Today’s black history month post is about The Proud Family. The show was created by Bruce W. Smith, the director of Bebe’s Kids. It was the first animated series on cable television to revolve around a black family, and aired on Disney Channel, later doing reruns in the Centric network. It was originally piloted for Nickelodeon. The show was produced by Smith’s Jambalaya Studios.
The series revolved around Penny Proud and her family (father Oscar, mother Trudy, sister Bebe and brother Cece, her Suga Mama (played by Jo Marie Payton, who played Harriett on Family Matters), and uncle Bobby) navigating everyday life. They lived in a town managed mostly by the obscenely rich Wizard Kelly, a former basketball player. Penny’s adventures usually involved her friends Lacienega (Alisa Reyes, All That alum), Zoe (Soleil Moon Frye, who played Punky Brewster as a child), Sticky (Orlando Brown from That’s So Raven), and Dijonay (Karen Malina White, who recently played the character of Carla in How to Get Away with Murder).
The show had many celebrity guest stars, including (click to see their character): Mariah Carey, Mo’nique, Kel Mitchell, Ashanti, Dante Basco, Mos Def, and Steve Harvey. The theme song was performed by Destiny’s Child along with Solange Knowles, who guest starred in the episode Behind Family Lines as Penny’s cousin Chanel. Cedric the Entertainer had a recurring role as Uncle Bobby.
The show ran from 2001 to 2005, and ended the series on The Proud Family Movie, which guest starred Omarion. The series dealt with serious but important topics such as racism, disability, discrimination, black history, poverty, and politics, as well as typical sitcom topics like school crushes, family reunions, and arguments with friends. The show was unafraid to touch on aspects of black culture and history in America, and was notable for its episodes on subjects like segregation and hate crimes.
The show has won awards from BET, the Image Awards, and the NAMIC vision awards. It’s been nominated for several Annie Awards.
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