Tracee Ellis Ross & Anthony Anderson Get Emotional Over Final ‘black-ish’ Scene (VIDEO)

The end is near for the long-running ABC sitcom black-ish (which finales on April 19) and for TV Guide Magazine‘s recent cover story this reporter had the honor of talking to creator Kenya Barris, showrunner Courtney Lilly and most of the cast. And it seemed like a good time to also get stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross together to talk about playing married couple Dre and Rainbow Johnson.

When asked if the pair, who wrapped shooting the series last November, ever get a chance to go back and watch earlier episodes, Anderson says that he’ll sometimes catch an episode on an airplane. One thing definitely stands out to him, though. “I’m just amazed at the growth of everyone, myself in particular, the girth, that I’ve grown since season one,” he says, getting a laugh from Ross. “But I looked at how small these children [costars Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown and Marsai Martin] were. They were babies. I look at them now as, as young adults. And it seems like a lifetime ago, even though it’s only been eight-plus years, it just seems like a lifetime ago.”

As for the start of the series, Anderson remembered the idea initially came from a conversation he and Barris had where they talked about what was missing from the television landscape for them as viewers. Once Barris came up with the series’ concept, Anderson was on board, and they had to cast Dre’s better half. It didn’t take long for Ross to sign on (even if she had to audition!) and the actress recounts how she loved many things about the series from the start. “Number one, a story about a family that didn’t just happen to be Black, but that was Black. It was centered around a couple that loved each other and liked each other,” she said. “So often on television, the couples are based in sort of eye-roll with each other. So, the combination of that [intrigued me].”

Watch the above video interview to see Ross and Anderson talk about what it’s meant to work together over the past eight seasons and filming their final one-on-one scene together.

black-ish, Tuesdays, 9:30/8:30c, ABC