# Penny on M.A.R.S.

Penny on M.A.R.S. is an Italian teen dramedy television series that premiered on Disney Channel in Italy on 7 May 2018. The series is a spin-off of the Italian series Alex & Co. The series is commissioned by 3Zero2 in cooperation with The Walt Disney Company Italy. The series premiered on 4 June 2018, on Disney Channel in the United Kingdom. In April 2018, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on 18 February 2019. The show's third and final season premiered on 17 February 2020, also in the United Kingdom.

## Plot

Penny passes the auditions to enter the M.A.R.S. high school, one of the most exclusive performing arts schools in the world. The M.A.R.S. has strict rules and is very competitive, and Penny and her schoolmates have to pass a daily test. Penny has enrolled with a fake name to hide her identity as the daughter of Bakìa, a popular singer of the time, to acquire esteem in her own right separate from her mother's. Bakìa had previously enrolled her daughter in a boarding school in Switzerland so that she could have a "normal" childhood and not hinder her career.
The only one at the M.A.R.S. who knows her real identity is Camilla, Penny's best friend. Sharing a sister-like relationship until they fall for the same boy, Penny will also have to solve the mystery of who her father is.

## Episodes

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | UK First aired | UK Last aired |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | UK First aired | UK Last aired |
| 1 | 16 | 16 | 7 May 2018 (2018-5-7) | 25 May 2018 (2018-5-25) | 4 June 2018 (2018-6-4) | 28 June 2018 (2018-6-28) |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | 8 April 2019 (2019-4-8) | 19 April 2019 (2019-4-19) | 18 February 2019 (2019-2-18) | 5 March 2019 (2019-3-5) |
| 3 | 13 | 13 | 3 July 2020 (2020-7-3) | 3 July 2020 (2020-7-3) | 17 February 2020 (2020-2-17) | 9 March 2020 (2020-3-9) |

## Cast
### Main

| Character | Actor | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Character | Actor | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Penny Mendez | Olivia-Mai Barrett | Protagonist | Protagonist | Protagonist |
| Camilla Young | Shannon Gaskin | Main Co-Protagonist | Main Co-Protagonist | Main Co-Protagonist |
| Sebastian Storm | Finlay MacMillan | Protagonist | Protagonist | Co-Protagonist |
| Sofia Hu | Olivia Chan | Co-Protagonist | Co-Protagonist | Co-Protagonist |
| Nick Weber | Damien Walsh | Co-Protagonist | Recurring | Does not appear |
| Mike Weber | Damien Walsh | Does not appear | Co-Protagonist | Does not appear |
| Mike Weber | Luke Walsh | Co-Protagonist | Does not appear | Co-Protagonist |
| Aleksandr "Sasha" Lukin | Ryan Dean | Co-Antagonist | Co-Protagonist | Co-Protagonist |
| Lucy Carpenter | Jessica Alexander | Antagonist | Antagonist | Does not appear |
| Tom Lauder | Jack Christou | Does not appear | Co-Antagonist | Co-Protagonist |
| Pete Swanson | Giacomo Vigo | Does not appear | Co-Protagonist | Co-Protagonist |
| Rob Walker | Keenan Munn-Francis | Does not appear | Does not appear | Protagonist |
| Vicky Bernhard | Kira Malou | Does not appear | Does not appear | Co-Protagonist |
| Martha Patel | Amani Lia | Does not appear | Does not appear | Antagonist |

### Recurring

| Character | Actor | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Character | Actor | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Freddy Wolf | Ben Richards | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Bakìa | Merissa Porter | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Debbie Cornish | Hanna Hefner | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Raul Storm | Joseph Rye | Recurring | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Mitch Storm | Charlie Gardner | Recurring | Recurring | Does not appear |
| Bruce Gold | Michael Rodgers | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Roberto Piccolo | William Kenning | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Sean McDougal | Alton Terry / Yonv Joseph | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Ella Johnson | Nathalie Rapti Gomez | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Tosca Bauer | Melanie Gray | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Arianna Rossi | Arianna Di Claudio | Guest | Guest | Guest |
| Mrs. Grady | Giorgia Massetti | Guest | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Lisa Cunningham | Katie McGovern | Guest | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Andrew Young | Douglas Dean | Guest | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Mr. Carpenter | Andrea Scarduzio | Guest | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Mrs. Carpenter | Cecilia Gragnani | Guest | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Head physician | Mauro Cipriani | Does not appear | Guest | Does not appear |
| Mr. Maki | Yoon Coon Cometti | Does not appear | Guest | Does not appear |
| Dave Marshal | Leonardo Ferrari | Does not appear | Does not appear | Guest |
| Adrian Glaser | Andrea Beruatto | Does not appear | Does not appear | Guest |
| Simo Ferrari | Asya Rotella | Does not appear | Does not appear | Guest |
| Mr. Richter | Timothy Martin | Does not appear | Does not appear | Guest |
* ↑ Mike Weber is played by Luke Walsh in Seasons 1 and 3, and by Damien Walsh in Season 2. Damien Walsh also plays Nick Weber in the first two seasons.
* ↑ Credited as Alton Terry in Season 1, Yonv Joseph in Seasons 2 and 3.

## Production

In April 2017, it was announced that The Walt Disney Company Italy planned to produce an English language spin-off from the successful series Alex & Co. The start of shooting for the 17-part first season was planned for Autumn 2017. Penny on M.A.R.S. was produced in English instead of Italian because it was believed that the series could be sold better internationally. The characters Penny, Camilla, Bakìa and Freddy Wolf from Penny on M.A.R.S. had performances in the special episodes (the last episodes) of Alex & Co., in which the spin-off series was introduced. On 29 June 2017, the spin-off series after the last episode of Alex & Co. was officially announced in a teaser, thereby also announcing the title Penny on M.A.R.S..
The first table read for the first season was on 20 September 2017. Shooting for the first season began on 28 September 2017, and ended on 15 December 2017. The shooting took place in Milan and the surrounding area. The backdrop of the Music Arts Reiner School (short M.A.R.S.) is the building of the design department of the Bovisa's headquarters of the Polytechnic University of Milan.

## Soundtrack

The first album from the series was released on 4 May 2016, in Italy. It contains the following list of songs: