That's So Raven

In the early 2000s, The Walt Disney Company found success with its pay television network Disney Channel through single-camera comedy series for a preadolescent audience such as Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire.[6] That's So Raven was designed to be another sitcom that would appeal to a family audience, while featuring a female in the role of the comedy lead.[6][8] The series was created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman.[1][6] Sherman first conceived the idea of a buddy comedy for a preadolescent audience, and the pair decided to base it around the idea of being able to see the future, which they thought would interest the young viewers.[5] The pair then pitched the concept to network executives under the title The Future is On Me, and later, Absolutely Psychic.[5][2][8] Poryes explained that Raven-Symoné read for the role of the lead as well as the comedic best friend Chelsea during her audition, and that she wanted to play the role of the friend.[5] Subsequently, a pilot was filmed in which she starred as the best friend rather than in the central role, but after the test audience responded well to her and producers were impressed, the program was re-tooled to include her in the main role.[5] Test audiences also responded favourably to the supernatural premise of the show and its comedy.[6] The series was retitled as That's So Raven along with the casting change.[5] Poryes also served as an executive producer alongside David Brookwell and Sean McNamara, who concurrently produced Even Stevens for Disney Channel.[9] Their joint company, Brookwell McNamara Entertainment produced the program in association with the network.[1] That's So Raven became Disney Channel's first multi-camera sitcom.[10] The series centered on an African American family in a deliberate attempt to represent the diversity of the network's audience.[6]

The series was publicly announced in November 2001 with a press release announcing Raven-Symoné's involvement as the titular character Raven. Twenty-one episodes were ordered for the first season, which began filming in Los Angeles, California, in the same month.[1] The series was initially expected to premiere in early 2002, however, the whole first season was filmed before it aired on television.[11] The premiere broadcast of That's So Raven, containing the first four episodes of the series, was in effect aired on Friday, January 17, 2003.[6][12]

Cast members (L-R, above): Kyle Massey, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, Rondell Sheridan, (below): Orlando Brown, Raven-Symoné and Anneliese van der Pol.

The program and its primary cast were announced in November 2001; Raven-Symoné was revealed to be portraying the titular character Raven. She had previously worked as a child actor on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.[1] Raven-Symoné was reported to be Disney's first African American female star,[13] and the first African American woman to have her name in the title of a comedy series.[10] Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club called her role on the show her "most successful phase" and praised her physical comedy.[2] Marsh cited her humour and commitment to comedy as a reason for her success.[14] She is credited as Raven throughout the series.[2]

The supporting cast was also first announced in November 2001.[1] Orlando Brown portrays one of Raven's best friends Eddie, while Anneliese van der Pol plays Chelsea, another of Raven's friends.[2] Tricha Dixon was originally listed in the casting announcement before van der Pol joined the cast.[1] Kyle Massey portrays Raven's younger brother, Cory. Rondell Sheridan portrays Raven's father, Victor.[2]

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh plays Raven's mother, Tanya, for the first three seasons; she departed the program since she had initially expected to only work on three seasons of the show.[11] Keymáh was also unable to continue as she was required to provide full-time care for her ailing grandmother.[11] Within the show's storyline, it is explained that Tanya has travelled to England to pursue higher education.[2]

Guest stars in the series include Jenifer Lewis as Vivian, Raven's grandmother,[7] and Anne-Marie Johnson, who plays famous fashion designer Donna Cabonna in the show's fourth season.[3]

Poryes believed that it was important to write the scripts with honesty rather than talking down to the young audience.[5] The writers endeavoured to present meaningful stories to children, including lessons about friendship, but tried not make the messages too "preachy".[5] The series was written with the aim of reflecting life as a typical teenager, while also incorporating comedy, particularly through its central focus on physical humour.[5][6] Van der Pol explained that the actors typically weren't permitted to deviate from their scripted lines;[15] however, Ross stated that Raven-Symoné would improvise "comic bits".[6] Alston described the show's nature as "goofy", with a "kid-friendly" comedy style, but also noted its complex stories revolving around "ethical challenges". The episodes did not typically air in the order of their production, due to the lack of serialization in their stories.[2]

That's So Raven was recorded in front of a live studio audience in a set, on a sound stage in Los Angeles.[5] The first season began filming in November 2001. The series would be filmed over two days each week, while the child actors would also attend school on set.[6] Prior to filming, the weekly schedule would also consist of read-throughs of the script, rewrites and rehearsals.[1] A stunt coordinator was present for Raven-Symoné's slapstick and physical stunts.[6]

The series was renewed for a second season in April 2003.[16] Prior to the renewal, a musical episode of Even Stevens was aired in 2002; the success of the episode among the show's audience led to network executives asking Brookwell and McNamara to also produce a musical episode of That's So Raven.[9] The musical episode of That's So Raven, entitled "The Road to Audition", aired as part of the second season in July 2004.[17] The success of the musical format on both Even Stevens and That's So Raven gave executives confidence in the appeal and interest of the musical genre, and inspired the development of the television film High School Musical.[9]

While it was originally planned that a maximum of three seasons would be produced,[11] That's So Raven was renewed for a fourth season in June 2005, which would consist of 22 episodes and bring the program's total number of episodes to 100.[18][19] The announcement marked the first time an original Disney Channel series would surpass three seasons and the first to reach the milestone of 100 episodes for syndication.[2][19][lower-roman 1] A film adaptation was also ordered to debut in 2007.[19] Ross called the program the network's "most successful series".[19] Production on the season was expected to begin in July, and the episodes would be aired over the following two years.[19] Raven-Symoné became a producer on the series for the fourth season at the age of 19.[19] Her roles included having input towards casting, scripts and special effects; however, she turned down the offer of directing an episode.[8] Brookwell and McNamara departed the series at the end of the third season, with their company being replaced by Warren & Rinsler Productions. The series also filmed an episode which aired as part of a network crossover special. That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana aired in July 2006 as a crossover featuring The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana.[20]

The series finished production in January 2006,[21] and by August, then-president of Disney Channels Worldwide Gary Marsh stated that it was unlikely that any further episodes would be produced.[14] Due to the heavy focus on high school stories depicted in the series, once the characters were beginning to age beyond their teenage years, the network decided to end the show.[2]

That's So Raven became a successful merchandising franchise over the duration of its run, with items including a novel series, dolls, board games, lunch boxes, jewellery, a fragrance and a clothing line.[8] A line of video games was also developed;[2] two were released on the Game Boy Advance, while That's So Raven: Psychic on the Scene was released on the Nintendo DS on November 2, 2006.[57] Two soundtrack albums were released; That's So Raven (2004) and That's So Raven Too! (2006), featuring recordings by some of the program's actors as well as other guest performers.[58][59] By 2006, the merchandise based on the series had grossed over $400 million.[60]

A film adaptation of That's So Raven was ordered by Disney in 2005 alongside the program's fourth season renewal, which was planned for a 2007 release.[19] van der Pol explained in 2010 that a script for the film had been written, but that Raven-Symoné was too busy to be involved at the time of development.[15] The plot would have depicted Raven starting a fashion line in France alongside Eddie and Chelsea.[15] The film did not enter production.[15]

A spin-off series entitled Cory in the House was ordered by the network in May 2006, starring Massey and Sheridan; this was the first time Disney Channel had developed a spin-off of an original series.[14][61] The series depicts Cory and Victor moving to Washington, D.C. to live in the White House, where Victor begins work as the personal chef of a fictional president of the United States.[61] The series aired for two seasons from 2007 to 2008.[61] A further spin-off entitled Raven's Home was first reported in October 2016; Raven-Symoné and van der Pol were both revealed to be reprising their roles as Raven and Chelsea respectively.[10][21][62] The series follows Raven as a divorced mother of her two children, Booker, who has inherited her psychic abilities, and Nia.[10][62] Chelsea, also a divorced mother, moves in with Raven to raise her son, Levi.[62] Raven-Symoné serves as an executive producer on the series, which premiered on July 21, 2017.[63] Sheridan was featured as a guest and returned as a series regular for the program's fifth season; Keymáh will also guest star in the fifth-season finale.[64][65] The show has been renewed for a sixth season. An Indian adaptation of the series, titled Palak Pe Jhalak, premiered on Disney Channel in India in September 2015. The series incorporated Indian culture and languages.[66]