Saying goodbye! K.C. Undercover came to an end on February 2, 2018, following three seasons on Disney Channel.

In the show, Zendaya starred as a high school girl named K.C. who becomes a spy while dealing with all the trials and tribulations of growing up. She nabbed a role in the series following her stint on Shake It Up! The Emmy Award-winning actress has since moved on from her Disney Channel days and has nothing but positive things to say about her experience growing up on the network.

“The thing is, I am [a Disney kid]. And to a degree, I am grateful for that,” Zendaya declared during a January 2021 interview with Variety. “That’s where I started, and I learned so much from that experience.”

She made her Disney Channel debut when Shake It Up! premiered in 2010. Once the show came to end in 2013, Zendaya had no plans to return to the network — until K.C. Undercover came along.  

“There were a lot of opportunities that weren’t really what I wanted to do,” she said in a separate Variety interview from August 2017. “I think a lot of people look at me in a certain way because I’ve been on the Disney Channel a long time.”

She continued, “When I left Disney, there weren’t any families of color on the channel … I thought that was a big reason why I wanted to come back. I think I’ve successfully made a show that not only allows for representation but sees girls in a powerful and strong position.”

 

While chatting with Vogue in June 2017, the Euphoria star recalled her meeting with “the heads of Disney Channel” before signing on to K.C. Undercover.

“I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t good at singing or acting or dancing. That she wasn’t artistically inclined. I didn’t want them to all of a sudden be like, ‘Oh, yeah, and then she sings this episode!’ No. She can’t dance; she can’t sing. She can’t do that stuff. There are other things that a girl can be,” Zendaya said. “I want her to be martial arts–trained. I want her to be able to do everything that a guy can do. I want her to be just as smart as everybody else. I want her to be a brainiac. I want her to be able to think on her feet. But I also want her to be socially awkward, not a cool kid. I want her to be normal with an extraordinary life.”

Scroll through our gallery for all the details on why K.C. Undercover came to an end. 

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