Moesha

Moesha

Title card
Genre Sitcom
Created by Ralph Farquhar
Sara V. Finney
Vida Spears
Starring
Theme music composer Kurt Farquhar
Opening theme "Moesha", performed by Brandy
Ending theme "Moesha" (Instrumental)
Composer(s) Kurt Farquhar
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 127 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 22–24 minutes
Production company(s) Regan Jon Productions (1996–1997) (Seasons 1-2)
Saradipity Productions (Season 3-4)
Jump at the Sun Productions (1997–1999) (Seasons 3-5)
Big Ticket Television
Distributor CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network UPN
Picture format 4:3
Original release January 23, 1996 (1996-01-23) – May 14, 2001 (2001-05-14)
Chronology
Related shows The Parkers

Moesha was an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Denise Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was originally ordered as a pilot for CBS's 1995–1996 television season but was rejected by the network. It was then picked up by UPN, who aired it as a mid-season replacement. It went on to become the biggest success for the nascent network and one of the greatest hits over the course of the network's entire run.

Overview

The show focuses on the life of a middle class African-American family through the eyes of a typical girl named Moesha. Her father Frank, a widower and Saturn car salesman (and later owner of his own dealership, The Brothers Saturn), has married Dee, the vice-principal at Moesha's school, much to Moesha's disagreement. The series was created by Ralph Farquhar, along with the writing team of Sara V. Finney and Vida Spears. The settings for the show include the Mitchell household and the teen hangout, The Den. The sitcom was portrayed to take place in the affluent Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Issues addressed

The show dealt with real teen social issues such as teen pregnancy, drug use, race relations, premarital sex, the death of a parent, and day-to-day issues teenagers faced at home and school. In one of the most controversial episodes, "Secrets and Lies," the Mitchell family learned from Aunt Hattie that Frank is the biological father of Dorian, whom the Mitchells and Dorian himself believed to be Frank's nephew. The shocking news of Frank's infidelity during his first marriage turned the family upside-down and resulted in Dorian's rebellion and Moesha's relocation from her home.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Recurring cast

Notable guest stars

Episodes

See List of Moesha episodes

U.S. television ratings

Season Season premiere Season finale TV season Ranking Viewers
(in millions)
1st January 23, 1996 May 21, 1996 1996 #141[1] 3.5[1]
2nd August 27, 1996 May 20, 1997 1996-1997 #134[2] 3.5[2]
3rd August 26, 1997 May 19, 1998 1997–1998 #141[3] 4.0[3]
4th October 6, 1998 May 25, 1999 1998–1999 #137[4] 3.3[4]
5th August 23, 1999 May 22, 2000 1999–2000 #130[5] 2.4[5]
6th September 4, 2000 May 14, 2001 2000–2001 #130[6] 3.3[6]

DVD release

On September 27, 2011, CBS Home Entertainment released Moesha: The First Season on DVD in Region 1 via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Amazon.com.[7]

DVD NameEp #Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete 1st Season 14 September 27, 2011[8] N/A N/A
The Complete 2nd Season 24 TBA N/A N/A
The Complete 3rd Season 23 TBA N/A N/A
The Complete 4th Season 22 TBA N/A N/A
The Complete 5th Season 22 TBA N/A N/A
The Complete 6th Season 22 TBA N/A N/A

Spin-off and Brock Akil universe

Given her popularity for four seasons on Moesha, Countess Vaughn left the show in 1999 for her own show, The Parkers, which premiered on August 30, 1999 on UPN. It centered on the adventures of Kim attending community college with her mother, played by comedian Mo'Nique. Leaving Moesha, Yvette Wilson joined the cast of The Parkers as Andell, Nikki's childhood best friend, in 2000.

Several Moesha cast members (including Brandy Norwood) made crossover appearances on The Parkers.

Though not direct spin-offs of Moesha, the shows Girlfriends and The Game were created by Moesha writer Mara Brock Akil and exist in the same universe as Moesha. The character Maya Wilkes (Golden Brooks) from Girlfriends lives in Leimert Park like the characters of Moesha, and appeared in an episode babysitting for her sister-in-law Barbara Lee, who happened to be Dorian's birth mother. Niecy later appeared in an episode of Girlfriends.

The Game was spun off from Girlfriends with the loose thread of main character Melanie Barnett (Tia Mowry) being a cousin of Girlfriends main character Joan Clayton (Tracee Ellis Ross). Though this was never referenced again on The Game, the Melanie and Derwin characters re-appeared in the Girlfriends Season 7 finale episode for a cameo. Ironically, Brandy joined the cast of The Game in its fifth season as Chardonnay Pitts, further complicating the notion of the shows existing in the same universe.

Opening credits

There have been four versions of the opening credits theme song.

  1. Used for Season 1
  2. Used for Season 2
  3. Used for Season 3, which was nearly identical to the season 2 version, but with elements from the first theme, as well
  4. Used for the last three seasons

Although the same recording of the theme song was used for the last three seasons, a different opening was used for each of the last three seasons.

  1. Season 1 showed Moesha dancing in front of a fountain, walking with friends, dancing in a driving car, and playing a game of chess...winning, while waving at a guy as he walks away.
  2. Season 2 & 3 had the same scenario as season one but had some changes. Moesha was still dancing in front of the fountain but with a bass player behind her. Instead of being with just her friends, she was shown to be playing basketball and baseball with her friends and family, driving with her friends and once again having a meal at the diner served by Andell with her family.
  3. Season 4 showed the cast around the neighborhood and shows Moesha, Kim, and Niecy dancing at the fountain.
  4. Season 5 showed the cast as Norwood lip-syncs to the theme song.
  5. Season 6 showed the cast as Norwood lip-syncs to the theme song. The same as Season 5 but with a twist. Since Yvette Wilson left to join the cast for The Parkers and Sheryl Lee Ralph's character became a recurring cast member in the show, Norwood is shown lip-syncing over where Yvette Wilson and Sheryl Lee Ralph once were in the Season 5 opening.

Cancellation

By the sixth season, ratings for Moesha had dropped and UPN opted not to renew the series for a seventh season. The series ended on an unresolved cliffhanger with Myles being kidnapped by a rival of Dorian, Moesha considering moving in with Hakeem, and an unknown positive pregnancy test being found in the trash at Moesha's dorm room. Entertainment Weekly reported that certain plots were to be resolved on The Parkers,[9] but the storylines were never resolved.

Syndication

The series aired in syndication on UPN, Fox, and The WB affiliates from 2000 to 2003, then on WGN America from 2005 to 2009. It began airing on The N in 2005, but ceased in 2009.

In the UK, Moesha aired on Channel 4 from 1996 until 1998, only showing the first three seasons. It also aired on Nickelodeon (edited for kids viewing) from 1996 to 2000 showing the first four seasons, Paramount Channel and Trouble.

Since 2008, The show has been running in syndication in Spain, Italy, Israel, Russia, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, UK, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Jamaica, Japan, China, India, Korea, Singapore, Brazil, South Sudan, Australia, and Mexico.

As of 2013 Moesha currently airs on Up TV, Centric, and BET until mid 2016. On Up, it is edited for content to make it more "family-friendly" and is often edited for extreme time constraints on BET and Centric. Since October 1, 2016 Fuse began airing reruns.

Awards

Year Award Category Recipient
1997 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress Brandy Norwood
1998 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Countess Vaughn
2000 SHINE Awards Comedy Episode For episode "Let's Talk About Sex"

References

  1. 1 2 "Complete TV Ratings 1995-1996". Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  2. 1 2 "Complete TV Ratings 1996-1997". Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  3. 1 2 "The Final Countdown". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue #434 May 29, 1998. May 29, 1998. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  4. 1 2 "TV Winners & Losers: Numbers Racket A Final Tally Of The Season's Show (from Nielsen Media Research)". GeoCities. June 4, 1999. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  5. 1 2 "TV Ratings 1999-2000". Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  6. 1 2 "The Bitter End". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue #598 Jun 01, 2001. June 1, 2001. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  7. ↑ "Moesha Season (1996) Season 1Its very unknown if the remaining five seasons will ever be released: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  8. ↑ "Moesha Season (1996) Season 1". Amazon.com. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  9. ↑ Rice, Lynette (2001-06-06). "'Band' On the Run". ew.com. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
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