Kenya Barris, the A-list writer, and producer behind the comedy “black-ish,” will part ways with ABC Studios in August — three years before his contract was set to expire — following creative differences. Barris, who also has a hot movie career as the co-writer of the script for “Girls Trip,” is widely expected to move to Netflix. He thanked ABC Studios, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, and said the production company had supported him in every step of the way.

It’s been an incredible ride, including a Peabody and Golden Globe win, Emmy nominations and many other accolades,  Barris said in a statement. His frustration over creative matters involved the studio’s sibling network ABC, which is led by Channing Dungey and passed over pilot programs that  Barris created. Last year, the network moved “black-ish” out of a desirable prime-time slot after the top-rated “Modern Family.” The breaking point came in February when ABC pulled an episode of “black-ish” that examined race relations in the United States in the pointed fashion, airing a rerun instead.

A critical success, “black-ish” follows the Johnsons, an upper-middle-class family living in a mostly white suburb. The series became known for hot-button storylines centered on race, delving into police brutality, the fallout from the election of President Trump and the use of the N-word among children. Freeform, a cable network owned by Disney, runs the spinoff “grown-ish,” which focuses on the Johnsons’ college-age daughter. The third comedy from  Barris and his collaborators, “Besties,” will join the Freeform schedule in the coming months. The departure of  Barris was expected, but it represents another setback for the Disney-ABC Television Group, which is run by Ben Sherwood. Sherwood is expected to be replaced when Disney closes its $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox assets, which include one of Hollywood’s most successful TV studios.