Andi Mack

**Andi Mack** is a live-action television series created by Terri Minsky. The series premiered on April 7, 2017 and aired for three seasons until July 26, 2019.

It is the first series on Disney Channel to feature a gay main character, a distinction that has drawn considerable media attention and was reported in the news as being historic.

## Plot

On the night of her thirteenth birthday, Andi Mack's world is turned upside down when she discovers that the woman whom she believed to be her sister, Bex, is actually her mother. Andi joins her middle school frisbee team to get close to Jonah, whom both she and her best friend Cyrus are developing romantic feelings for, while also competing with Jonah's high school girlfriend Amber. Andi reveals her family revelation to her best friends, Cyrus and Buffy, and begins to embrace her mother Bex and bond with her newfound father Bowie.

## Episodes

See Also: List of Andi Mack Episodes

 2 | 25
 3 | 20

## Cast and Characters

### Main

* Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Andi Mack
* Joshua Rush as Cyrus Goodman
* Sofia Wylie as Buffy Driscoll
* Asher Angel as Jonah Beck
* Lilan Bowden as Rebecca "Bex" Mack
* Lauren Tom as Celia Mack
* Trent Garrett as Bowie Quinn

### Recurring

* Stoney Westmoreland as Henry "Ham" Mack
* Emily Skinner as Amber
* Chelsea T. Zhang as Brittany
* Garren Stitt as Marty
* Luke Mullen as TJ
* Chloe Hurst as Miranda
* Darius Marcell as Walker
* Raquel Justice as Kira

## Production

Development of the series began in 2015 when Disney Channels Worldwide president Gary Marsh convinced writer and producer Terri Minsky to consider developing another series for Disney Channel. Minsky had created the popular sitcom Lizzie McGuire, which aired from 2001 to 2004, but was initially reluctant to create another teen-oriented series. Minsky eventually found inspiration for the series in an article on how actor Jack Nicholson had learned as an adult that the woman whom he believed to be his sister was actually his mother. Disney Channel ordered a pilot based on the concept in November 2015, and subsequently ordered Andi Mack to series in August 2016. The series started filming in Salt Lake City in September 2016, and finished filming in December 2016.

The first episode became available on the Disney Channel App, On-Demand, Disney Channel's YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play on March 10, 2017, while the second episode became available the same day via Disney Channel On-Demand as well as to subscribers using the Disney Channel App. The series premiered on Disney Channel on April 7, 2017. A total of 13 episodes were ordered for the first season; however, only 12 episodes were aired.

Disney Channel renewed the series for a second season on May 25, 2017. The filming of the second season began in July 2017.

On August 20, 2017, five additional episodes were ordered for the second season. One week prior to the season two premiere, a music video for the full version of the series' theme song was released, starring the entire cast. On October 25, 2017, TVLine revealed that in the second season, Cyrus would begin to realize that he has romantic feelings for Jonah, following through from several hints in the first season, making him the first gay main character with a coming out storyline on Disney Channel. The second season premiered on Disney Channel on October 27, 2017.

On February 19, 2018, Disney Channel announced that Andi Mack had been renewed for a third season, with the cast informed about the renewal live on Good Morning America by the creator that day. The third season premiered on October 8, 2018. On November 13, 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that the series would be featuring a two-episode arc, "Cookie Monster" and "The New Girls", revolving around gun safety and peer pressure. On December 14, 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that Stoney Westmoreland was fired by Disney Channel because of his arrest by the Salt Lake City Police Department on charges of "enticing a minor" and "dealing in materials harmful to a minor", with scenes from episodes yet to air that would have featured him removed.

On April 24, 2019, it was announced that Andi Mack would end after its third season and the series finale would premiere on July 26, 2019.

## Reception

### Critical Response

The series has been praised for accurately representing the lives of young teenagers, with examples including a learning disability, panic attacks, a bar mitzvah, and the unplanned pregnancy of the mother of the title character. It has also been praised for normalizing the Asian-American experience as being diverse and multi-dimensional, and therefore normalizing diversity. It is the first series on Disney Channel to feature a gay main character, Cyrus Goodman, a distinction which has drawn considerable media attention and was reported in the news as being historic and ground-breaking. Andi Mack became the first series on Disney Channel in which a character has used the phrase "I'm gay", which occurs when Cyrus comes out to Jonah in "One in a Minyan".

### Ratings

The series is the top-rated series on cable television among all children ages 6–14. The introduction of the coming out storyline caused the series to experience a ratings surge.