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Disney Channel Greenlights Louis and Ren

Disney Channel Greenlights Louis and Ren, New Original Comedy Series

Also Orders Third Seasons of Original Series Rolie Polie Olie, The Famous Jett Jackson and So Weird

Gary Marsh, senior vice president, original programming for the The Disney Channel has announced the network is continuing to build its slate of original series by ordering 20 episodes of the new original comedy series Louis and Ren (working title). Additionally, the network has ordered a third season of its original series Rolie Polie Olie, which airs as part of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool programming block. Disney Channel has also ordered third seasons of original series The Famous Jett Jackson and So Weird.

Louis and Ren follows the comedic adventures of Louis, a typical 13-year-old middle school kid, and his over-achieving older sister Ren. How does an ordinary kid live outside the shadow of his super-successful sibling? And how does the older sister of the junior high class clown live down the embarrassment of a younger brother who will do absolutely anything to get a laugh?

Louis and Ren will be executive produced by David Brookwell and Sean McNamara (The Secret World of Alex Mack) and produced by their production company Brookwell McNamara Entertainment Inc. in association with Disney Channel. Comedian David Steinberg will act as creative consultant on the series. The series will go into production in February 2000.

"We are thrilled to add Louis and Ren to our lineup of original narrative series. The show's completely unique and comic voice is an excellent complement to our current slate, including our original action-adventure series The Famous Jett Jackson and our original drama So Weird,' stated Marsh. "Additionally, these returning series, along with Rolie Polie Olie, have each proved to be incredibly successful with our audience. All of these shows reach and entertain kids in very different ways, yet all deal with real-life situations, which is why kids seem to respond so well."

The network has ordered 25 new episodes of its Playhouse Disney series Rolie Pole Olie, bringing the total episode count to 65 episodes. The first completely computer-generated, animated TV series aimed at little kids (ages 2 to 5), Rolie Polie Olie chronicles the touching, tumultuous and sometimes hilarious world of Olie, a simple six-year-old boy who lives in a magical all-robot, round world.

Created by award-winning author/illustrator William Joyce, the Emmy and multiple Gemini Award-winning series is produced by Nelvana Limited/Metal Hurlant Productions in association with Disney Channel. The third season of Rolie Polie Olie will go into production seamlessly following the completion of the second season, and will begin airing in October 2000.

Rolie Polie Olie currently airs weekends, 9:30 a.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel. Beginning Jan. 4, 2000, the series will air daily, 10:30 a.m. ET/PT and weekdays, 1 p.m. ET/PT.

The network has ordered 26 additional episodes of The Famous Jett Jackson, bringing the series to 65 episodes. This original series, produced by Alliance Atlantis and executive produced by Shawn Levy and Bruce Kalish, is a coming-of-age, original adventure series about Jett Jackson, a 15-year-old television star who decides to leave Hollywood and move his TV show back to rural North Carolina where he can pursue a normal life with his father, Sheriff Wood Jackson, and his great-grandmother, Miz Coretta.

The simple life is out of reach for Jett, whose friends and fans expect him to live up to the image of Silverstone, the action hero he plays on television. The third season of The Famous Jett Jackson will go into production in March 2000 and will begin airing in June 2000. "The Famous Jett Jackson" airs Friday-Sunday, 6 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel.

The network has also ordered 26 additional episodes of So Weird, which will also now boast 65 episodes. This original series, produced by Sugar Entertainment and Henry Winkler's Fair Dinkum Productions, chronicles Fi, her 15-year-old brother, Jack, and Molly (Mackenzie Phillips), their rock star mom, in their home on wheels -- a custom touring bus -- as they travel across the United States.

A popular musician in the '80s, Molly is on a "comeback" tour and delighted that her children can travel with her. Also along for the trip are Jack and Fi's friend, Carey Bell, his dad, Ned, who acts as the band's roadie, and his mom, Irene, who is the band's manager. In each city the tour visits, the kids encounter and explore various mysteries of the paranormal. They attempt to solve these mysteries as they arise, using the Internet to gather clues and information.

So Weird airs Friday-Sunday, 7 p.m. ET/PT, and repeats Friday-Saturday, 11 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel.

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-- Posted December 15, 1999

Source: Company Press Release