In May 2015, it was announced that Raven-Symoné would be joining ABC daytime talk show “The View” on a permanent basis, as a replacement for Rosie O’Donnell, after she guest-hosted on the show multiple times in March and April 2015.
Just over a year later, Raven-Symoné has announced this morning that she will be leaving “The View” later this year to develop a Disney Channel spin-off of her one-time popular Disney Channel series “That’s So Raven.”
The 30-year-old actress will relocate to Los Angeles to develop the sitcom, which she will both star in and executive produce.
The original “That’s So Raven” was a teen sitcom which debuted on the Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, and ended its run on November 10, 2007. The show was set in San Francisco and revolved around teenager Raven Baxter, played by Raven-Symoné, her friends Eddie (Orlando Brown) and Chelsea (Anneliese van der Pol), and her family members – mother Tanya Baxter (T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh) father Victor Baxter (Rondell Sheridan) and brother Cory (Kyle Massey). The title character drew on her psychic powers, ingenuity, and talent as a fashion designer as well as a variety of disguises to get into and out of amusing adolescent and pre-adolescent situations.
“That’s So Raven” garnered higher ratings than any other Disney Channel show and is also the first show in Disney channel history to make the 100 episode mark.
The show, which had a previous spin-off series, “Cory in the House,” was nominated in 2005 and 2007 for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children’s Programming.
“That’s So Raven 2” (the working title of the upcoming new spin-off) will see Raven resume the role of Raven Baxter who will now be a single mother with 2 children, one who has psychic visions.
Writers are working on the script, and casting for Raven-Symoné’s kids is to get underway soon.
There had been speculation over the summer that Raven-Symoné would be leaving “The View” to focus on her acting career. But the rumors were shot down.
Raven-Symoné leaves “The View” on high note, as the talk show has seen a rise in ratings, up 16% in total viewers year-over-year, since she was added to the gabfest.