Disney Channel has ordered a spinoff of That’s So Raven that will see Raven-Symoné reprise her role from the original series.
Raven’s Home, a multicamera comedy, is scheduled to go into production this month in Los Angeles for a 2017 premiere. In addition to Raven-Symoné, who is reprising her role as Raven Baxter, Anneliese van der Pol will return as her best friend, Chelsea Daniels.
The series, aimed at kids 6-14 and their families, will pick up with Raven and Chelsea, who are now divorced single mothers raising their two separate families in one chaotic but fun household full of friends. When one of Raven’s kids begins to show signs that they have inherited her trait of catching glimpses of the future, the already hectic household gets turned upside down, keeping even Raven on her toes.
Issac Brown (Black-ish, Miles From Tomorrowland) and Navia Robinson (Being Mary Jane) have been cast as Raven’s 11-year-old twins, Booker and Nia, respectively, and Jason Maybaum (Superstore) will play Chelsea’s 9-year-old son, Levi. Sky Katz (America’s Got Talent) also has been cast as Nia’s best friend, Tess.
“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,” said Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer at Disney Channels Worldwide. “After being a part of over 20 different Disney projects, we are thrilled to be bringing Raven home to Disney Channel once again.”
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As previously announced, Raven-Symoné will serve as an executive producer on the series. Longtime writer-producer partners Scott Thomas and Jed Elinoff (Disney Channel’s Best Friends Whenever, Emmy nominees for R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour) will also executive produce.
The original series ran from 2003-07 and helped further mint Raven-Symoné as a star after she achieved childhood fame on The Cosby Show and Hangin‘ With Mr. Cooper. More recently, she co-hosted ABC’s The View, leaving the daytime talk show in October to focus on the Raven spinoff.
Disney Channel says it has found success with midnight repeat airings of the original show, drawing 1.1 million total viewers in 2016. Raven-Symoné won four NAACP Image Awards and two Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for her role. The series also was nominated for best children’s program at the Primetime Emmys.
The revival of beloved properties continues to be a trend across television. Disney Channel recently revived another kid-friendly franchise with the Boy Meets World spinoff Girl Meets World. Like the Raven spinoff, Girls Meets World featured a mix of new and familiar characters over its three-season run.
In addition, Disney Channel recently debuted a TV adaptation of the hit film Tangled, while Disney XD is launching a TV adaptation of Big Hero 6 later this year, in addition to reviving DuckTales.
