Seventeen years after finishing their original run on The Disney Channel, the Prouds are back in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. The reboot sets the clock forward to the 2020’s and sees most of the original cast return as Penny, Oscar, Trudy, Suga Mama and the rest of the gang navigate a brave new world of social media, wokeness and cancel culture.
However, not everyone in the cast made the jump from Disney to Disney+. In the first episode, “New Kids on the Block,” Penny reunites with her friends Dijonay, LaCienega, Zoey and a revamped Michael and goes to meet up with the last member of their crew, Sticky Webb. Upon reaching Sticky’s house, they discover that a new family — the Leibowitz-Jenkins’ — has moved in while the Webbs have vacated. Sticky leaves behind a note explaining that his father got a new job in Japan and Sticky decided to go with him, rather than remain in Wizardville and be bombarded by Dijonay’s unwanted affections.
Sticky had been a regular part of The Proud Family‘s cast since the show launched, so to see him written out so abruptly came as a shock to fans. Proud Family creator Bruce W. Smith addressed the change in an interview with TVLine, saying “We always wanted to expand out the world. In doing that, sometimes you have to revisit where characters are going and how we can bring in new characters. For us, expanding the world sometimes means you lose characters, but you also gain more characters that help grow the show in a direction we feel is necessary for this new version. That’s where a lot of our decisions lie.”
There is also speculation that Sticky’s departure has more to do with his actor, Orlando Brown. Brown was a regular performer in Disney productions during the 2000’s, playing starring roles in That’s So Raven and Fillmore! and appearing in films like Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-Off and Max Keeble’s Big Move. However, throughout the mid-2010’s, Brown became infamous for his legal issues, including drug possession, domestic battery and skipping bail. This was compounded by his unusual behavior in public, including falsely claiming he was the son of legendary pop singer Michael Jackson and leaking his own sex tape on Instagram.
Since then, Brown appears to be doing much better. He has graduated from Rise Discipleship, an addiction recovery program, and is attempting to launch a new career as a Christian rapper. As for Sticky, Smith said it is possible for the teenage tech wiz to return in the revival. “We never say never on our show,” he explained. “That’s our thing. This show is about bringing in new characters and expanding the world, but also giving surprises at the same time.”
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is available to stream on Disney+.
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