Moesha is an American
situation comedy/
drama 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 Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in
Los Angeles.
Overview
The show focused on the life of an upper middle class,
African-American family through the eyes of a typical girl. Her father Frank, a widower and
Saturn car salesman, has married Dee, the vice-principal at Moesha's school, much to Moesha's dismay. 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 hang-out, The Den.
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 faced by teenagers at home and in school. In one of the most controversial episodes, "Secrets & Lies", the Mitchell family learned from Frank's Aunt Hattie that he is the biological father of Dorian, who both 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 Moesha moving out of the house and Dorian's rebellion.
Cast and characters
Primary cast
- Moesha Mitchell (played by Brandy Norwood) - Like many teens, Moesha is trying to find her place in life. At every turn, Moesha — along with her friends and family —experiences new challenges and hilarious situations associated with the pressures and demands of growing up in an often confusing world.
- Frank Mitchell (played by William Allen Young) - A Saturn dealer and father to Moesha and Myles. Originally believed to be Dorian's uncle, he is later revealed to be the young man's father.
- Deidra "Dee" Mitchell (played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, Seasons 1–5, recurring Season 6) - An educator attempting to master two additional careers — as wife and stepmother to Moesha and Myles.
- Kimberly "Kim" Parker (played by Countess Vaughn, Seasons 1–4) - Moesha's boy-crazy best friend who has a crush on Hakeem.
- Myles Mitchell (played by Marcus T. Paulk) - Myles is Moesha's pesky younger brother.
- Hakeem Campbell (played by Lamont Bentley) - A frequent visitor to the Mitchell household, as Moesha’s lifelong friend and neighbor, and then later boyfriend.
- Andell Wilkerson (played by Yvette Wilson, Seasons 1–5) - Moesha's older friend and owner of the neighborhood hangout, The Den.
- Niecy Jackson (played by Shar Jackson, Seasons 2–6, recurring Season 1) - Moesha's friend and confidante.
- Quinton "Q" Brooks (played by Fredro Starr, Seasons 2–3, recurring thereafter) - Moesha's longest-running love interest.
- Dorian Long (played by Ray J, seasons 5-6) - Moesha and Myles' cousin, who is later revealed to be their half-brother.
Recurring cast
Guest stars
Moesha is known for its large number of guest stars in several episodes such as
Mary J. Blige,
Mya,
Usher,
Kobe Bryant,
Mo'Nique,
Bernie Mac,
Kyla Pratt,
Kellie Shanygne Williams,
Jo Marie Payton,
Darius McCrary,
Vanessa L. Williams,
Vivica A. Fox and many more.
Episodes
See List of Moesha episodes
Spin-off
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 the adventures of Kim attending college along with her mother played by comedian
Mo'Nique. Leaving
Moesha, Yvette Wilson will join the cast as Andell in 2000.
Several
Moesha cast members (including Brandy Norwood) made
crossover appearances on
The Parkers.
Opening Credits
There have been four versions of opening credits theme song.
- Used for Season 1
- Used for Season 2
- Used for Season 3, which was nearly identical to the season 2 version, but with elements from the first theme, as well
- 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.
- Season 4 showed the cast around the neighborhood and shows Moesha, Kim, and Niecy dancing at the fountain.
- Season 5 showed the cast as Norwood lip-syncs to the theme song.
- 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 and an unknown pregnancy test was found in the trash at Moesha's dorm room.
Entertainment Weekly reported that certain plots were to be resolved on
The Parkers,
but the storylines were never resolved.
Syndication
The series aired in syndication on
UPN from 1999–2002, then on
WGN America from 2005 to 2009. It has been airing on
The N since 2005.
Moesha has also aired on
Nickelodeon UK,
Paramount Channel UK and
Trouble TV UK.
Since 2008, The show has been running in syndication in Spain, Italy, Israel, Russia, France, Germany, Ireland, Holland, UK, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Japan, China, India, Korea, Singapore, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico.
Awards
In popular culture
Moesha has been a target for such shows and movies.
- Clueless - In a Halloween-themed episode spoofing the popular Scream films, Cher (Rachel Blanchard), Dionne (Stacey Dash) and Amber (Elisa Donovan) try to catch a stalker. Later, Amber hints at a Moesha crossover after calling out Moesha's name when the girls are looking for Murray and Sean. In fact, Shar Jackson and Lamont Bentley would appear in a later episode reprising their Moesha characters.
- A Very Brady Sequel (1996) - Jan Brady (Jennifer Elise Cox) runs into her psychiatrist, Mrs. Cummings (RuPaul). She gives Jan some advice. Shortly after, Mrs. Cummings' daughters are shown having an argument where one utters the phrase, "Moesha! Moesha! Moesha!" The phrase was used for laughs since a similar catch-phrase was stated in the original series. Jennifer Elise Cox reprises her role in an episode of Moeshas fourth season.
- The Proud Family - In the episode "Hooray for Iesha", the show parodies Moesha with Penny Proud's favorite television program, Iesha. The plot of this episode is about the show Iesha, which is canceled without resolving the previous season's cliffhanger ending—Iesha's little brother running away. This is nearly identical to the final episode of Moesha as well as reminiscent of the fan outrage following the unresolved plot.
- In one episode of the sitcom Scrubs, Dr. Cox calls J.D. Moesha.
- In a Steve Harvey Show season 1 episode, Sophia says "Don't play dumb with me Ho-esha." In season 5 of Moesha, Alicia similarly refers to Mo as "Ho-esha"
- In a season five episode of House of Payne C.J and Janine's baby doctor refers to Miranda and Calvin as "Moesha and Hakeem".
