Leading up to the premiere of ‘The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’ Season 3, I sat down with Creator/Executive Producer Bruce W. Smith and Executive Producer Ralph Farquhar for an exclusive conversation.
Now in its third season (and with a fourth season renewal already confirmed!),ย The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is a revival of iconic Disney Channel Original Series The Proud Family, which originally aired from 2001 to 2005. The series follows 14-year-old Penny Proud and her family as they navigate their lives in the 2020s.
Smith and Farquhar spoke with me about how their very passionate audience from the early 2000s is still actively engaged with the show today, making it an easy decision to pick it up for a revival after the original was cancelled way too soon. A large part of the show’s current audience is adults without kids, who continue to celebrate and learn from Penny’s fearlessness and all of the many dynamics within the family. At the same time, there is so much in the show for a younger audience to discover and appreciate, and the series only continues to gain popularity.
We also talked about the show’s iconic lineup of guest stars. Season 3 features special guests Janelle James, Sanaa Lathan, Lynn Whitfield, Adrienne Warren, Kirk Franklin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bubba Wallace, along with regular cast members Kyla Pratt, Tommy Davidson, Jo Marie Payton, Paula Jai Parker, Cedric the Entertainer, Keke Palmer, and more. From the beginning, the show has always had an impressive guest star lineup. When asked who would be the number one dream guest who has not appeared on the show yet, Smith and Farquhar quickly agreed that it would be Jennifer Lopez. Manifesting that for next season!
The conversation also touched on how Smith and Farquhar strike the right balance between humor and heart in the storylines, the future of animation with AI impacting the field, advice they would give to their younger selves, and much more. Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel linked above.
All episodes of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Seasons 1-3, are now streaming on Disney+.
