Raising Whitley

Last updated
Raising Whitley
Raising Whitley Title Card.jpg
Genre Reality
Starring Kym 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
Release
Original network Oprah Winfrey Network
Original releaseApril 20, 2013 (2013-04-20) 
January 16, 2016 (2016-01-16)

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]

Contents

Premise

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

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

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
Season premiere Season finale
1 8April 20, 2013June 15, 2013
2 10January 4, 2014March 8, 2014
3 8January 3, 2015February 21, 2015
4 8November 21, 2015January 16, 2016

Season 1 (2013)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateU.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)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateU.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)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateU.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)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateU.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

YearAwardCategoryResult
201420th Annual NAMIC Vision AwardsReality ShowNominated
201622nd Annual NAMIC Vision AwardsReality ShowNominated

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