Why, Me? - Season 19

A nineteenth season of ***Why, Me?*** was announced under plans by *Tanzania* as part of another 40-episode order split into two seasons. Beginning on September 14, 2041 and concluded on April 5, 2042, after a total of 19 episodes. For an unknown reason, the twentieth episode wasn’t produced. The series averaged 2.97 million viewers. Both Mary De La Wary and Antony Parks departed the series as the cast member capacity remained at six and the recurring role was axed under plans for a “revised shake-up”. In de la Wary’s place, former protagonist, Jax Garcia, returned to the show in a full capacity.

## Plot

It’s another year in Northdale and Jax is back with a fresh break-up! Jo is firmly back in charge of the YouTube channel, alongside Phoenix and new lovebirds, Ryan and Lila! The gang unite as they tackle their usual challenges alongside strengthening their friendships, tackling Ryan’s weight issues, competing in a running race and the YouTubers are even tasked with a haunted house... and there’s even more to come!

The series kicks off with Jax returning to Northdale on a regular break from Joyce yet with the stresses and strains with Joyce over last year’s miscarriage, he confides in the boys that he contemplates not ever returning. After making up his mind, he makes the phone call to the devastated Joyce. Jo leads the girls into the wrong crowd previously seen the previous season as she feels she has to prove herself. This forces Lila to break into a property, throwing their YouTube channel in doubt when the assailants are caught. The next episode, the YouTubers reach 10 billion views which leads Jax to certify his stay in Northdale and therefore, calls upon former stars, Daniel, Andrew, Jack O’Meara and Ricky Diaz to help plan the ‘best party ever’: which they soon nickname, ‘All Guns Blazing’. Jax also reaches out to Mandy Alexander, Ryan’s sister, in the hope to help them build bridges. The party is on the brink of evacuation when Aarav turns up uninvited and let’s slip some coy information. Max feels Aarav left him in the lurch and doesn’t want to see Lila become hurt, so acts as a ‘bouncer’ and fends him off. Friendships are tested once again this season; with Jo and Phoenix fighting over the female ‘Best YouTuber’ award when Phoenix wins though Jo feels she deserves it, Max and Ryan bump heads when Ryan’s sister comes up to Northdale to see his life, she obsesses over Max yet they soon resolve their issues. Jax and Max quickly strengthen their shattered bond as Max helps Jax settle back into Northdale and get back on the dating scene. More trouble brews when Jo and Phoenix insist Ryan carries on with the unhealthy weight he is to gain more YouTube success yet Jax, Max and Lila tell him to re-consider, which strengthens his bonds with each of them. The gang rally around one another when in need, including when Phoenix is left bemused when she rejects her date on the spot and is followed home by her. When things are left damaged in and throughout the house, she assembles the gang to form a squad and take down this notorious psycho. Similarly, the gang are quick to support Jax when his new therapist seems to side with Joyce. Realising soon that he is a relative of Joyce’s, he immediately tries to figure out the whole story. Again, Jo’s creativity is knocked when some of the viewers say her cooking segment is rubbish. The gang attempt to lift her spirits by showing her all her great attributes. Special episodes are dotted throughout the season too. During the fifth episode of the series, a Halloween special is broadcast where the YouTubers stake the night out in an abandoned building yet to their horror, ghosts appear; while the gang are away Jax and Max get competitive over who has the best ‘stume’. Much later on in the series, an April Fools episode is produced based on Max’s prank gone wrong that gives the rest of the gang the false impression that he is on edge of death. This strains his relationships but they soon accept his apology. Earlier, during the eighth episode, a Thanksgiving special airs. Jax and Phoenix share their stories in the kitchen as they prepare the Thanksgiving meal and what starts out as friendly competition becomes ensuring the other wins at all costs, when they pity the one another. Ryan starts sending Lila flowers and chocolates as his crush on her grows and he finally plucks up the courage to tell Lila. As Thanksgiving fireworks rave in, Lila plants a kiss on Ryan’s cheek. Jax and Max’s relationship takes another hit, just after achieving new heights. When Max suggests reinstating their fortnightly day out to the arcade and cinema, Jax doesn’t seem interested. Feeling really hurt, Max replaces Jax with Ryan. As Jax feels left out, his mental health takes a turn for the worse, which the girls are left to work out. Max is left in the doghouse when he returns home and lashes out at the quadruplet group. Coming to blows, they all patch things up and the episode ends with Max and Jax agreeing to do their trips again but on a monthly basis and Lila hugging Ryan, explaining she thought he was ‘so brave’. Lila is forced to tell the gang that her and Ryan are dating when Ryan invites her out for a dinner to mark their three month dating milestone. She orders the rest of the gang to help her do some tasks that she has forgotten. At the end of the episode, the four others crowd round the door as the couple come in. Ryan is surprised they know but in an attempt to not spill any of the details, Lila tells Ryan to pucker up and the pair share their first kiss with the rest of the gang cheering. Their romance abruptly ends when Lila’s ex-boyfriend turns up and Ryan has trust issues in Lila though they soon realise they are meant to be together when Ryan saves her after she is kidnaped by ex-boyfriend. In the following episode, Ryan and Lila take their relationship to the next level and honour each other with promise rings. Dilemmas are further faced in the later episodes too as Phoenix spots her music tutor graffitiing on the Northdale mayor statue and is guilt tripped into not telling anyone so she earns her worthy grade but it doesn’t sit right as she feels she ought to tell the truth. Going with her gut instincts, she exposes her tutor which eventually scuppers her grade although pleads with Northdale mayor who tells the agency to give Phoenix an A+ due to her bravery. Ryan is also plagued with a dilemma when Mandy gives him the ultimatum that she can’t keep a close relationship with him provided he’s involved romantically with Lila. The gang are divided though when Max, Lila and Jo can’t cope with the slowness of Jax, Ryan and Phoenix when they enter the Northdale running competition and the rivalry becomes too much between them all. Yet, when rival YouTubers seem to be winning the race, team leaders Jax and Max let the whole gang reunite to divide and conquer to win the race: which do to their stellar teamwork, they manage. The series concludes where ‘America’s Most Known Couple’, Lila and Ryan are offered their dream opportunity to start their own separate YouTube channel and rake in millions. As Ryan is prepared to move on from Northdale, Lila feels she has a lot more to give. At first, withholding the information from their friends, Jax confronts them after seeing a newspaper article about it. Betrayed by their friends, the pair pack their bags yet Lila’s last minute chat with Max makes her think otherwise. They apologise to the rest of the group and ask Max to stay, of which he says ‘of course’ and the final scene shows the gang helping them unpack their bags.

## Cast and Production

Ahead of the eighteenth season, on May 4, 2040, another 40-episode order was placed to be split into a nineteenth and twentieth season. For an unexplained reason, the nineteenth season only produced 18 episodes: rather than the ordered 20. Production took a long hiatus for various reasons - the main one being highlighted due to “contract negotiations”. The longest in the show’s history, there were ten months between the filming of the two seasons: only beginning on January 8, 2041. The series took nine months to film and concluded on September 16. In July 2041, Mary De La Wary announced that she hadn’t been invited back for another season but said she was ”fine” with this since she ”wanted to go out on a high” and the previous season was her personal favorite. Everyone else seperately announced their return to the show throughout the latter half of July and August and *Tanzania* announced in their annual conference, on August 17, that Jax Garcia would be making a full return to the show: in which he described as “a dream come true”. In revised plans for a new “shake-up” after a decrease in ratings for the first time in five years (excluding the mismatched data lag count), the network also announced that the recurring capacity would be axed “from this season onwards”.

Daniel, Andrew, Jack O’Meara and Ricky Diaz all returned in this season to guest star on the second episode when the YouTubers celebrated a milestone. Mandy Alexander also “patched things up” with *Tanzania* network and her co-stars (she felt some should’ve walked away from the show after her firing) to appear in this episode and continue the storyline through in later episodes too.

## Trivia

* Three main characters are absent this season:
	+ Phoenix Whitby is absent during four episodes this season. She is absent during the episodes, *Crush, Bang, Wallop*, *Total Terror Therapy*, *Sweet Sorrow* and *Sisters with a Mister*.
	+ Lila Miller is absent during three episodes this season. She is absent during the episodes, *Crush, Bang, Wallop*, *Total Terror Therapy* and *New Sidekick*.
	+ Ryan Alexander is absent during three episodes this season. He is absent during the episodes, *Hooked On You*, *Total Terror Therapy* and *April Fools Dismay*.
* For the first time in the show’s history, a special “weekend bonanza” occured in March 2042, whereby six episodes aired rather than the usual three as they aired on both Saturday and Sunday’s rather than just the former.