Hannah Montana is an
American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on
Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a
double life as an average teenage school girl named
Miley Stewart (played by
Miley Cyrus) by day and a famous pop singer named
Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real identity from the public, other than her close friends and family.
In 2007, the series was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award.
[1] Season three of the series premiered on November 2, 2008 and will finish up in March 2010.
Hannah Montana: The Movie was released in theaters on April 10, 2009. The show has been renewed for the fourth and final
[2] season which started production on January 18, 2010 and new episodes have been ordered by
Disney.
[3][4]ProductionConceptionMichael Poryes, who is credited as co-creator, also co-created the hit
Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven and
Cory In The House. The show is produced by
It's a Laugh Productions, Inc. and Michael Poryes Productions, in association with Disney Channel Original Productions. It is filmed at
Sunset Bronson Studios in
Hollywood,
California.
The original idea for this show was based on the
That's So Raven episode "Goin' Hollywood", which was supposed to be the
pilot episode for a sitcom called
Better Days, in which a child star of a popular TV show of the same name was to try her hand at going to a normal school. The episode "
New Kid in School" has the basic premise as that aforementioned episode. Former
American Juniors finalist
Jordan McCoy and pop and R&B singer
JoJo (who rejected the role)
[5][dead link] were considered for the role of Zoe Stewart. Miley Cyrus originally auditioned for the role of the "best friend"
[6] Lilly Romero, later changed to Lilly Truscott, but they thought she would be better for the
main character,
so she tried out for Zoe Stewart/Hannah Montana. Zoe Stewart was later
changed to Chloe Stewart, which was eventually changed to Miley when
she got the part. The names of Hannah Montana were changed a few times.
Three of the previous names were Anna Cabana, Samantha York, and Alexis
Texas.
In December 2006, Disney announced plans to release Hannah Montana
products, including clothing, jewellery, apparel, and dolls, at
selected stores.
[7] Play Along Toysreleased the Hannah Montana fashion dolls, singing dolls, Miley Stewart
doll, and other merchandise in August 2007. More Hannah dolls were
released in November, along with Oliver, Lilly, and later Jake Ryan
dolls. They became one of the most popular Christmas toys in 2007.
[8]According to the
Daily Dispatch,
the TV series held a global audience of 200 million viewers in 2008.
"If Miley’s viewers were a country, they would be the fifth largest
population in the world – just ahead of Brazil."
[9]By February 2008, the Hannah Montana franchise had become so important
that Disney convened an "80-person, all-platform international meeting
to discuss Hannah Montana's future."
[10] All Disney business segments were represented at the meeting.
Michael Poryes, who is credited as co-creator, also co-created the hit
Disney Channel Original