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‘That’s So Raven’ Spinoff: What We Know So Far

By AJ Porter
Published on: 07:01 PST, Apr 9, 2017

Last October, Raven Symone announced live on The View that she would leave the panel talk-show to focus on the forthcoming spinoff series for her wildly popular Disney sitcom, That’s So Raven. At the time of the announcement, not much was known about the new series, except that Raven herself would be an Executive Producer and also star. The series was to be about Raven’s daughter, who developed psychic powers of her own.

Now, six months after the initial details were released, and now that the show has officially been ordered as a series, according to New York Daily News, we know a bit more about what we can expect to see when the show premieres later this year.

TITLE

When the show was ordered as a series, the official title of the program was released. It is to be called Raven’s Home.

FAMILIAR FACES

Not only is Symone herself returning to the show, but Anneliese van der Pol is also reprising her character, Chelsea, in a starring role. In the show, the two best friends are now divorced mothers who live together and are raising their children with each other’s help and guidance. Noticeably missing from the roster is their other side-kick Eddie (played by the now-controversial Orlando Brown), and the rest of Raven’s dysfunctional family, specifically her younger brother Cory (played by Kyle Massey). The last time we saw Cory was in his own spin-off Cory in the House, on which Raven made a guest appearance.

It’s yet to be seen if any of the other characters will reappear in the series.

FRESH FACES

The roles of Raven and Chelsea’s children have also been cast and announced in a report by Out.com.

Raven’s twins Booker and Nia will be played by Isaac Brown (from ABC’s Black-ish) and Bavia Robinson (from TV’s Being Mary Jane). Nia develops a psychic ability in the series. In addition, Nia’s best friend Tess will be played by America’s Got Talent alum Skylar Katz (last year, she impressed the judges with her rapping ability and made it past the audition rounds, but was eliminated in round two).

To round out the cast, Jason Maybaum (from NBC’s Superstore) will play the role of Chelsea’s 9-year-old son named Levi.

Disney Press Release
As reported by Variety, Gary Marsh (president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Worldwide) released a statement about the upcoming series, and by the sound of it, it will be right at home, and they couldn’t be happier to bring the star back to the Disney Channel once again.

He said, “There is only one Raven – and for over 25 years, she has blessed audiences around the world with the greatest gift of all – the pure, unadulterated joy of laugh-out-loud funny. After being a part of over 20 different Disney projects, we are thrilled to be bringing Raven home to Disney Channel once again.”

Actress Anneliese van der Pol reprises her role of Chelsea in the new spin-off series. [Image by Astrid Stawiarz/ Getty Images]

Will The New Show Find Success?

There’s no denying that the original series was an outstanding success. It ran for 100 episodes and aired from 2003-2007. It was groundbreaking at the time because Raven was the first African-American woman to have her name appear in a television series’ title. She also won two Kids’ Choice Awards and an NAACP award for her work on the show, Out.com reports.

Even a decade after the show’s end, the repeats in syndication have retained a huge audience. In 2016, the re-runs were pulling in 1.1 million viewers in overnight airings, Variety claims.

Nostalgia is a hot-button topic in 2017 as many 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s series like Full House, Boy Meets World, and Gilmore Girls have been resurfacing with spinoff or revival series that were very successful upon their release. As a result, Raven’s Home is sure to find immediate success.

Production begins in LA later this month and will premiere later this year.

What are your thoughts on the new spinoff? Were you a fan of the original series? Sound off in the comments section below!

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Yahoo].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt46lfffXrg

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