Disney is bringing back the Family Sitcom. (Think: Full House, but with an edge. And also, in this decade). They seem to be moving away from the shows where the parents take a back-burner or, you know, aren’t even there. I have watched many a show with my kids, ranging from Max & Ruby to iCarly, and have often wondered, usually aloud, “WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS?!?!?”
Well, the latest show from the Disney people, Good Luck Charlie, is actually, dare I say, realistic. There are no wizards or rock stars or children going to school on boats. It’s about a family of five that has recently, with the addition of the title character baby Charlie, become a family of six. Insert hijinks here.
(© Disney Channel)
I had to pleasure of sitting down with the two teen stars of the show – Jason Dolley and Brigid Mendler, and then with the two parents on the show – Eric Allan Kramer and Leigh Allyn Baker.
My interview with Bridgit and Jason started with some technical difficulty, but now somehow I have a voicemail on my iphone with the three of us talking. I’m not exactly sure how that happened, but my daughter has listened to it, um, about 87 times. When I finally did get to ask them my questions – they were ALL my 9-year-old’s questions because she wanted to be doing this interview…so everything I asked was for her.
(© Disney Channel)
(© Disney Channel)
Yes, they ARE on twitter. You can follow them at @bmendler707700 and @jason_s_dolley, although they both admit to only being amateur tweeters. Jasons says that most of his tweets are from airplanes…when he has to take advantage of the free wi-fi.
Emily wanted to know about their wardrobes and about their personalities…and, I guess, she wanted to know how similar Jason and Bridgit are to the characters that they play on the show. Jason was quick to say that he’s nothing like PJ. He shows up at the set and gets transformed into PJ…he doesn’t wear the same clothing or like the same things or listen to the same music (Jason says he is very into the Decemberists these days). And Bridgit agreed. She loves playing Teddy, but she isn’t actually Teddy. But, she did admit to borrowing some of Teddy’s clothing from the set. (And, ps, Bridgit has been listening to a lot of Adele lately).
When I asked Bridgit to tell me something that we wouldn’t know about Jason, she admitted that “he is incredible at games. All games. Any games.” She said he is very into Bananagrams, and she said she actually had to download the bananagrams app on her phone so she could get good enough to actually play him and not get destroyed by him. (I downloaded it too and recommended that he download Words With Friends.) Jason told us that we may not know that Bridgit is a really talented songwriter. He said that she could make up an entire song about nothing, and it’ll be good.
When I asked if Disney was going to do one of their famous cross-over mash-up specials including Good Luck Charlie, Jason said he would want it to be something like, “PJs band has to go on the SS Tipton to meet up with Hannah Montana. Or something. No matter what it’d be on the boat.”
Both Bridgit and Jason seem super excited to be a part of this show and to be bringing something a little different to the regular Disney line-up (or Family Channel for us Canadians). I have watched the show – many, many times – and have compared it to 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, whose name none of the three of us could remember. It’s funny, it rings true to life, and it’s something my children and I can both watch together.
(Starting on May 14th, 2010, you can catch Good Luck Charlie in its regular timeslot on Fridays at 7pm ET on Family)
(and starting tomorrow, you can catch part 2 of my interview….with Eric Allan Kramer and Leigh Allyn Baker)
Nice site, you know after 4 years of studies I guess I have to admit I was wrong about this. Thanks for opening my eyes!
Hi i am vianca my parents love good luck charlie and i love it to you guys good work on doing the show.I like it because it has teens and a child and a cute baby.And my cousin loves good luck charlie her name is gaby she is five, every time she wants to go to my room and am waching good luck charlie she wants to see it to. She loves good luck charlie and me to, I and am 8 and my name is vianca.
HEY I AM ERICA AND I WANTED TO SAY GOOD LUCK CHARLIE IS A VERY WELL SHOW IT HAS PARENTS IN IT IT HAS TEENS IN IT I HAS A CHILD AND A BABY IN IT ANYONE CAN RELATE TO THIS SHOW I EVEN LOVE THIS SHOW IT IS SO HILARIOUS IT CRACKS ME UP ITS FUNNY IN A WAY EDUCATIONAL I LOVE THIS SHOW AND I WANT IT TO KEEP GOING I WATCH IT EVERY DAY THAT IT COMES ON I LOVE IT GOOD WORK YOU GUYS
I was over at my brother’s house this weekend for a party and there were quite a few kids there – aged 4 to 12 – and we all sat down to watch TV and we watched Good Luck Charlie! And I told them all how you interviewed Bridgit and Jason! They were super impressed.
Also, EVERYONE like the show! Even me!