Jonas (TV series)
Jonas (also known as Jonas L.A. for the second season), is a Disney Channel Original Series created by Michael Curtis and Roger S. H. Schulman, starring the Jonas Brothers. The pilot was filmed in September 2008, the series premiered on Disney Channel on May 2, 2009, and became available on demand starting on April 25, 2009. "Jonas" is the first Disney Channel Original Series since "Phil of the Future" not to be shot on videotape in a multi-camera format, be filmed before a live studio audience, or use a laugh track. The series was the first  on the network to premiere on a Saturday night, part of a deliberate strategy by Disney to open up the night to original programming. On November 9, 2009, it was announced that "Jonas" was being picked up for a second season. On May 5, 2010, it was revealed that the name of the series was changed to "Jonas L.A.", reflecting the move to Los Angeles, making it the first Disney Channel sitcom to have the show's main setting change during the course of the series. The second season premiered on June 20, 2010, and ended on October 3, 2010 . In November 2010, Disney Channel announced the series was canceled after two seasons. About. Following the Jonas Brothers guest appearance on the Disney Channel Series "Hannah Montana" for an episode "Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas", they signed on to star in the Disney Channel Original Movie called "Camp Rock". Shortly after, development for a TV series starring the band began. The original concept for the TV series was about the band playing concerts as a cover while working as government secret agents to save the world and was entitled "Jonas" (an acronym which stood for  Junior Operatives Networking as Spies). At the same time, they tried to hide their double lives from their mother and Frankie. Meanwhile, Stella, ignorant of the Jonas' double lives, dated each of the famous brothers without informing the others and reported the details in her teen magazine column. Said Staub, "So pretty much the entire show, it's all of us lying to each other, and kind of everything backfiring, and us getting caught in awkward situations." She described the concept as, "like "The Monkees" and a little of bit of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". There's going to be fun  action sequences and still be a sitcom". The "Jonas" pilot was shot in 2007, but the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike impeded progress. However, Disney Channel Asia aired it during the Sneak Peak 2008. Instead, Disney Channel filmed a mini reality show, the 2008 Disney Channel Original Short Series "", which followed the Jonas Brothers on a concert tour and premiered May 16. A few weeks later on June 20, 2008, the Disney Channel Original Movie "Camp Rock", in which the brothers starred as the fictional band "Connect 3", debuted. The Jonas Brothers also released "", a Disney Digital 3-D  concert film. "After this rush of releases, the Jonas Brothers became too popular to imagine them as anything but more dramatic versions of themselves," explained executive producer Michael Curtis. "The spy concept was very big and very ambitious and it started to not feel quite right. As the band got bigger and bigger, doing a show that captured more of their real lives and trying to turn that into a more grounded, real version of what they might be doing became more interesting to do and more fun to do.". "It is now about us being a band and balancing  a normal life," Nick Jonas told Access Hollywood. The title of the series changed from "J.O.N.A.S." to "JONAS", dropping the acronym but remaining in all capitals. Producers have drawn connections between "Jonas" and productions by earlier bands. Show creator and producer Roger S. H. Schulman claims that "It's hard not to make parallel comparisons to The Beatles in 1962 and 1963 when you see the kind of response that the Jonas Brothers' fans have to them," and describes the 1964 "A Hard Day's Night" and 1965 "Help!" as "very much a template" for the series. Producers and critics  have also compared the series to "The Monkees", a popular but short-lived mid-1960s television comedy also following a real life band. At the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January 2009, Gary Marsh, entertainment president of Disney Channel Worldwide, described "Jonas" as a cross between "The Monkees" and "Flight of the Conchords". The "Chicago Sun-Times" remarks that Joe Jonas parallels "goofy Micky Dolenz", Kevin Jonas "quirky Michael Nesmith", and Nick Jonas "dreamy Davy Jones". The Jonas Brothers reportedly watched episodes of "The Partridge Family" and "The Monkees" "for literally three days straight" for inspiration. Characters. Recurring. Season  1 Season 2 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. Broadcast. Season 1. The series originally premiered on May 2, 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). Season 2. 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. 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. Video game. 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. Music. Season 1. Jonas is a soundtrack by the American pop rock group Jonas Brothers featured the songs from the first season of "Jonas." The soundtrack was never released as John Fields stated that it was "never really meant to be a record". Only the songs from the second season were included in the official soundtrack, "Jonas L.A.". Some songs from the first season were never leaked or released complete. Reception. Critical reception. "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 p.m. (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 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."