Sonny with a Chance

**Sonny with a Chance** is an American sitcom television series created by Steve Marmel. The series aired on Disney Channel from February 8, 2009 to January 2, 2011.

## Cast and Characters

### Main

* Demi Lovato as Sonny Munroe
* Tiffany Thornton as Tawni Hart
* Sterling Knight as Chad Dylan Cooper
* Brandon Mychal Smith as Nico Harris
* Doug Brochu as Grady Mitchell
* Allisyn Ashley Arm as Zora Lancaster

### Recurring

* Michael Kostroff as Marshall Pike
* Nancy McKeon as Connie Munroe
* Daniel Roebuck as Mr. Condor
* G. Hannelius as Dakota Condor
* Vicki Lewis as Joy Bitterman
* Steve Hytner as Murphy
* Devaughn Nixon as Trevor
* Ashley Jackson as Chloe
* Leslie-Anne Huff as Penelope
* William Georges as Devin
* Jillian Murray as Portlyn Maddison
* Gassie as Gassie the Toot'n Pooch
* Lanny Horn as Howie
* Preston Jones as Grant Mitchell
* Skyler Day as Mel Winters

## Episodes

See Also: List of Sonny with a Chance Episodes

 2 | 26

## Shows Within the Show

### So Random!

So Random! is a comedy sketch series that employs most of the main cast. It often causes the cast of Sonny with a Chance to dress in ridiculous costumes, and act out nonsensical situations. This was spun-off to its own series after Lovato's departure.

### Mackenzie Falls

The enemies of the So Random! group, Mackenzie Falls is a tween drama series featuring comedic overacting. The show is similar to Dawson's Creek and Gossip Girl, among others. The show's name, Mackenzie Falls, comes from Chad's character's name and the name of the town (which is located near a waterfall). In the season two episode "The Legend of Candy Face", the cast of So Random! made a parody of Mackenzie Falls titled Mackenzie Stalls, which was set in a bathroom. Minisodes and promos can be seen on the Sonny with a Chance website along with one minisode as a bonus feature on the DVD.

## Music

See Also: Sonny with a Chance Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on October 5, 2010. It was preceded by the single "Me, Myself and Time", was released on August 3, 2010.

## Spin-Offs

See Also: So Random!

On April 19, 2011, People.com reported that Demi Lovato would not be returning for the third season. As a result, the show was renamed So Random! and focused on the sketches rather than the behind-the-scenes antics. As a result of Lovato's departure from Sonny with a Chance, the series became the second Disney Channel original series to have its lead actor/actress leave during the series' run (after So Weird), and the fourth Disney Channel series to have a main cast member leave the series during its run (with That's So Raven and Jonas also included).

The third season was then turned into its own new series based on the new format.

## Production

The original working title for the series was Sketchpad!, and the original name for the main character was Molly Munroe. The show's title was later changed to Welcome to Mollywood. After the first publicity materials about the show were released, the lead character's name was then changed to Holli and the title changed once again to Welcome to Holliwood. The main character's name was later changed to Sonny Munroe, and the show's title was changed for a final time to Sonny with a Chance. The name is a play on the words "Sunny with a chance of rain", as heard in weather forecasts, reflecting the many comical situations in which the cast find themselves in each episode. Originally Lovato auditioned with Bridgit Mendler for the role, but Lovato was chosen.

Sonny with a Chance has a show-within-a-show, So Random!, complete with fully produced sketches. The show's executive producer Brian Robbins previously wrote for and served as an executive producer on the real-life kids sketch comedy series All That and The Amanda Show for Nickelodeon.

Gary Marsh, president of entertainment, Disney Channel Worldwide, stated "This series is rooted in one of the core thematic attributes that we stand for, which is following your dreams, there also was the opportunity to do a hybrid show." The show began production on September 15, 2008 and the first season was taped at Stage 11 at NBC Studios in Burbank, California; for the second season, the show's production moved to Hollywood Center Studios in Hollywood, California, where The Suite Life on Deck, Wizards of Waverly Place and Jonas are also filmed.

### Opening Sequence

The show's theme song "So Far, So Great", was written and produced by Jeanne Lurie, Chen Neeman and Aristedis "Aris" Archontis, who have each written songs for several artists on Disney-owned Hollywood Records. It is performed by series actress Demi Lovato. The theme is of pop-rock style (the music cues composed by Chris Alan Lee and Scott Clausen, signaling scene changes and commercial breaks are styled similarly).

A full-length version of this theme was released via the Radio Disney network on March 31, 2009, less than two months after the show's U.S. premiere. The theme song is also featured as a track on the Disney compilation album, Disney Channel Playlist, released by Walt Disney Records on June 9, 2009. The song is also available as the bonus track on Lovato's second album Here We Go Again, released by Hollywood Records on July 21, 2009.

In the Russian version of the series ("Дайте Санни шанс" aka Give Sonny a Chance), the cast members' names are rendered in Cyrillic, and the intro is performed by a different Russian girl in Russian (not by Demi Lovato). Otherwise, in translation the intro music is not changed.

In the Brazilian Portuguese version ("Sunny Entre Estrelas"), the intro music is sung in translation.

## Broadcast

The series originally premiered on February 8, 2009 on Disney Channel, Family Channel, and Disney Channel (UK and Ireland). In Australia it premiered on April 27, 2009 on Disney Channel and on February 13, 2010 on Seven Network. In New Zealand the series premiered on April 27, 2009 on Disney Channel and on August 15, 2010 on TV2. The series started airing on May 22, 2009 on Disney Channel (India), on September 5, 2009 on Disney Channel (Europe, Middle East and Africa), and on October 17, 2009 on Disney Channel (Southeast Asia).

The second season originally premiered on March 14, 2010. It premiered on April 5, 2010 in Canada and on April 23, 2010 in the UK and Ireland. In New Zealand it premiered on May 10, 2010 on Disney Channel. In Australia it started on the same date on Disney Channel and on February 12, 2011 on Seven Network. It premiered on November 20, 2010 in India, on May 1, 2010 in the EMEA region and on April 3, 2011 in Southeast Asia.

## Reception

### Critical Response

Currently the most watched episode of the series is "Walk a Mile in My Pants" with 6.3 million viewers. The episode "Gassie Passes" is the least watched episode, scoring 2.9 million viewers.

### Demi Lovato's Departure

It was announced on November 12, 2010 that the third season would begin production without Lovato, due to her recovering from health issues. Instead, the series focused on the sketch/comedy/music-variety show So Random!, centering on guest stars, sketches, digital shorts and musical performances, a similar format to Saturday Night Live, but targeted at a much younger audience. Production of the third season began on January 30, 2011.

## DVD Releases

See Also: Sonny with a Chance Videography

## Other Media

### Merchandise

Sonny with a Chance is a video game published by Disney Interactive Studios for the Nintendo DS. It was released on March 16, 2010 in America.

## Awards and Nominations

**Video:** Sonny with a Chance Videography
**Music:** Sonny with a Chance Soundtrack
**Seasons:** Season 1 | Season 2
**Episodes:** List of Sonny with a Chance Episodes