Raven-Symoné Goes Home Again To Disney

Who says you can’t go back home? Actress Raven-Symoné successfully returned to her Disney Channel roots with new series Raven’s Home, a continuation of That’s So Raven, her popular series that ran for four seasons from 2003-07.

Symoné, who played teen psychic Raven Baxter in the original series, reprises that role in Raven’s Home, with the character now a divorced mother of two young children. Actress Anneliese van der Pol also reprises her That’s So Raven role as Raven’s best friend, Chelsea, in Raven’s Home, for which Raven-Symoné serves as executive producer.

The July 21 premiere of Raven’s Home drew 4 million viewers, the second biggest series premiere among all kid-targeted cable TV networks in total viewers this year.

While other Disney child stars have moved on as adults, Raven-Symoné — who most recently appeared as a co-host on TV talk show The View and in a guest role in Fox’s Empire — told B&C that she wanted to return to create a family-oriented show that attracted old fans of That’s So Raven as well as a new generation of viewers.

“I missed Disney Channel, and I wanted to return to something that was meaningful,” she said. “This is a different show with characters that you remember from your past. It shows what’s going on in society now — we’re not rich, but we’re two families living under one roof trying to make it work.

“What I love about it is the people that remember us as 15-year-olds now see us as 30-plus-year-olds — we’re hoping to show how these characters have evolved.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.