Early 2000’s fans of The Proud Family will be happy to hear that their favorite Disney Channel show has been picked up for a reboot, 18 years later. While the original show followed Penny Proud on her adventures after recently turning 16 years old, the reboot, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, highlights Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins, a 14-year-old activist, played by KeKe Palmer. The reboot will be available on Disney+ for viewers to enjoy!
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is currently being produced at Disney Television Animation with Academy Award-winning executive producers Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar leading the operation. The producers claimed, “In our minds, the show never really went away, as we still had tons of stories left to tell. It’s the perfect time to bring back this show, and we can’t wait to take fans, old and new alike, on this journey with us.”
The reboot also includes the beloved, original cast, featuring Kyla Pratt as protagonist Penny Proud, Tommy Davidson as dad Oscar, Paula Jai Parker as mom Trudy Proud, Jo Marie Payton as Suga Mama, and Cedric the Entertainer as Uncle Bobby Proud. On Thursday, Disney announced that Keke Palmer will be joining the show as a new character named Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins.
In Disney’s announcement post, they wrote that Maya is “extremely mature for her age” and “relentlessly marches to the beat of her own drum.” At first, she and Penny struggle to get to know each other, but soon become close friends with similar interests. Palmer announced that she would be part of the new cast during NAACP’s Arts, Culture & Entertainment Festival, where the original cast was reunited for a Zoom call. Palmer demonstrates her excitement about the reboot of the show, stating “Dreams come true!” in a recent Tweet.
The show has been beloved for years because it not only includes humor, but emphasises cultural diversity and equality. Fans are sure that the reboot will not disappoint and put a modern spin on a classic series.