Jonas

**Jonas** is an American television series created by Michael Curtis and Roger S. H. Schulman. The series premiered on Disney Channel on May 2, 2009 and aired for two seasons until October 3, 2010.

## Episodes

See Also: List of Jonas Episodes

 2 | 13

## Cast and Characters

### Main

* Kevin Jonas as Kevin Percy Lucas
* Joe Jonas as Joseph "Joe" Lucas
* Nick Jonas as Nicholas "Nick" Lucas
* Chelsea Staub as Stella Malone
* Nicole Anderson as Macy Misa
* John Ducey as Thomas "Tom" Lucas
* Frankie Jonas as Frankie Lucas

### Recurring

* Rebecca Creskoff as Sandy Lucas
* Chuck Hittinger as Van Dyke Tosh
* Tangelina Rouse as Mrs. Snark
* Adam Hicks as Dennis Zimmer "DZ"
* Abby Pivaronas as Vanessa Paige
* Beth Crosby as Lisa Malone
* Debi Mazar as Mona Klein
* China Anne McClain as Kiara Tyshanna
* Robert "Big Rob" Feggans as Big Man

## Production

The series was shot at Hollywood Center Studios, which has also been the home to several other Disney Channel sitcoms over the years including The Suite Life on Deck and Wizards of Waverly Place. The series was originally set in New Jersey for the first season, with comedic storylines on the boys trying to lead "normal" lives while being famous. For the second season, the setting changed to Los Angeles, and shifted towards a more drama, serial-driven story line.

In November 2010, Disney Channel officially announced that Jonas L.A. would not return for a third season. The network did mention, however, that they would be working with the Jonas Brothers in the future. As of 2019, Jonas L.A. remains the only Disney Channel Original Series produced by It's a Laugh Productions to not be filmed before a live studio audience.

In their 2019 documentary Chasing Happiness, the brothers revealed that they regretted doing the television series. All three agreed that the series was "not good" and felt that it negatively impacted their image. Nick also felt that the second season in particular limited their growth as a band.

### Casting

Nicole Anderson also auditioned for the role of Stella, but actress Chelsea Staub ended up winning the part. According to Staub, her previous work with director Sean McNamara helped her land the role. After the series plot changed, producers decided to create a best friend for Stella and offered Anderson, Staub's real life best friend, the role of Macy.

Jonas was intended to star Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas, who lend their first names to their television counterparts. The role of Frankie Lucas was also created with Frankie Jonas in mind. In addition, Robert "Big Rob" Feggans, the Jonas Brothers real-life head of security, plays The Big Man, the JONAS bodyguard.

### Merchandise

Disney Interactive Studios released a video game based on the series for the Nintendo DS console system. It was released on November 10, 2009, in America. The game is based on many of the sets used in the TV show. The player can play as any of the brothers, play 6 concerts, and juggle school.

The game was not well received, mainly due to shoddy graphics and bad gameplay, as stated on IGN, only earning an average score of 4.0 (out of ten.)

## Release

The series originally premiered on May 22, 2009, on Disney Channel. It premiered on June 12, 2009 on Family Channel, on June 15, 2009 on Disney Channel (Australia and New Zealand) as well as on TV2 in New Zealand on April 17, 2010, on August 9, 2009 on Disney Channel (Southeast Asia), on September 11, 2009 on Disney Channel (UK and Ireland), on October 10, 2009 on Disney Channel (Europe, Middle East and Africa), an on November 30, 2009 on Disney Channel (India).

The second season originally premiered on June 20, 2010. It premiered on July 23, 2010 in Canada, on September 6, 2010 in Australia, on the same date in New Zealand and on May 31, 2012 on TV2, on October 23, 2010 in Southeast Asia, on August 13, 2010 in the UK and Ireland, and on September 18, 2010 in South Africa.

### Home Media

On August 23, September 6, September 20, three volumes making up the entire first season of JONAS were released on Region 2 DVD in the United Kingdom and Region 4 in Australia. The volumes include new cover arts and different titles for both volumes released in the U.S. (previously "I Heart Jonas" & "Rockin' The House"). The three new titles being, "Rockstars In the House" "Ready To Rock" and "Keeping It Real", with episodes released in airing order.

## Reception

### Critical Response

Jonas received mixed to negative reviews for its premiere. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly called the show "The Monkees for millennials" and enjoyed the featured Jonas Brothers music. Variety magazine reviewer Brian Lowry believed that Jonas Brothers' adorers would be pleased with the result, and that those who are not fans would still find an amiable charm within the series. Paige Wiser of the Chicago Sun-Times found the series better than Hannah Montana, but commented that Nick Jonas' reserved nature made him the weak link of the premiere episode and that the boys' amateur acting is "endearing until they play a scene opposite someone with real comedic timing – like John Ducey." The New York Times' John Carmanica was also disappointed with Nick's performance, particularly because, according to Carmanica, he gives off the savviest air in the band's off screen life. Carmanica also criticizes the series' script as blithe, unfunny, and "seeded with profound cynicism", but praised the believable fraternal interactions and Kevin Jonas' acting.

### Viewer Reception

The series was the first series on Disney Channel to premiere on a Saturday night, part of a deliberate strategy by Disney to open up the night to original programming and compete with Nickelodeon's traditional dominance of the evening. The show was paired with the established series Wizards of Waverly Place, which moved from a Sunday early evening timeslot, in the 8:00pm (Eastern Time) slot. The series debuted on Disney Channel on May 2, 2009, and drew a solid 4.00 million viewers in the US, 73% of which was female. While this amounted to Disney Channel's best ratings in the time slot in eight months, it was also Disney Channel's second-lowest rated live-action series premiere in nearly four years. The Hollywood Reporter comments that "Jonas didn't do poorly, exactly. It's just that one expects the premiere of a show by a heavily promoted major Disney brand like the Jonas Brothers to make a bigger splash."

Viewership for the series second episode the following week fell sharply to nearly half its premiere audience, 2.2 million total U.S. viewers and beyond cable's Top 100, which E!: Entertainment Television notes "in the grand scheme of things, is still a very good showing, unless you're trying to live up to the media's expectations for a world famous act." E! credits the decline to the premiere of Nickelodeon's hour-long iCarly special, "iDate a Bad Boy", which earned 6.5 million viewers. Ratings improved over the following episodes, and the New York Times reported, "If "Jonas" can dent ratings for iCarly the brothers’ sitcom will be considered a big success internally. However, just weeks after its premiere Disney Channel moved Jonas and Wizards of Waverly Place to Sunday and Friday evenings, respectively, and began airing movies in its old timeslot. In its Sunday timeslot, Jonas has been doing well in key kids demographics and averaging 3.4 million viewers.

However, the move to Sundays and Fridays and declining ratings, along with the change in setting and ill-fated strategies in promoting the show would result in Disney's decision to pull the plug on "Jonas L.A." On November 8, 2010, it announced that the show will not return for a third season. In a statement from a Disney Channel spokesperson: "We've been fortunate to work with the enormously talented Jonas Brothers on several projects, including the Emmy-nominated series JONAS L.A.," adding that "We look forward to working with them on new projects in the future."