It is no wonder that Raven’s Home has become one of the top-rated shows within the Disney Channel line-up. Never afraid to try something new, Raven Simone and her talented castmates are always looking for something to not only entertain but to push the bar even higher.
Well, they have done just that with their upcoming musical special episode, airing this Friday at 8:00 ET/PT on Disney Channel.
It looks like Raven’s Home: Remix is going to be a chart-topper that you definitely don’t want to miss, taking its place alongside Disney musical favorites such as Descendants to Freaky Friday and beyond.
In preparation for Friday night’s episode, BCK Online caught up with Issac Ryan Brown and Navia Robinson for an exclusive one-on-one about the upcoming debut and more. Check out what these talented members of #younghollywood had to say and make sure to catch the new episode Friday, October 12th, at 8:00 ET/PT on Disney Channel.
BCK: How was it filming a musical episode? Would you say that it challenging and fun at the same time?
Issac Ryan Brown: I feel like since we’re all very very musically inclined, being able to express that other side of us in an episode of our favorite thing, combining what we love, was really exciting for me.
Navia Robinson: I feel like it had its challenges because it is a short turn time and you not only have to learn your lines but its not only the addition of choreography and music. So, that was an element to it, but I think that made it more fun for us. Sometimes, it’s nice to shake it up and that was basically the episode of us.
BCK: Navia spoke about the challenges of adding choreography and music to the episode. Issac, how hard was it for you? What was your favorite musical number in the show?
Issac Ryan Brown: We were not using four cameras, just one camera, and you are dancing and singing, the way you have to change and adjust to that, with the singing and dancing, plus the acting and choreography, it gets hard.
Definitely, our finale, Replay the moment. I feel like all of us dancing and singing together and we all learned it together and we were all on stage, performing, we got to do what we love to do best, was super fun. I liked it. That was my favorite song. My favorite musical number definitely has to be Pie.
BCK: Navia, what was your favorite musical number in the show?
Navia Robinson: My favorite musical number to watch being filmed was Pie. It was so entertaining. It was a completely different set that we have never seen before and there are so many elements to it. As far as what I liked participating in the most was doing the solo thing that I did because I was actually with some friends of mine. Even though we were doing a scene together, we never worked together in that way before and it just felt really welcoming.
BCK: How was it working with the other cast members on this special episode?
Navia Robinson: We are used to it. (lol) We all knew that we can sing and rap. It wasn’t something that was completely fresh on the set, it was just different. It was a chance for everyone to see it on display.
Issac Ryan Brown: We all knew what we were capable of but actually seeing that on television was really eye opening for me because we got to see our full potential.
BCK: Why do you feel that it was important to showcase that “girl power”?
Issac Ryan Brown: Well, I think that sometimes Nia is kind of stereotypical. And in this episode, you get to see a side of her which you don’t get to see often. It’s her, “we are all equal,” her passionate side about how she feels. So, getting to see that, for me, was refreshing for me.
Navia Robinson: You already get so much from a musical but adding something like that makes something that resonates with the audience more. It adds something different. It’s not just a musical, it’s actually got something that’s really important throughout it. It’s really great to display that in ways that kids can see it and that they can process it easily. It’s in a fun situation where you can watch it, you are entertained, you are hearing singing and all of this, but you are like wait, that has a deeper message. One of the first lines in the song is, “it doesn’t matter what your gender or race is…” that is just a statement within itself.
BCK: It sounds like you guys wouldn’t mind doing more episodes like this?
Issac Ryan Brown: When I first did the musical and we went back and we watched the whole episode, I said, you know, we should do an episode in the future where we go back and do another music episode and compare this to then to see if we have grown or not. I think that would be perfect.
BCK: How did you guys get into acting?
Issac Ryan Brown: My mom always imagined that her baby would be something great and she loved football, so she imagined that I would be a football player. But, I was too young to go into football, so she put me in modeling, acting, and different baby competitions, and I was winning a lot and she took me out to St. Louis, I did America’s Got Talent, and then eventually I went out to LA where I did Sam & Cat, Bubble Guppies. I started doing a lot of animation like Land Before Time and right after I had just lost a job called The Chi, then Raven’s Home called me and said that they wanted me to come in for a testing right away.
Navia Robinson: My parents never had their sights set out for me to have a specific career, but a lot of people would mention it and say that I seemed like someone who would be in the industry. And it was like a desire of mine and I told my parents that it was something that I wanted to do. Everything came into line when it should. We found a manager when we should, a school to go to, and it was just a matter of perfecting it. Going on auditions, traveling to LA, just taking those necessary steps. I appreciate my family. They have made so many sacrifices for what I do. This is my first comedic project. That was definitely an adjustment.
BCK: What do you like to do for fun?
Issac Ryan Brown: I like to read. There’s this app that I have on my phone called “Wattpad” and when I finished reading the Percy Jackson books, I said, ‘oh, I don’t want it to be over,’ so, I went on “Wattpad” and said, ‘anymore Percy Jackson stories’ and it popped up a bunch of fan fiction and they were like here’s how we think it would continue. And there’s some really awesome writers on there and since I aspire to be a writer as well, it something that’s really cool.
Navia Robinson: I’m creative. I am very artistically inclined. I love drawing, sketching, fashion. So whenever I can find a hobby that has to do with fashion, I am real into it. As far as free time goes, I love reading, anything that allows me to be creative, I am into immediately. I am someone who likes to try new things. And I love basketball too.
Issac Ryan Brown: We also go out to the movies together as a cast every Friday night. We do Karaoke. I think out most notable adventure was the Escape Room.
Navia Robinson: I forgot about that. Me, Raven and Issac did the Escape Room in Hollywood. That’s our cup of tea. If there were three people that love an escape room, it is us three.
BCK: What would you like to be when you grow up? Do you still want to be in this industry or do you see yourself going to college or getting into something else?
Navia Robinson: I want to always stay within the industry, I don’t really have my sights set on anything else as of right now and I don’t think that will change. But I definitely want to go to college. I want to study psychology. It’s really really interesting and I think it goes hand-in-hand with acting. I love fashion, so doing something like that, or directing, but definitely staying within the industry.
Issac Ryan Brown: I have four sisters, we are all going to school for something that can help us as a unit. My older sister is going to school to be a doctor. My sister after that is going to school to study business/law. My other sister is going for production and then my little sister said that she wants to go to school for fashion. And so, I said, we don’t have to pay for a production company, we can start one. We have everything that we need. I can be an actor, the money behind it.
BCK: Do you guys have any upcoming projects that we should look forward to?
Navia Robinson: Yes, but I can’t talk about it yet.
Issac Ryan Brown: I have my first single coming out in a couple of weeks and the video. I don’t know the exact date, I will release it on my Instagram. And, the Disney Jr. Show I do called Puppy Dog Pals just got picked up for a third season.
Make sure to follow Navia and Issac’s journey on Instagram. They are unquestionably headed straight to the top!
