For all of its good and bad, Disney has typically put out some great original shows on the Disney Channel, making for a healthy mix of animated and live-action family-friendly series. In fact, a lot of Disney Channel stars have gone on to have big careers, including Zendaya, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, and more. Disney is obviously one of the most dominant forces in the entire entertainment industry, but their network series represent a particular brand of nostalgia.
With legacy sequels like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Scream (2022), and Top: Gun Maverick being incredibly successful over the years, and Disney being more than happy to remake their iconic animated films, it makes sense that they would start to revitalize some of the Disney Channel original shows. In doing so, some of the best Disney Channel shows have seen revivals in recent years, all of them being worthy new stories while honoring what came before.
5
The Proud Family: Louder And Prouder (2022-Present)
Revival Of The Proud Family
Though it only ran for two seasons from 2001 to 2005, The Proud Family was a fantastic addition to the Disney Channel animated lineup, following the titular family, especially Penny Proud, a 14-year-old African-American teenager navigating the landscape of growing up. The series was aimed at a slightly older demographic, which allowed it to explore more complex ideas, and the representation in the show was some of the best Disney Channel had seen at that point.
Though The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder was renewed for a third season, the release date is currently unknown.
Reviving The Proud Family was an inspired choice by Disney, and the series, The Proud Family: Loud and Prouder, debuted in 2022 and has run for two seasons so far. For the most part, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is a worthy follow-up to the original series, featuring a lot of the same characters, while introducing new ones for viewers to grow attached to. It’s great to see an animated Disney show so unconditionally centered around Black culture through its setting, characters, and dialogue.
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Because The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder doesn’t have much of a time jump from The Proud Family, the original series has essentially been retconned to take place in the 2020s like the sequel, instead of the early-2000s that it was originally set in. The original series never shied away from discussing important social topics, and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is much of the same in that regard, making it a great series for older kids to enjoy and take a lot away from.
4
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place (2024-Present)
Revival Of Wizards Of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is one of the most iconic Disney Channel original shows of all time, as it was a major launching point for Selena Gomez’s career. After successful revivals like Girl Meets World and Raven’s Home, it was only a matter of time before Disney returned to one of their most popular shows, more than a decade after it ended. Like most of the live-action revivals, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place uses one of the original characters later on in life to springboard off with new stories and characters, this time with David Henrie’s Justin Russo.
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Justin now lives in Staten Island with his wife and two sons, but his sister Alex suddenly arrives to ask Justin to train a young wizard named Billie, who ends up living with the family. Wizards Beyond Waverly Place works well right from the start, finding a perfect balance between nostalgia, while trying to push the franchise in new directions by focusing a lot on the younger cast of characters.
It’s a shame that Selena Gomez only appears as Alex in the first and last episodes of season 1, but David Henrie is still great. With Disney Channel understanding a lot of the audience likely grew up with the original series, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place isn’t afraid to dive into some heavier thematic elements, making it a great watch for older audiences alongside younger viewers.
3
Girl Meets World (2014-2017)
Revival Of Boy Meets World
Though Boy Meets World didn’t air its initial run on Disney Channel, rather on ABC, the show was essentially the first to get a follow-up, with Girl Meets World premiering on Disney Channel in June 2014. The series picks up years after the events of Boy Meets World, with Corey Matthews and Topanga living in New York City with their two children, Riley and Auggie.
Riley takes center stage in Girl Meets World, stepping into the “Corey Matthews” role, while her dad is her teacher, playing a similar role to Mr. Feeny from the original series. Alongside Sabrina Carpenter as Riley’s troublemaker best friend, the two of them go on a similar journey to the characters in Boy Meets World, learning valuable lessons in school while navigating romantic relationships, friendship, and generally how life will be as someone continues to get older.
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While it stumbled out the gate a little early, Girl Meets World ended up settling into a strong tone that more closely resembled the original series rather than the overt Disney Channel sensibilities it had in most of the first season. Once Boy Meets World icons like Shawn Hunter started having significant storylines, Girl Meets World truly began to feel like a natural progression of what came before. It may have a few outdated ideas around some issues, but Girl Meets World ended up capturing what made Boy Meets World an integral part of 1990s childhood.
2
Raven’s Home (2017-2023)
Revival Of That’s So Raven
Raven’s Home
- Release Date
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2017 – 2023-00-00
- Writers
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Jed Elinoff
- Franchise(s)
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That’s So Raven
Running from 2003 to 2007, That’s So Raven is another one of the staples of the Disney Channel and one of the best TV shows the network ever produced. Following the success of Girl Meets World, it was only fitting that Disney would look at another old show to revive. The result was Raven’s Home in 2017, a six-season follow-up that features Raven-Symoné once again in her iconic role.
Raven’s Home takes things in a slightly different direction than some of the other revivals, with Raven living as a single mother with her two children and best friend Chelsea, who also happens to be divorced, as she raises her own son. Things change drastically when Raven finds out her son Booker has the same psychic powers as her. Raven’s Home really highlights the ups and downs of this oddball family.
Disney Channel really ironed out the growing pains from early Girl Meets World, and Raven’s Home is stronger for it, immediately feeling like an excellent follow-up to That’s So Raven. It also finds the right balance between Raven’s story and the younger cast, whereas most legacy sequels in general tend to push the older cast to the background. It’s also the longest-running Disney Channel revival, showing how well-received it ended up being.
1
Phineas And Ferb (2007-2015, 2025-Present)
Revival Of Phineas And Ferb
The original four-season run of Phineas and Ferb is arguably the best Disney Channel animated TV show ever made, following the hilarious exploits of the eponymous characters as they try to make the most of their summer vacation in increasingly silly and bizarre ways. The fourth season was supposed to conclude the series, with the 2015 episode “The Last Day of Summer” working as an hour-long finale to the beloved show.
10 years later, and Phineas and Ferb is back. Unlike nearly all the Disney Channel revivals, this is just an additional season of Phineas and Ferb, with the series taking place next summer one year later rather than having the characters being older with their own kids. Animation allows for this, as it doesn’t matter whether the cast has aged a decade, and the decision to keep the series so close to the original timeline makes it feel like a completely organic continuation.
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Though it is still airing its fifth season, Phineas and Ferb season 5 is without a doubt the best of the Disney Channel revivals, with no actor missing a beat playing their characters after so long, and the offbeat humor of the entire series is still there. There is something so joyful about seeing Phineas and Ferb get up to their wild shenanigans, trying to make the best of their summer vacation. Disney bringing back the series was the perfect choice, as it just continues to add to what came before.
