Diversity and representation are important in every aspect of Hollywood, but especially in children's programming. The sitcoms kids watch form a huge part of the memories they retain as they grow up. Young viewers need to see actors onscreen that represent more than one race, culture, or ethnicity.
Disney+ is a steadily growing streaming platform that launched in November 2019. The service has made efforts to showcase Black actors with a section titled, "Celebrate Black Stories." It's clear that Disney+ needs to center the work of Black actors more, but these sitcoms (spanning over two decades) are a good place to start.
Shake It Up: 4.8
Shake It Up is the Disney Channel sitcom that introduced the world to Zendaya before they knew she was a star. She played Rocky Blue opposite Bella Thorne, who played CeCe Jones.
Set in Chicago, the series is sort of a show within a show, as Rocky and CeCe dance on a local television show called Shake It Up, Chicago. Other notable actors from the series are Adam Irogoyen and Camp Rock's Roshon Fegan. The show ran from 2010 to 2013.
Just Roll With It: 4.9
Just Roll with It started in 2019 as a hybrid sitcom/choose-your-own-adventure game. The Bennett/Blatt family is newly blended and stars Tobie Windham and Suzi Barrett as the parents, Byron Blatt and Rachel Bennett.
The kids, Blair Bennett and Owen Blatt, are played by Kaylin Hayman and Ramon Reed, respectively. The show combines elements of the traditional situational comedy with audience-chosen scenarios that the characters must enact.
A.N.T Farm: 5.0
By 2011, Disney Channel had experimented a bit with the musical sitcom genre. Hannah Montana's success must have been a strong incentive to try other singing ideas with new talent.
A.N.T. Farm ran from 2011 to 2013 and starred China Anne McClain as a musical prodigy who is accepted into a high school gifted program called Advanced Natural Talents, which is full of other bright and talented young students. China Anne McClain went on to star in several other successful Disney Channel projects, most recently the Descendants franchise.
K.C. Undercover: 6.1
After her run on Shake It Up, Zendaya got her own Disney series, K.C. Undercover. She played a teen with a black belt in karate and an incredible knowledge of mathematics. Spicing up Disney's double-life pattern, K.C.'s parents recruit her for a CIA-like organization that is literally called The Organization.
Living with her mom, dad, brother, and robotic sister, K.C. is an exceptional student by day and a life-saving spy by night. The show ran from 2015 to 2018.
The Proud Family: 6.4
The Proud Family was one of Disney Channel's first animated series of the 2000s, and its fans are thrilled that new episodes will arrive on Disney+. The original show was all about the life of Penny Proud, a teenager living with her parents, grandmother, and younger siblings.
Penny (voiced by Kyla Pratt) wants to be cool and fit in, and she is often embarrassed by her father, Oscar Proud, with his strange ideas in the snack industry. Penny's school days are filled with the latest trends and talk with her best friends, but important lessons are often tucked into each story, including an episode on Black History Month that sends Penny back in time to experience the fight for Civil Rights.
That's So Raven: 6.6
That's So Raven is one of the most influential Disney Channel sitcoms of the early 2000s. Raven-Symoné is Raven Baxter, a high school girl with the supernatural ability to see the future. The young psychic lives with her parents and brother and is frequently accompanied by her best friends, Eddie (Orlando Brown) and Chelsea (Anneliese van der Pol).
Raven's visions are sometimes misleading, tempting her to overcompensate for a bad situation she is certain will transpire based on the brief blip she got of the future. Though hilarious and heartwarming, the show also covers critical topics such as racism and body image.
Raven's Home: 7.4
Raven's Home began in 2017 and is still a Disney Channel mainstay. This time around, Raven and Chelsea are divorced mothers, Raven having two children and Chelsea having one. After parting ways with their husbands, the best friends move their families in together in a Chicago apartment.
Chelsea and Raven are just as funny as ever, and the kids on the show (Navia Robinson, Issac Ryan Brown, Jason Maybaum, and close friend/neighbor played by Sky Katz) are fun to watch. It's also refreshing that the combined families live normal lives, working hard to pay the bills, succeed in school or work, and take care of one another.
Smart Guy: 7.4
Smart Guy is not original to Disney Channel, but its fans are so happy the 1997-1999 sitcom is on Disney+. Its protagonist is T.J. Henderson (Tahj Mowry), a boy genius who goes from elementary school to high school at the beginning of the series. T.J.'s situation obviously presents an interesting problem--he is a child who must socialize with teenagers every day (including his brother, Marcus, and Marcus's best friend, Mo).
With a sensible perspective from his dad and his sister, Yvette (played by Essence Atkins), T.J. learns that some of life's problems can't be solved with a book or equation.