Streaming service Disney+ launched earlier this month, and with its launch came a plethora of new and old original Disney content. Fans who logged into the platform for the first time were thrilled to see that some of their most favourite Disney Channel throwbacks were available for streaming; 12 years after its series finale, Gen Zers are rediscovering the gift that is Kim Possible.
Even with the hundreds of throwback titles, there were a few classic series and films missing from the lineup, most notably the popular animated series The Proud Family. But have no fear: Penny Proud and her lively crew will be on their way to Disney+ before you know it. And, according to the cast of The Proud Family, they'll be picking up where they left off.
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Tommy Davidson, the voice of Penny's father Oscar, first hinted at the show's return to television months before Disney+ launched. Now Jo Marie Payton, who voiced the Proud's vivacious matriarch Suga Mama, has chimed in eased new storylines
Payton appeared on an episode of ABC's morning show Strahan, Sara and Keke to discuss her time on The Proud Family and her inspiration for her character. "Yeah, Suga’s large and in charge. That’s all I’ve got to say — except for Suga Mama will be doing some new episodes come February,” the actress said, officially confirming the reboot of the Disney Channel staple.
Though it was only on air for five years, The Proud Family is forever held in high regards for being one of the few Black series on television to focus on Black culture. Like its contemporaries Cousin Skeeter and That's So Raven, The Proud Family was a fun but thoughtful portrayal of Blackness in the early 2000s; some of its best episodes even included discussions of racism and classism.
Because the show will return to screen almost 15 years after its very last episode, The Proud Family 2.0 might look a lot different from what we remember; Penny Proud might be a grown woman with her own set of relatable millennial problems. Perhaps she's got some looming student debt or is in the middle of her quarter-life crisis — after all, she is one of us.
No matter what the plot of the reboot is, one thing is for sure: we're going to need Destiny's Child and Solange Knowles to reunite just one more time for a 2020 remix of the super soulful Proud Family theme song.