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American teen sitcom (2011–2015) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jessie is an American comedy television series created by Pamela Eells O'Connell that aired on Disney Channel from September 30, 2011 to October 16, 2015. The series stars Debby Ryan, Peyton List, Cameron Boyce, Karan Brar, Skai Jackson, and Kevin Chamberlin.
| Jessie | |
|---|---|
| |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Pamela Eells O'Connell |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer |
|
| Opening theme | "Hey Jessie" performed by Debby Ryan |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 98 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Camera setup | |
| Running time | 22–25 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney Channel |
| Release | September 30, 2011 – October 16, 2015 |
| Related | |
| Bunk'd | |
The series follows Jessie Prescott, a young woman from a small town with big dreams who, rebelling against her strict father, decides to leave the military base in Texas where she grew up and moves to New York City. She accepts a job as a nanny and moves into a multimillion-dollar penthouse on the Upper West Side, Manhattan with the wealthy Ross family.
The family includes jet-setting parents Morgan and Christina Ross and their four rambunctious children: Emma, Luke, Ravi, and Zuri, along with the family pet, Mr. Kipling, a seven-foot Asian water monitor lizard, that is later revealed to be a female. With a whole new world of experiences open to her, Jessie embarks on new adventures in the big city as she grows to rely on the love and support of the children in her care. Assisting her are Bertram, the family's lazy and sarcastic butler, and Tony, the building's 20-year-old doorman.
The series was created by Pamela Eells O'Connell, who had previous experience with the "nanny" sitcom formula, starting her career as a writer on the series Charles in Charge and serving as co-executive producer on The Nanny, before working with Debby Ryan on The Suite Life on Deck.[1][2][3] O'Connell is said to have developed Jessie specifically to showcase Ryan's talent.[4] In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Ryan explained how the concept originated: "(O'Connell) and I were throwing ideas back and forth when The Suite Life was coming to an end, and she came up with this. I was absolutely captivated. Then Disney looked at the script and the show runner (O'Connell) and myself and they were like: 'Awesome. We like it. You're on in the fall'".[4] In interviews with Variety, Disney Channel President Gary Marsh spoke of working with Ryan again: "It's been thrilling to watch Debby grow from an unknown actress to one of our top stars. Debby is a talented young actress who connects to a wide fanbase because she's genuine, relatable and aspirational all at once. Our viewers have followed her from The Suite Life on Deck to 16 Wishes, and we're pleased to be working with her again."[5][6] Jessie was the first main character to be engaged on the Disney Channel. There was a four-part episode about the engagement.[7]
With Ryan signed on, Disney Channel began the search to cast the Ross family in May 2011.[8] Before casting was finalized, there were numerous differences in the original concept for several of the characters.[8] The role of the mother to the Ross children was originally a photographer named "Pandora", the role of the oldest daughter, Emma, was originally named "Anabel", the role of Luke was originally a boy adopted from Korea named "Hiro", and the role of Ravi was originally a boy adopted from South America named "Javier" who had a pet capybara instead of a water monitor.[8][9][10] Some have speculated that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as a prominent celebrity couple with a multi-cultural adoptive family, may have been one possible inspiration for the series.[11] In an interview with the Boston Herald, O'Connell described her inspiration, saying: "I thought the celebrity parents and gorgeous penthouse would be glamorous, and a nice contrast to Jessie's more modest Texas roots. That fish out of water element makes for good stories, and I was inspired by many families who have adopted children of different ethnicities."[11] The Ross parents are only shown in a few episodes throughout the series.
After casting was finalized and changes were made to several of the characters to suit the actors chosen, the series skipped the pilot phase and was put directly into production.[10][12] Filming began in June 2011 on Stage 3/8 at Hollywood Center Studios which, prior to start of production, served as the sound stage where the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place was taped.[13][14] 13 episodes were originally ordered for the first season, but while the show's first season was in production, Disney Channel ordered an additional seven episodes, bringing the total number of episodes for the first season to 20.[6] When asked about the atmosphere on set during an interview with MSN TV, Ryan described her relationship with the young cast: "I definitely feel like a nanny! They are smart kids, but they're real kids. They like to have fun. My policy is: We can play hard, as long as we work hard, and because we work hard, we need to play hard."[15] Filming on the series wrapped on February 22, 2015.[16]
On March 28, 2013, the series was renewed for a third season, with production resuming in July 2013.[17] Season 3 premiered on October 5, 2013. On April 16, 2014, it was announced that Jessie would get engaged in a four-episode arc that would conclude the season in the fall, marking the first time a Disney Channel lead character has gotten engaged.[18]
The series was renewed for a fourth season on May 20, 2014.[19] Production began in August 2014 for a January 9, 2015 premiere. On October 1, 2014, Peyton List stated that the fourth season would be the last season of Jessie.[20] On January 9, 2015, Debby Ryan said that the fourth season will see the show go past its 100th episode and also see its fifth crossover with another Disney Channel show. She also stated that Jessie will end in early 2016.[21]
On February 25, 2015, Disney Channel officially announced the series would end after its fourth season, bringing the series to a total of 101 episodes. On the same day, Disney ordered the first season of a spin-off titled BUNK'd, which stars Peyton List, Karan Brar, and Skai Jackson in their respective roles.[22][23] 98 episodes were eventually aired in the series as 6 of the 101 produced episodes were combined into 3 extended length specials for broadcast and video sales.
In November 2012, Disney Channel announced that the show would crossover with Austin & Ally as a one-hour special episode titled "Austin & Jessie & Ally All Star New Year".[24] The episode aired December 7, 2012.
In October 2013, Disney Channel announced a crossover episode of Jessie and Good Luck Charlie called "Good Luck Jessie: NYC Christmas". In the episode, PJ (Jason Dolley) and Teddy (Bridgit Mendler) go to New York for Christmas Eve and stay with Jessie for Christmas due to a snowstorm.[25] The episode aired on November 29, 2013.
The series crossed over with the Marvel/Disney XD series Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors for a Halloween episode titled "Halloween Night at the Museum" on October 10, 2014.[26]
On November 28, 2014, Jessie shared its fourth crossover with the series Liv and Maddie in a special episode titled "Jessie's Aloha-Holidays with Parker and Joey", featuring Joey Bragg as Joey Rooney and Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Parker Rooney.[27] This crossover put Jessie into a tie with Hannah Montana and Lilo & Stitch: The Series as the Disney Channel shows to have had the most crossovers. This was counted as a single one-hour episode of Jessie with Liv and Maddie characters, and was not a Liv and Maddie episode.
Disney Channel did not broadcast "Quitting Cold Koala" on its originally scheduled date of May 17, 2013, and showed a rerun of "Kids Don't Wanna Be Shunned" instead. The episode did, however, appear on the Disney Channel website, "WATCH Disney Channel", and on "Disney Channel on Demand", the channel's video-on-demand service. On Facebook, Disney Channel announced, "We are removing this particular episode from our regular programming schedule and will re-evaluate its references to gluten restrictions in the character's diet".[28] The edited version of "Quitting Cold Koala" aired on July 5, 2013, as part of a two-episode spectacular, with all gluten jokes having been removed in the revised version.
On February 25, 2015, Disney Channel announced that a Jessie spin-off titled Bunk'd would begin production in the spring. The series would star Peyton List, Karan Brar, and Skai Jackson.[22][23] The show premiered on July 31, right after the Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants.
In India, a Hindi-language adaptation of the show, titled Oye Jassie, premiered on Disney Channel on October 13, 2013.[29] Like most adaptations, the episodes and characters are similar to the original.[30]
The pilot episode of Jessie was released as a free download via the iTunes Store one week prior to its Disney Channel premiere. Making its official debut on the Disney Channel on September 30, 2011, the series became the network's most-watched premiere on a Friday since September 2008, when The Suite Life on Deck debuted.[31][32] The premiere of Jessie ranked as the number-one telecast at 9:00 PM with a total of 4.6 million total viewers in the target demographics, scoring 2.3 million viewers among kids 6–11, 1.8 million viewers among tweens and teens 9–14, and 887,000 viewers among adults 18–49.[31][32] The most watched episode of Jessie is "Star Wars" with 7.32 million viewers total and the least watched episode is "Basket Case" with 1.38 million viewers total.
The series airs worldwide on Disney Channel. The series premiered on September 30, 2011, in Canada,[33] on November 25, 2011, in Australia and New Zealand,[34] and on December 17, 2011, in Singapore.[35] It previewed on January 29, 2012, and premiered on February 17, 2012, in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[36] It premiered on April 1, 2012 in South Africa.[37] In Canada, the series premiered on Disney Channel on September 1, 2015.[38]
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired | Avg. viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Viewers (millions) |
Date | Viewers (millions) | |||
| 1 | 26 | September 30, 2011 | 4.63[39] | September 7, 2012 | 3.59[40] | 3.70 |
| 2 | 26 | October 5, 2012 | 3.58[41] | September 13, 2013 | 4.77[42] | 3.35 |
| 3 | 26 | October 5, 2013 | 3.17[43] | November 28, 2014 | 3.50[44] | 2.68 |
| 4 | 20 | January 9, 2015 | 2.43[45] | October 16, 2015 | 2.43[46] | 2.03 |
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor | Karan Brar | Won | [47] |
| 2013 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor | Karan Brar | Nominated | [48] |
| British Academy Children's Awards | Kid's Vote – Television | Jessie | Won | [49] | |
| 2014 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program (Series or Special) | Karan Brar | Nominated | [50] |
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Show | Jessie | Nominated | [51] | |
| Favorite TV Actress | Debby Ryan | Nominated | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Comedy | Debby Ryan | Nominated | [52] | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | Kid's Vote – Television | Jessie | Won | [53] | |
| 2015 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Show – Kids Show | Jessie | Nominated | [54] |
| Favorite TV Actress | Debby Ryan | Nominated |
| Title | Performer | Premiere episode |
|---|---|---|
| "Hey Jessie" | Debby Ryan | "New York, New Nanny" |
| "Hey Jessie and Can't Do It without You (Remix)" | Debby Ryan Ross Lynch |
"Austin & Jessie & Ally All Star New Year" |
| "Hey Jessie and Hang in There Baby (Remix)" | Debby Ryan Bridgit Mendler |
"Good Luck Jessie: NYC Christmas" |
| "Face to Face" | Debby Ryan Ross Lynch |
"Austin & Jessie & Ally All Star New Year" |
| "Those Texas Guys" | Debby Ryan | "One Day Wonders" |
| "Best Year" | Debby Ryan | "Why Do Foils Fall in Love?" |
| "We're Burning Up" | Jessie J | "Punch Dumped Love" |
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