her career and ambition.
Guest Stars:
Dean is reluctant to attend the annual church lock-in until Kim tells him it’s where she got her first kiss. He enlists his friends to help him pair up with Keisa, but his plans are thwarted when he instead gets paired up with the pastor’s daughter, Charlene.
Guest Stars:
Andrew Tull, Milan Marsh, Caleb Black, Frank Oakley III, Kaysi J. Bradley
When Coach Long and Bill take the boys on a camping trip as part of their newly formed scout troop, their starkly different approaches to the outdoors show Dean that his father isn’t good at everything. As a thunderstorm threatens an eerie quest through the woods, Bill leans into his expertise to save the day.
Guest Stars:
As Kim’s campaign for a car coincides with the need to take Grandaddy Clisby’s keys away, Bill proposes a solution that is only pleasing to him: Kim can drive, so long as she takes her grandfather and Dean around town. Later on at the mall, Dean is worried about seeming uncool when Clisby ends up chaperoning him and his friends, but Clisby has a few crowd-pleasing tricks up his sleeve.
After seeing Dean bullied by Michael after school Lillian goes to confront his parents and learns he needs more compassion than discipline. Much to Dean’s dismay, she takes Michael under her wing and helps him with his project for the science fair – an event where Dean typically excels
Guest Stars:
Dean can’t wait to spend Christmas with his older brother, Bruce, when he returns home from Vietnam. But adjusting to life back in Montgomery comes with unexpected challenges for Bruce, and the rest of the Williams family rely on their favorite holiday traditions to bring cheer
Guest Stars:
Bill and Lillian decide to join high society club Lads & Ladies as a way to introduce Kim and Dean to positive influences in the community. Bill, Kim and Dean fit right in, but things take a turn when Lillian is treated differently for being a working mom.
Guest Stars:
Charity Jordan, Caleb Williams, Allen Maldonado, Alec Michael Adams, Kevin Wayne Walker
Brad works through his nerves preparing for his bar mitzvah speech while Dean ends his friendship with Keisa when Charlene tells him he can’t be friends with other girls. Things come to a head when the whole group comes together to celebrate Brad’s bar mitzvah.
Guest Stars:
Sami Bray, Andrew Tull, Milan Marsh, Adam Drescher, Hannah Lowther
When Dean loses his position as first chair saxophone in the school band, Bill lays the pressure on him to earn it back.
Guest Stars:
Boon McKenzie, Alex Patterson, Neal Ghant, Hayden Byers, Nathan Anderson
Dean’s plans to ask Keisa to the Valentine’s Day Dance are foiled when another boy asks her out first after a new makeover makes her the talk of the school. Meanwhile, Bill and Lillian make Kim sign up for a Big Sister program to have extracurricular activities for her college applications.
Guest Stars:
The family spends spring break with Lillian's parents in the countryside, and Dean lies to his cousins about city life in Montgomery to impress them. Meanwhile, Lillian helps to settle a land dispute between her parents and their neighbors to impress her difficult-to-please mother.
Guest Stars:
When their teacher goes on maternity leave, Dean, Cory and Keisa are excited to be taught by Mr. Brady, the school’s first Black teacher. Mr. Brady encourages the students to try out for the Knowledge Bowl team where Dean faces some unexpected challenges
Guest Stars:
Charity Jordan, Sami Bray, Bill Kelly, Melanie Jeffcoat, Michael Kendall Kaplan
When Dean learns that Corey’s dad, Coach Long, is in the doghouse, he struggles to keep this secret from his friend.
Guest Stars:
Charity Jordan, Barbara Hawkins-Scott, Andrew Tull, Bill Winkler, Allen Maldonado
Kim is excited to start her new job as a waitress at the local diner, which Dean adopts as his local hangout. When Kim experiences drama with her friends, she finds unlikely allies in a tough coworker and her younger brother.
Guest Stars:
Myron Parker Wright, Andrew Tull, Caleb Black, Lilah Richcreek Estrada, Summer Madison
When Dean comes down with the chicken pox on his way to a hunting trip with Bill and Grandaddy Clisby, Lillian forces the three of them to quarantine together. Clisby pushes homemade remedies on them out of his mistrust of doctors, but he’s forced to reckon with this when Dean’s condition worsens.
Guest Stars:
Bruce returns home from Vietnam, and the family is shocked to find out he is dating an older woman with an 8-year-old son with whom he is eager to start his life. When they learn more about Bruce’s latest deployment, they begin to understand his survivors’ guilt and come together to support him.
Guest Stars:
Bill is excited to have made tenure at the university, only to find that his focus on career and family has cost him his spot in his band; Bruce adjusts to living at home.
Guest Stars:
Charity Jordan, Allen Maldonado, Boon McKenzie, Alex Patterson, Neal Ghant
Dean tries to impress Keisa's cool new boyfriend by inviting him and his friends to a party Kim is throwing while Bill and Lillian are away for the night; things get out of hand just as Bill and Lillian arrive home.
Guest Stars:
Andrew Tull, Allen Maldonado, Ric Reitz, Caleb Black, Spence Moore II
It's the end of the school year, and summer excitement is all around; Bill and Lillian each receive major career opportunities; Dean and Keisa take shelter together as a tornado tears through.
Guest Stars:
Charity Jordan, Barbara Hawkins-Scott, Jah'Mir Poteat, Bill Kelly, Melanie Jeffcoat
Melanie Jeffcoat, Allen Maldonado, Ric Reitz, Boon McKenzie, Alex Patterson
Andrew Tull, Allen Maldonado, Caleb Black, Alonzo Ward, Anthony C. Jenkins
Guest Stars:
Allen Maldonado, Milan Marsh, Caleb Black, Richard Gant, L. Warren Young
Jah'Mir Poteat, Ian Lyons, Brooke Jaye Taylor, Scott Deal
Caleb Black, Spence Moore II, Brantley Black, Renae Geerlings, James Healy Jr.
Andrew Tull, Milan Marsh, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Nakia Dillard, Timeca M. Seretti
Regina Taylor, Willie C. Carpenter, Jay Amir, Celina Smith, Brad Sanders
Andrew Tull, Jaylin Webb, Allen Maldonado, Richard Gant, Spence Moore II
Allen Maldonado, Spence Moore II, Yvonne Orji, Anthony B. Jenkins, Chip Lane