Disney Channel Renews “Jessie” for Season 4
Fans of Disney Channel’s Jessiecan breathe a sigh of relief. The network has renewed the comedy for a fourth season.
Doubt was cast last month with tweets like this from the show’s stars. Add in the fact that the main character Jessie (played by Debby Ryan) is getting married in the third season’s two-hour finale this fall – a Disney Channel first.
Variety reports that production will resume in August for a January 2015 premiere.
No word on the episode count for season four yet. Jessie’s third season will leave the show with 80 total episodes. If tradition stands, a 20-episode order is likely for a clean 100 episodes (a la That’s So Raven and Good Luck Charlie). Though it could always have a couple more (as Wizards of Waverly Place ended with 110 episodes and Hannah Montana was over by one – with 101 episodes).
Jessie now joins Austin & Ally for a fourth season, along with a third season for Dog With A Blog and second seasons for Liv and Maddie and Gravity Falls.
Full press release from Disney follows:
Jessie and the Ross kids will return for a fourth season of “Jessie,” the hit comedy series for kids and families, it was announced today by Adam Bonnett, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, Disney Channels Worldwide. Production resumes in Los Angeles in August with season four scheduled to premiere in January 2015 on Disney Channel. Meanwhile, new episodes of season three are currently airing, including one directed by the series 21 year-old star/producer Debby Ryan, and a wedding story arc this fall in which Jessie gets engaged.
2014 to date, “Jessie” is TV’s #1 telecast in its time period, and overall, it is TV’s #2 live-action series in Kids 2-11 (1.6 million/4.0 rating) and Kids 6-11 (1.3 million/5.4 rating), and the #4 TV series in Tweens 9-14 (1.2 million/4.8 rating).
Bonnett said, “‘Jessie’ is a fan favorite for kids and families all around the world. Pam Eells (Executive Producer, Creator) and the entire team behind ‘Jessie’ have made this television family a huge global hit. Our audience gets to continue the journey with these characters, watching the Ross kids grow up with Jessie guiding the way for them.”
Starring are Debby Ryan as Jessie, Kevin Chamberlin as Bertram, Peyton List as Emma, Karan Brar as Ravi, Cameron Boyce as Luke and Skai Jackson as Zuri.
The live-action comedy series was created by Pamela Eells O’Connell (“Family Matters,” “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” “The Suite Life on Deck”), who serves as executive producer. Debby Ryan is a producer.
New episodes of “Jessie” air FRIDAYS on Disney Channel. The series is a production of It’s A Laugh Productions, Inc and carries a TV-G parental guideline.
Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Currently available on basic cable and satellite in nearly 97 million U.S. homes and to millions of other viewers on Disney Channels around the world, Disney Channel is part of the Disney/ABC Television Group.