Everybody Wants Somethin': Part II
That's So Raven's Home: For Children, Yesterday and Today
In my previous entry, I detailed two basic principles that can be used as a framework for discussion on reboot television. I argue that the quality of a reboot can be framed within how it utilizes its shared experience and how it defines its content for its audience.
When
thinking about recent reboot television shows, a distinction emerges on whether
the new show is for the original or a new audience. While plenty of
adult shows have been rebooted, I find children’s television reboots
particularly compelling when considering shared experience and the for dynamic.
For this entry, I will consider a program that shifted from their original
audience of children to a new audience that consists of today’s children: That’s So Raven / Raven’s Home.
That’s So Raven was the first live-action Disney Channel series to go beyond the channel’s
infamous 65-episode rule. No matter how popular, a show was required to end at
65 episodes, but That’s So Raven broke the mold and went on to an even
100 episodes ending in 2007. Ten years later, Disney and Raven-Symoné rebooted
the series as Raven’s Home running from July 2017 to present.
It is my humble opinion that
Raven’s Home is one of the best children’s programming reboots. This
show made quick work of getting their minimal amount of catchphrases out of their system and
establishing what happened in Raven and Chelsea’s life since That’s So
Raven ended. That’s So Raven was for me, but I am happy to say that Raven’s
Home is not. The focus of the new show is the characters of Booker, Nia,
Tess, and Levi – the children of the show. They drive the plot as the
characters that the new audience of children can relate to. This show feels like a reboot only because of
the connecting content of Raven, Chelsea, and the psychic premise. You
certainly do not need to have watched That’s So Raven to watch Raven’s
Home. This element is important because many of the new audience were
either infants or not yet born when That’s So Raven premiered. With
Disney+, they can go back and watch that series, but it is not required. If
they do watch That’s So Raven, it only increases the meaning of the show
that was created for them, Raven's Home.
While I argue that Raven’s
Home is not for me, I still watch the show. I, personally, will watch
children’s television for the rest of my life. It is something I am passionate
about and get great comfort from viewing. I believe it has the greatest power
in shaping generations; therefore, there is a great deal of responsibility that
comes with making television for children. While I enjoy watching Raven and
Annelise on screen again, more importantly, I enjoy watching a new, quality
show that had the foresight to not be made for me.
For these reasons, shared
experience is used to connect one
product with its reboot to transition to a new audience. While Raven, Chelsea,
and the occasional That’s So Raven
guest star make up Raven’s Home, they are there for three reasons: 1) to provide those characters for
the few adults still watching the show (though secondary to the kid
characters), 2) to transition the show to the new audience, and 3) to serve as
the creative pulse of the show. I mentioned in my first post on this topic the
of/by/for of creative products. In this case, we need Raven and Chelsea. To
continue
this story, I would trust no one other than Raven as producer, and
Raven and Chelsea, as characters, transition the heart of the show.
When
Raven’s Home premiered, producers knew that if the show were successful, the
majority of the original audience would slowly move on. They would tune-in to
see where Raven and Chelsea’s story led, then they would leave the show for this next
generation. We would, after seeing ourselves in the now-adult characters,
gladly pass the torch and let four rather impressive child actors take it from here.
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| I have created this chart to encapture these ideas as I talk about different shows. Consider it a hint of pieces to come! |