While I was visiting our friendly neighbor to the north for TIFF, Anaheim hosted D23 and there was plenty of news, trailers, sizzle reels, and first-looks that dropped over the weekend. Here’s some of the news that DIASPORA was excited to see:
American Born Chinese
Coming to Disney+ in 2023, American Born Chinese comes from showrunner and executive producer Kelvin Yu (Bob’s Burgers, Central Park) and director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) — and it has a lot of legends in its cast as well as talented up and comers.
Based on the genre-hopping graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, the new series tells the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life. When he meets a new student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.
American Born Chinese stars Ben Wang as Jin Wang, Yeo Yann Yann as Christine Wang, Chin Han as Simon Wang, Ke Huy Quan as Freddy Wong, Jimmy Liu as Wei-Chen, Sydney Taylor as Amelia with Daniel Wu as Sun Wukong “The Monkey King” and Michelle Yeoh as Guanyin.
Yu, Cretton, and Yang executive produce alongside Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan, Erin O’Malley, and Asher Goldstein. The Disney Branded Television series is produced by 20th Television, part of Disney Television Studios.
The Muppets Mayhem
Disney+ hyped up their upcoming comedy series The Muppets Mayhem with a new single from The Electric Mayhem Band titled “Can You Picture That” — which is appropriate considering that’s who the series follows.
Coming to Disney+ in 2023, The Muppets Mayhems follows the iconic band — Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet — on an epic, music-filled journey to record their first-ever studio album. With the help of a driven, young music executive, Nora (Lilly Singh), the old-school Muppet band comes face-to-face with the current-day music scene as they try to finally go platinum.
The Muppets Mayhem also stars Tahj Mowry (“Moog”), Saara Chaudry (“Hannah”) as well as Anders Holm (“JJ”) in a recurring role.
The Muppets Mayhem is developed by Adam F. Goldberg, Bill Barretta and Jeff Yorkes based on characters created by Jim Henson. It is written by Adam F. Goldberg, Bill Barretta and Jeff Yorkes; the executive producers are Goldberg, Barretta, Michael Bostick and Kris Eber. Yorkes is a co-executive producer. The Muppets Studio’s David Lightbody and Leigh Slaughter are also executive producers. The Disney Branded Television series is produced by ABC Signature, which is part of Disney Television Studios, and The Muppets Studio for Disney+.
National Treasure: Edge of History
National Treasure is BACK!
Making its two-episode premiere on December 14, the Disney+ Original series National Treasure: Edge of History is an expands the franchise the point of view of a young heroine, Jess (Lisette Olivera) – a brilliant and resourceful DREAMer in search of answers about her family – who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.
The series also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jake Austin Walker, Jordan Rodrigues, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano, and Lyndon Smith. Jerry Bruckheimer, Cormac & Marianne Wibberley, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed serve as executive producers on the series alongside Rick Muirragui, who also serves as a writer. Jon Turteltaub is also an executive producer. Mira Nair is directing and executive producing. A Disney Branded Television series, National Treasure is produced by ABC Signature, part of Disney Television Studios.
Check out the trailer below.
Growing Up
Now Streaming on Disney+, Growing Up was created by Brie Larson and Culture.House and is an innovative hybrid docu-series that explores the challenges, triumphs and complexities of adolescence through 10 compelling coming-of-age stories.
The series uses narrative, experimental and documentary filmmaking to follow one casted individual, ages 18-22, as they tell their story. They represent a wide range of lived experiences, giving audiences emotionally powerful narratives that offer an engaging look at teenage-hood and the diverse social, familial and internal obstacles young people face on their path to self-discovery and acceptance.
Each 30-minute episode features one young person or “hero” and their experience growing up. Each episode is anchored by a deeply personal interview that allows our heroes to walk us through their childhood and teenage years. Alongside these interviews, creative cinematic reenactments help bring their major inflection points to life.
Watch the previously released trailer below.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
The second season of the revival The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is set to debut February 2023 on Disney+.
Cast members reprising their roles from the original series and returning for season two are 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, Karen Malina White as Dijonay Jones, Soleil Moon Frye as Zoey Howzer, Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez, Carlos Mencia as Felix Boulevardez, Maria Canals-Barrera as Sunset Boulevardez, Alvaro Gutierrez as Papi, Raquel Lee Bolleau as Nubia Gross and Marcus T. Paulk as Myron. Recurring new voices that will also return include Keke Palmer as Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins, Billy Porter and Zachary Quinto as Randall and Barry Leibowitz-Jenkins, EJ Johnson as Michael Collins, Asante Blackk as Kareem, Artist “A Boogie” Dubose as Francis “KG” Leibowitz-Jenkins, Bresha Webb as CeCe and Aiden Dodson as BeBe.
The series is executive produced by its creator Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar. Calvin Brown, Jr. is co-executive producer and story editor. Jan Hirota is producer. Eastwood Wong is art director, and directors are Latoya Raveneau, Rudi Bloss, and Tara Nicole Whitaker.
Doogie Kamealoha, M.D
The second season of the series re-imagining is coming soon to Disney+!
After spending the summer apart, Lahela (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is finally reunited with Walter (Alex Aiono), although he’s not the same boyfriend she said goodbye to months before. Their relationship has shifted and they’re no longer on the same page. Her head is spinning and even more so when she meets a new patient, Nico (Milo Manheim). Lahela’s life is full of decisions – Walter, Nico and choosing her medical specialty. In the end, who or what will she choose? Luckily, she has her family, coworkers and best friend (Emma Meisel) to support her along the way.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Season three of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is set to debut September 14. The new season is set at Camp Shallow Lake, a sleepaway camp in California, as the Wildcats and their fellow campers are primed for an unforgettable summer ripe with romance, curfew-less nights and a taste of the great outdoors.
With a high-stakes production of Frozen on the horizon AND a drama-filled “docu-series” of the production, the Wildcats will attempt to show who is “best in snow” without leaving anyone out in the cold.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season three stars Joshua Bassett (“Ricky”), Sofia Wylie (“Gina”), Matt Cornett (“E.J.”), Julia Lester (“Ashlyn”), Dara Reneé (“Kourtney”), Frankie Rodriguez (“Carlos”), Saylor Bell Curda (“Maddox”) and Adrian Lyles (“Jet”). Also featured this season are recurring guest stars Corbin Bleu (himself), Meg Donnelly (“Val”), Jason Earles (“Dewey Wood”), Kate Reinders (“Miss Jenn”), Aria Brooks (“Alex”), Liamani Segura (“Emmy”), Ben Stillwell (“Channing”) and Olivia Rodrigo (“Nini”) as well as guest stars Olivia Rose Keegan (“Lily”), Larry Saperstein (“Big Red”), Joe Serafini (“Seb”), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Marvin”) and JoJo Siwa (“Maddox”).
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is created and executive produced by Tim Federle.
