Raising Whitley is an American reality television series that premiered April 20, 2013, on the Oprah Winfrey Network.[1][2][3] The show ran for four seasons and in 2016, for unknown reasons, the OWN Network decided not to renew the series for a fifth season.[4]

Raising Whitley
GenreReality
StarringKym Whitley
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes34
Production
Executive producers
  • Craig Piligian
  • Kym Whitley
  • Melodie Calvert
Running time22 minutes
(Season 1)
42 minutes
(Season 2–)
Production companyPilgrim Studios
Original release
NetworkOprah Winfrey Network
ReleaseApril 20, 2013 (2013-04-20) –
January 16, 2016 (2016-01-16)

Premise

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Raising Whitley chronicles the daily life of actress-comedian Kym Whitley and her group of friends—whom she refers to as "The Village"—as they raise baby Joshua, the child that Kym unexpectedly gained custody of. Joshua was left to Whitley after a troubled young woman, who she mentored for 15 years, had mysteriously escaped the hospital immediately after giving birth and left behind only Kym's contact information.[5][6]

Production

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It was announced in June 2013 that the Oprah Winfrey Network had ordered a ten-episode second season.[7] Season 2 premiered on January 4, 2014, and expanded to hour-long episodes.[8] On April 29, 2014, OWN announced that Raising Whitley had been renewed for another season.[9] On July 31, 2015, OWN announced that Raising Whitley would return with brand new episodes beginning November 14, 2015. In April 2016, it was announced the show had been cancelled.[10]

Episodes

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Season Episodes Originally aired
Season premiere Season finale
1 8 April 20, 2013 (2013-04-20) June 15, 2013 (2013-06-15)
2 10 January 4, 2014 (2014-01-04) March 8, 2014 (2014-03-08)
3 8 January 3, 2015 (2015-01-03) February 21, 2015 (2015-02-21)
4 8 November 21, 2015 (2015-11-21) January 16, 2016 (2016-01-16)

Season 1 (2013)

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No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date U.S. viewers
(million)
11"Meet Kym Whitley"April 20, 2013 (2013-04-20)0.78[11]
22"Help Wanted"April 27, 2013 (2013-04-27)0.63[12]
33"Mama's Manhunt"May 4, 2013 (2013-05-04)0.39[13]
44"My Two Daddies"May 11, 2013 (2013-05-11)0.42[14]
55"It Cakes a Village"May 18, 2013 (2013-05-18)0.49[15]
66"Palm Springs Shimmy"June 1, 2013 (2013-06-01)0.49[16]
77"Flirting with Disaster"June 8, 2013 (2013-06-08)0.37[17]
88"Friends with Benefits"June 15, 2013 (2013-06-15)0.40[18]

Season 2 (2014)

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No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date U.S. viewers
(million)
91"Momma Sexy Is Back"January 4, 2014 (2014-01-04)N/A
102"Move Out of My Man-Space"January 11, 2014 (2014-01-11)N/A
113"A Stuffer's Kerfuffle"January 18, 2014 (2014-01-18)N/A
124"The Blind Leading the Blind"January 25, 2014 (2014-01-25)N/A
135"Cleveland Roots"February 1, 2014 (2014-02-01)0.53[19]
146"Here Today, Gondola Tomorrow"February 8, 2014 (2014-02-08)N/A
157"Enough Is a Muff"February 15, 2014 (2014-02-15)N/A
168"The Last Straw"February 22, 2014 (2014-02-22)N/A
179"Joshua's Birthmother"March 1, 2014 (2014-03-01)N/A
1810"What's Best for Joshua?"March 8, 2014 (2014-03-08)0.78[20]

Season 3 (2015)

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No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date U.S. viewers
(million)
191"Growing Up Whitley"January 3, 2015 (2015-01-03)0.54[21]
202"Wendell's Struggle"January 10, 2015 (2015-01-10)0.60[22]
213"One Night Only"January 17, 2015 (2015-01-17)N/A
224"Rodney's Remorse"January 24, 2015 (2015-01-24)0.50[23]
235"Runaway Bride"January 31, 2015 (2015-01-31)0.46[24]
246"My Baby’s Going to School"February 7, 2015 (2015-02-07)0.45[25]
257"Harold’s Big Break"February 14, 2015 (2015-02-14)N/A
268"Beauty Shop Returns"February 21, 2015 (2015-02-21)N/A

Season 4 (2015-16)

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No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Original air date U.S. viewers
(million)
271"The Whitley Intervention: Part 1"November 21, 2015 (2015-11-21)0.66[26]
282"The Whitley Intervention: Part 2"November 28, 2015 (2015-11-28)0.49[27]
293"To Z or Not to Z"December 5, 2015 (2015-12-05)0.56[28]
304"My Baby’s Turning Four!"December 12, 2015 (2015-12-12)0.53[29]
315"Mickey Don’t Play"December 26, 2015 (2015-12-26)0.53[30]
326"Village Vacation"January 2, 2016 (2016-01-02)0.63[31]
337"Movin’ on Up"January 9, 2016 (2016-01-09)0.62[32]
348"Telling Joshua"January 16, 2016 (2016-01-16)0.51[33]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result
2014 20th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards Reality Show Nominated
2016 22nd Annual NAMIC Vision Awards Reality Show Nominated
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References

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  1. ^ "OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Announces New Saturday Night Programming Lineup Premiering in April". The Futon Critic. March 5, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  2. ^ Dawidziak, Mark (March 11, 2013). "Kym Whitley starring in reality show on Oprah Winfrey's OWN". Cleveland Live. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  3. ^ Lea, Jason (March 13, 2013). "Shaker Heights Native Kym Whitley Will Star In New Series On Oprah Winfrey's Network". Shaker Heights Patch. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "OWN Cancels 'Raising Whitley' After Four Seasons?". 17 April 2016.
  5. ^ "OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Announces New Original Programming for 2013". The Futon Critic. January 5, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 5, 2013). "OWN Greenlights 4 Unscripted Series, Sets Premiere Date For Tyler Perry Sitcoms: TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  7. ^ Bibel, Sara (June 10, 2013). "OWN Orders Additional Episodes of 'Iyanla: Fix My Life', 'Raising Whitley', & 'Life With La Toya'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013.
  8. ^ Bibel, Sara (November 26, 2013). "'The Haves and the Have Nots' & 'Love Thy Neighbor' Season Two to Premiere January 7 & 8 on OWN". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013.
  9. ^ "OWN RENEWS "RAISING WHITLEY" FOR SECOND SEASON AND ORDERS NEW EPISODES OF "DEION'S FAMILY PLAYBOOK"". OWN Discovery Press Web. February 4, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  10. ^ "TV SCOOP: OWN Cancels 'Raising Whitley' - Read Kym Whitley's Statement". 13 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs Tripleheader Puts ESPN on Top". The Futon Critic. April 23, 2013.
  12. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs, "Marvin Marvin" Top Charts". The Futon Critic. April 30, 2013.
  13. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: TNT Tops Charts with Bulls/Nets Finale". The Futon Critic. May 7, 2013.
  14. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: "Beverly Lewis' The Confession," "My Cat from Hell" Top Originals". The Futon Critic. May 14, 2013.
  15. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: Game 6 of Knicks/Pacers Puts ESPN on Top". The Futon Critic. May 21, 2013.
  16. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: TNT Tops Charts with Game 6 of Heat/Pacers". The Futon Critic. June 4, 2013.
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  18. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: NBC Sports Network Tops Charts with Stanley Cup Finals". The Futon Critic. June 18, 2013.
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  20. ^ "OWN RENEWS "RAISING WHITLEY" FOR SECOND SEASON AND ORDERS NEW EPISODES OF "DEION'S FAMILY PLAYBOOK"". OWN Discovery Press Web. April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
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  26. ^ "EXPANDED SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals". SHOWBUZZDAILY. November 24, 2015. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
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