To answer the OP's thread question: Rise April held a variety of jobs throughout the show... Pizza parlor host, babysitter, shoe salesperson, the list goes on and on, really...

I was "meh" on this choice. I see the reason why they did it though, but she didn't really catch on with me in any way.

She's not black, just super tanned, it's still the white april we know and love. Just like this model is white:
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos...8679?s=594x594


Casey Jones is trans so technically still male and Leo becomes the leader. Rise is just another traditional TMNT with no real changes.

Although I didn't mind April being black, I did think that it was poorly executed.

Did the showrunners ever hire any writers/storyboard artists who happen(ed) to be people of color?

Her race wasn't the problem.

I didn't like her characterization. Even if they had made her a carbon copy of the typical April (red hair, pale, blue eyed, etc), I would've still found her very one note and unfunny. I also didn't like how they often propped her up to make her look 'cooler' than the TMNT (in the Baxter Stockboy ep, for example, Leo and Mikey are terrified of the ghost but she's all "WHOO HOO" about it...ugh).

It's not often that I agree with this person, but this post kinda nailed my feelings.

Her skin color is not an issue for me, I like this April, her energy, the actress that give her voice, I am coool with all that

She's not my favorite April, but I did like her more than in 2012, at least.

Heck, even her character wasn't the problem. It was the Turtles that I didn't like. I just could not connect to any of them, and she didn't make things better, whether she was Black, White or Asian. The April I know is the one that is caring and supportive of the Turtles. If they wanted someone to fight with that was a friend, that was Casey Jones job! Heck, even Irma could come in and do that job. But April is supposed to be the one rock or big sister that they could look up to. Nothing more obnoxious than a big sister that is bullish.

It doesn't work at all.

She worked perfectly fine. In the context of a show that wanted to be obnoxious on all fronts and succeeded...

Feel like that show could have been better off with her as a big sister type adult April (no matter her skin tone), rather than a teen peer, to be a counterweight to all the craziness going on, the part of the Turtles' lives that keeps them grounded and a place to turn to.

One of the best takes on April for sure. In the context of the show she was perfect, funny, and her evolution throughout the show was done well.

2012 April was an abomination, back story was a mess and giving her access to the force made her the most frustrating plot device.

The difference is 2012 April actually had a personality, chemistry with the Turtles and was generally likeable. Her psychic powers didn't really kick in till halfway into the show, and even then they were only the focus point of a few episodes, and she barely saved the day in others and was usually knocked to the side as the Turtles came through.

They both were bad.

I've only seen "Rise" (which I thought was really good) and the character is pretty annoying, just overall obnoxious. In this particular case the race-swapping is part of the problem because they made her a stereotypical "sassy black girl".

I'm curious if one of April's incarnation will be turtle's aunt or granny in future new series.

Well, she’s a granny in The Last Ronin Lost Years

Did black April work? I think she had several jobs in Rise didn't she? She worked plenty.

About as well as Dolph Lundgren playing Malcolm X.

Now we have two black April's, and the second is a middle age fat woman. :(