LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yara Shahidi had a question: Why did it seem like men were disproportionately labeled geniuses compared to women in the same professions?

As it turns out, the writers on Shahidi's Freeform series "grown-ish" were wondering the same thing, and the actress' mention of the topic made the writers want to explore it in the show.

The idea would soon come to fruition in an episode that had Shahidi's Zoey and her friends grappling with the issue. It would also remind the 19-year-old actress that she works for a network that fills a gap in television by not only creating content for young people, but by giving them a voice behind the scenes, too. The result is shows that they, and their audience, feel represented by.

The approach has allowed Freeform to gain an audience with TV's most valuable age demographic.

From May 2018 to May 2019, Freeform had nine of the top 50 original scripted series among women aged 18 to 34, which was more than any other cable network, according to Nielsen ratings.

Freeform's top shows include "grown-ish," a spinoff from ABC's "black-ish" about a group of college students navigating issues from systemic racism to defining relationships; "The Bold Type," which follows three young women navigating careers in magazine journalism; and "Good Trouble," a spinoff from ABC Family's "The Fosters" that focuses on an unlikely group of friends who share a communal living space in downtown Los Angeles.

Freeform, formerly known as ABC Family, rebranded in 2016 to lose the "family" appeal and narrowly target new adults — or, as Freeform President Tom Ascheim describes them, "basically legal adults" who "haven't quite yet found their way in the world."

Since then, very little is off limits on Freeform. Characters may explore their sexuality and navigate white privilege in the same episode.

"The Bold Type" actress Aisha Dee said that unabashedly targeting young millennials (anyone born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Zers (anyone born after 1996) has allowed the network to tell more relatable stories.

"They've always pushed the envelope, I think more than people gave them credit for, but now it's just like this really special thing where you get to see so many different types of people represented and different stories," Dee said.

Before the switch to Freeform, the network pushed boundaries with shows like "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," which debuted in 2008 and tackled teenage pregnancy. From there, shows like "Pretty Little Liars" and "The Fosters" offered a less restrained portrayal of themes from sex and sexuality to race and class.

Actress Francia Raisa, who appeared on "Secret Life" and now stars in "grown-ish," said the rebrand has led to bolder storytelling.

"Even some of the stuff that we were talking about as the seasons progressed (on 'Secret Life'), I saw that they were still kind of trying to dim it down a little bit like it was too much," she said. "I've definitely seen it grow and progress, and I love it so much because they're really trying to target that younger audience and it's not so much of a fantasy anymore."

Millennials are projected to surpass baby boomers as the largest age demographic in the United States this year, according to the Pew Center for Research.

That means they're also on track to become the most desirable and most targeted television audience, said TV analyst Larry Gerbrandt.

With the rise of streaming platforms, younger generations are also becoming less likely to have a cable subscription at all, so Freeform sends all of its content next-day to Hulu. "These days you have to differentiate yourself somehow to stand out," Gerbrandt said.

The young characters on Freeform aren't solving small-town crimes or warding off evil spirits. They're finding jobs, going to college classes and defining relationships — and the stories don't always end in the characters' favors.

While millennials have been branded by some as entitled and lazy, at Freeform they are revered.

"This is a generation that probably has more on their plate than any generation since the Vietnam War, honestly, in terms of environment, politics, gender..." 'grown-ish' creator Kenya Barris said. "If anything, I think this is a really interesting time for them to talk about things from safe places to this and that. Why are we not sort of embracing that conversation?"

Barris said he takes inspiration for the show from his Gen Z daughter, whom Shahidi's character, Zoey, is based on. For him, authenticity is everything. Even the writers' room is predominantly millennials.

"I feel like you cannot try and tell this kind of story, or any kind of story, without authenticity," he said. "I watch some shows and I'm like, 'Oh, this show is written by a bunch of people who think they're woke.' I feel like you need to really have people who understand."

Dee recalled a tweet she received after an episode of "The Bold Type" forced one of the characters to address white privilege.

"It was from these two young girls and they were roommates, and they had never talked about their race or their privilege in terms of like how they move through the world," Dee said. "(One of them) tweeted me and said they paused the episode to have a conversation about it, and I'm sure they never would have had that conversation if they hadn't watched the show."