Billy Porter and EJ Johnson Join Cast of ‘The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’

Character stills for new Disney Plus series "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder." Credit: Disney+

EJ Johnson and Billy Porter have signed on to the cast of the upcoming Disney+ animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

The streamer announced in a press release Wednesday that Johnson (Rich Kids of Beverly Hills) will voice the character of Michael Collins, the best guy friend of new character, 14-year-old Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins. Collins is a non-conforming trendsetter who is all about fashion. In the original series, the part was voiced by Phil LaMarr.

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Porter will voice the character of Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins alongside additional cast member Zachary Quinto (Star Trek), who will voice Barry Leibowitz-Jenkins. The two characters are the mixed-race adoptive parents of activist Maya.

Keke Palmer will voice the character of Maya in the reboot, which was announced over a  year ago. These new characters will be joining the original Proud family from the animated 2001 Disney series of the same name.

Returning cast members include Kyla Pratt as Penny Proud, Tommy Davidson as Oscar Proud, Paula Jai Parker as Trudy Proud, JoMarie Payton as Suga Mama, Cedric the Entertainer as Uncle Bobby, Carlos Mencia as Felix Boulevardez, Maria Canals-Barrera as Sunset Boulevardez, Alvaro Gutierrez as Papi, Karen Malina White as Dijonay Jones, Soleil Moon Frye as Zoey Howzer and Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez.

The series “will pick up the story of its central character Penny Proud and also include her madcap family: parents Oscar and Trudy, twin siblings BeBe and CeCe, and her grandmother Suga Mama (and Puff!). Of course, it would not be The Proud Family without Penny’s loyal crew Dijonay Jones, LaCienega Boulevardez and Zoey Howzer, among others,” according to a statement.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is currently in production and will be released on Disney+ in 2022.

Bruce W. Smith (The Princess and the Frog) and Ralph Farquhar (Moesha), both of whom led the original series, are executive producers on the new show. Calvin Brown, Jr. (Moesha) is co-executive producer and story editor, and Jan Hirota (Big Hero 6 The Series) is a producer for the series.


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About Jacquelinne Mejia

Jacquelinne Mejia is a writer and social media producer in Los Angeles. She can be reached on Twitter @JackieMejia.