Not even Raven Baxter and her psychic powers could have predicted a That’s So Raven spin-off a decade after its final episode.
Raven’s Home follows Raven (Raven Symoné) and her fraternal twins, Booker (Issac Ryan Brown) and Nia (Navia Ziraili Robinson). Joining Raven and her family is her best friend Chelsea (Anneliese van der Pol) and her son Levi (Jason Maybaum). Raven’s children don’t know about her psychic powers, but the premise of the show is set when her son got his first vision in the premiere.
Reboots and spin-offs of shows that were popular more than a decade ago have surged in recent years. Netflix revived Full House and made it fuller, and Disney Channel — which also produces Raven’s Home — brought a new era of Boy Meets World and made it Girl Meets World.
But with spin-offs coming out left and right and no clear formula for success, how does Raven’s Home compare?
Most people don’t look to Disney Channel for high-quality, big-production TV shows. If someone does, they would obviously be very disappointed. People watch Disney Channel with children so the little ones have an easy-to-understand show that teaches some life lessons.
Raven’s Home did that in its first episode and still maintained the charm and energy the original possessed. Raven is still obnoxious and overly dramatic, which makes for a good character. Chelsea is ditsy and gullible, but oh so loveable, and the children are what make the show entertaining to watch. The episode’s theme touched on a family’s bond, which is a great way to kick off a series centered around people living under the same roof.
It might be too early to tell, but it seems Raven’s Home is on the right path for success. Other spin-offs have faltered because the shows seemed inauthentic, or relied too heavily on where the original characters ended up after the cameras stopped rolling.
The first episode of Raven’s Home didn’t try too hard. It didn’t focus all of its attention on Raven and Chelsea. In fact, the children were in almost every scene. And the acting didn’t feel as forced as some other shows. Maybe, just maybe, this is a spin-off that will last for a little while and bring viewers from the generation that grew up watching the show back to Disney Channel — maybe this time with their children, nieces, nephews or other children.
Might I make a suggestion, though? Please bring back Raven’s brother Cory (Kyle Massey) for at least one episode so we can all say “Cory is in the house.”
Raven’s Home airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on Disney Channel.
