Karen Malina White on How ‘The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’ Compares to the Original (EXCLUSIVE)
Published March 1 2022, 10:06 a.m. ET
Millennials rejoice! The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is available for streaming on Disney Plus as of Feb. 23, and the nostalgia is real. The series first premiered in September of 2001. Twenty years later, the series is back on a small screen near you. However, things are a little different this time around.
For starters, one familiar face is missing. Though Orlando Brown will not return to reprise his role as Sticky Webb in the Proud Family reboot, his on-screen admirer will reintroduce herself to viewers in the series premiere.
In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Dijonay Jones actress Karen Malina White shared exclusive details about the themes in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder and shared how she thinks the reboot compares to the original. Plus, she dished on which Proud Family guest stars are expected to appear in the reboot. Read on to learn more.
Dijonay Jones actress Karen Malina White talks changes in ‘The Proud Family’ reboot.
The colorful cast of The Proud Family is made complete by Penny Proud’s best friend. Though many things have changed in the series reboot, Karen assured Proud Family fans that Dijonay isn’t one of them. She told Distractify, “Of course, she's still funny and quirky and confident.”
But unlike the original series, Penny and her friends are no longer in junior high. “They're three years older than they were in the original series. And they’re navigating some of the things that teenagers are going through today.”
“Whether it's social media challenges, how they feel about themselves, what's going on in school — very topical issues for this time, for sure,” she added.
Karen first received news about The Proud Family reboot ahead of the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Luckily, being stuck in isolation didn’t delay production.
“The fans have been asking for this reboot for quite some time now. And we've been looking forward to it as well,” she said. “So, while people were still trying to get their bearings and figure out how to continue their shows, we were able to do it.”
Karen said Penny and Dijonay’s decades-long friendship will pick up right where it left off in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
“And we're welcoming in some new friends in the neighborhood too,” she teased. Both Keke Palmer and EJ Johnson will join the cast as recurring characters in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. Additionally, Karen also dished the line-up of guest stars set to appear in the reboot.
Karen Malina White dishes on the line-up of guest stars featured in ‘The Proud Family’ reboot.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder features more guest stars than Karen could count — but she was able to pick out a few of her favorites.
Karen gushed, “Chance the Rapper, Lizzo. Oh! And my homeboy, Leslie Odom Jr. I'm really excited to see Leslie Odom Jr. — we're both from Philly. So I'm really excited about that. [And] of course, Debbie Allen.”
Among the other celebrity guests expected to appear in The Proud Family reboot are Normani, Tiffany Haddish, Jaden Smith, Marsai Martin, and Lil Nas X.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is now available to stream on Disney Plus.