‘The Cheetah Girls’ Nearly Had a Spinoff TV Show — But ‘That’s So Raven’ Got In the Way
When The Cheetah Girls premiered in 2003, young audiences fell in love. The Disney Channel followed its success with sequels, albums, and merchandise, but it was short lived. Since the movies were a success, the cast nearly landed a spinoff series. But That’s So Raven prevented it.
‘The Cheetah Girls’ was one of Disney Channel’s successes
The Cheetah Girls followed four talented teenage girls as they followed their dreams of becoming stars. The first installment in The Cheetah Girls franchise debuted in 2003 and premiered to 6 million viewers in its original broadcast.
The second movie, the Cheetah Girls 2, follows the girls on their road to an international music festival. The sequel’s premiere had the highest ratings of all Disney Channel movies at the time averaging over 8.1 million viewers, edging out High School Musical. The Cheetah Girls 2 debuted in 2006.
The last film in the franchise was Cheetah Girls: One World. It followed the group as they became part of the cast of a lavish musical in India. Raven-Symoné, who played Galleria in the first two films, didn’t appear in the third movie. Her absence was explained as her character had gone to college.
One World debuted in 2008 but failed to match the ratings of the first two films in the franchise. Fans and critics speculated that the lower ratings were because of Raven-Symoné’s absence. Raven-Symoné later explained her absence from the last film, saying she felt “ostracized” and “excluded” as the other girls in the group had become “clique-ish.”
A TV show spinoff of ‘The Cheetah Girls’ didn’t get made because of ‘That’s So Raven’
Following the first Cheetah Girls’ success, there were talks that the movie would be turned into a TV show. In an MTV article discussing new projects for 3LW (comprised of Cheetah Girls actors Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon), the stars mentioned they were “excited” about the project, which would also include 3LW member Jessica Benson, and fellow Cheetah Girls Sabrina Bryan and, of course, Raven-Symoné.
But the series ultimately never got made, thanks to the busiest of them. Raven-Symoné had her Disney sitcom, That’s So Raven. According to a Ms Mojo video, the Cheetah Girls show was delayed due to That’s So Raven‘s popularity, as it kept its titular star occupied. Eventually, Disney dropped the show altogether.
Raven-Symoné is open to a ‘Cheetah Girls’ reunion
Despite reports of feuds on the set, The Cheetah Girls franchise lives on. The stars went on to have prosperous careers, especially Bailon and Raven-Symoné, both of whom joined daytime talk shows. The actors later had a mini-reunion when the latter appeared in the former’s That’s So Raven reboot, Raven’s House.
Raven-Symoné and Williams traded jabs on Instagram at one point. But they ultimately squashed their beef when they did a joint Instagram Live chat discussing their time working together. And Raven-Symoné even said she would be up for a Cheetah Girls‘ revival if there is “good content” and “positive people.”
