Jonas (TV series)

"JONAS" redirects here. For other uses, see Jonas.

Jonas
Jonas L.A. logo
Created by	Michael Curtis Roger S. H. Schulman
Starring	Kevin Jonas Joe Jonas Nick Jonas Chelsea Staub Nicole Anderson John Ducey (Season 1)
Opening theme	"Live to Party" performed and written by Jonas Brothers
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	24 (aired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Michael Curtis Roger S. H. Schulman Paul Hoen Lester Lewis
Production locations	Hollywood Center Studios, Hollywood, California (taping location) Los Angeles, California
Camera setup	Film; Single-camera setup
Running time	approx. 22–23 minutes
Production companies	It's a Laugh Productions Mantis Productions Disney Channel Original Productions
Original release
Network	Disney Channel
Release	May 2, 2009 – present
Related
Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream (2008, 2010-present)

Jonas L.A. (previously titled Jonas) is a Disney Channel Original Series created by Michael Curtis and Roger Schulman, starring the Jonas Brothers. The pilot was filmed in September 2008 and was released May 2, 2009. The show airs on Disney channel every Sunday. The series premiered on Disney Channel on May 2, 2009, and became available on demand starting April 25, 2009.

Jonas is the first Disney Channel Original Series since Phil of the Future not to be filmed before a live studio audience, be shot on videotape or to have a laugh track. The series was the first on the network premiere on a Saturday night, part of a deliberate strategy by Disney to open up the night to original programming, but the series was soon moved to Sundays due to stiff competition from iCarly in its Saturday time slot. On November 9, 2009, it was announced that JONAS was picked up for a second season. On May 5, 2010, it was revealed that the name of the series has changed to Jonas L.A., reflecting the move to Los Angeles. The new season premiered on June 20, 2010. Shortly after the second season premiered, the show was seen with a TV-Y rating on the screen. The second season premiere ranked as TV’s No. 1 series for the week in Kids 6-11 (1.3 million/5.1 rating) and Tweens 9-14 (1.2 million/4.8 rating), and cable’s No. 1 entertainment series in Total Viewers (3.3 million). Together with Sonny With a Chance, the series beat out a re-run of Nickelodeon’s Victorious and Big Time Rush in in key kids demos by 30% in Kids 6-11 (1.3 million vs. 1.0 million) and by 67% in Tweens 9-14 (1.3 million vs. 762,000).

Conception

Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas are members of the boy band Jonas Brothers, which signed with Disney-owned Hollywood Records in 2007. Later that year, the Jonas Brothers debuted as actors on the Disney Channel as guest stars on the August 17, 2007 episode of Hannah Montana. Shortly after, development for a TV series and Disney Channel Original Movie called Camp Rock starring the Jonas Brothers began.

The potential TV series was entitled J.O.N.A.S., an acronym which stood for "Junior Operatives Networking as Spies". In the show, the band played concerts as a cover while working as government secret agents to save the world. 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 J.O.N.A.S. pilot was shot in 2007, but the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike impeded progress. Instead, Disney Channel filmed a mini reality show, the 2008 Disney Channel Original Short Series Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream, 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, non-fraternal band "Connect Three", debuted. The Jonas Brothers also released Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, 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-60s 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.

Production and audience reception

The series is set in New Jersey and shot at Hollywood Center Studios, which is also home to several other Disney Channel sitcoms over the years including The Suite Life on Deck and Wizards of Waverly Place. Unlike most Disney Channel Original Series, Jonas is not filmed before a live studio audience. 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 Saturday, 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 iCarly's hour long 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.

Cast

The Jonas season one and two cast photo
From left to right: Chelsea Staub as Stella Malone, Joe Jonas as Joe Lucas, Nick Jonas as Nick Lucas, Nicole Anderson as Macy Misa, and Kevin Jonas as Kevin Lucas. Absent from this photo: John Ducey as Tom Lucas. (Even though he's only a cast member in Season 1)

Main characters

• Kevin Percy Lucas (Kevin Jonas) - Kevin is the oldest of the brothers and is usually seen as wacky, wild, and goofy. Kevin is known to think outside of the box and always thinks of wacky animals, like an otter that can play the trumpet or a bear in a bikini. Kevin often comes up with plans that are insane or impossible but occasionally also has some good ideas. When he lies, his voice tends to be high pitched. He owns a full moving rack of guitars and likes woodland creature stuffed animals. He does back-up vocals, one-time lead vocals and Lead Guitar in the brother's band JONAS. He had a crush on a girl that he met in Scandinavia but then met a new girl from France after this romance did not work out. This suggests that he likes foreign girls. He takes risks, as the others don't. In "Date Expectations", it is discovered that he doesn't like his middle name, Percy, to be used.

• Joe Lucas (Joe Jonas) - Joe is known as the teen heartthrob of the group. Joe will go to any lengths to get a girl to like him. He and Stella know that they like each other but decide not to go out because they don't want to mess up their friendship if they break up. But he still has feelings for her, and is always trying to spend time with her, unless his brothers annoy him to measures, to which Joe avoids Stella. Because of this, he often flirts with Stella as a result of falling in love with her. In the episode "Double Date", he and Stella kiss and soon become a couple. However, in 'House Party', Stella tells Joe that she just wants to be friends. He tends to be goofier than Nick but not quite as out there as Kevin. Joe likes stuffed animals that make noise. He sings Lead Vocal and plays Keyboards and Rhythm Guitar for the brothers' band JONAS. He often has a hammerspace pocket or backpack, when looking for stuff. He always carries a blue panda pencil with him. In Season 2 he is seen hugging Vanessa Page causing Stella to only want to stay friends with him instead of having a relationship.

• Nick Lucas (Nick Jonas) - Nick is the calm and collected member of the band. He is known to have many short-lived relationships, and his family has criticized him for falling in love too fast. Nick is the most serious of the group, sometimes losing patience with Kevin's antics. Nick likes stuffed animals that swim. Nick is the secondary lead vocals, drums for JONAS. When he was a baby, according to his family, he never smiled. He claimed he was waiting for his teeth to come in (however, when asked by Joe what his excuse is now, he did not have a comment). Nick is also the mastermind of creative plans gone awry. He is also seen baking many times in the show and Kevin is unable to resist his blue cookies. In Season 2, he develops a relationship with Macy Misa, being smitten by her different attitude towards them. His moments with Macy tend to get intrupted by DZ.

• Stella Malone (Chelsea Staub) - Stella is JONAS's stylist. She is best friends with Macy and is Joe, Nick and Kevin's childhood friend, she has known the boys since she was three. Stella and Joe know they like each other but they decide not to date because they don't want to mess up their friendship if they break up, but still considers a romance with him because she gets jealous if she sees Joe with another girl like when she thought Joe and Macy were dating . In a recent episode, Stella might have discarded her feelings for him when she pictures how their relationship might turn out. In the episode "Double Date", she and Joe kiss and soon become a couple. Stella created an automated outfit selector called the StellaVator and is constantly trying to adapt clothes to JONAS's hectic lifestyle. She gets annoyed when her outfits get ruined, which happens more than she'd like. She is addicted to texting. Stella also helps Macy talk to JONAS without hurting them or fainting. Unlike her best friend who is wonderful at sports, Stella is horrible at them. She is, however, an excellent seamstress, one time creating a dozen girls' volleyball uniforms in a very short span of time. In season 2, she sees Joe hugging Vanessa Pagee thinking they are going out, making her decide that she only wants to be friends with him instead of being in a relationship.

• Macy Misa (Nicole Anderson) - Macy is JONAS's friend and the president of their fan club. Whenever she approaches the members of JONAS, she tends to get incredibly nervous and accidentally injure them. She often refers to each boy as "(first name) of JONAS." When she dated a boy (Randolph) who was not a JONAS, she tried to make him into a JONAS, even calling the boy "Nick" as a "nickname." She is very athletic and plays on a number of sports teams, and she also works in her mother's thrift store, called Misa's Pieces. Macy is revealed to be tone deaf (so much so that, according to Stella, they once called Animal Control under the belief that Macy's singing was an injured manatee at a softball game). Macy's obsessed fangirl attitude about JONAS seems to be changing into a real friendship with the boys because she hasn't fainted or hurt the boys at all in recent episodes. Also, seen in the episode "Frantic Romantic" she and Stella attended a Hollywood Private Party with the boys. In Season 2, she is shown to have greatly changed no longer being the crazy fan that she was in Season 1. This different attitude and the true appearance of her personality intrigues Nick who becomes smitten by her. Her moments with Nick tend to get intrupted by DZ. In the show "America's Sweethearts", Nick asks Macy out, and they begin dating after Nick tells Macy he has fallen in love with her, and they kiss.

• Tom Lucas (John Ducey) - Joe, Nick, Kevin and Frankie's father and the manager of JONAS. He is sometimes the voice of reason when his boys have crushes on girls. In his downtime, he often plays hide and seek with Frankie. He is usually nervous when famous people interview the band. It is also shown that he likes woodland creature stuffed animals that can swim and make noises. In Season 2 he is not a main character but is now a recurring character.

Recurring characters

Season 1

• Sandy Lucas (Rebecca Creskoff) - She is their mother and Tom's wife. She's down to earth and always proud of her sons, despite their mistakes. Mrs. Lucas just wants to have a regular family but has acknowledged that it may not be possible with famous children. She is mostly an off-screen character.

• Frankie Lucas (Frankie Jonas) - He is their younger brother. He is constantly trying to get in the JONAS spotlight. Frankie hopes to get a chance to perform with the band, but his brothers don't think that is likely. Frankie can move very fast and is an expert at hide-and-seek, and getting his way.

• Big Man/Big Rob (Robert Feggans) - He is the bodyguard who escorts the band everywhere. He is seen to live with the boys in L.A. (Also recurring in Season 2)

• Van Dyke Tosh (Chuck Hittinger) - He is Stella's occasional love interest, who habitually makes Joe jealous. Van Dyke asks Stella on a date in the episode "Double Date" which causes Joe to crash their date.

• Mrs. Snark (Tangelina Rouse) - The biology/drama teacher who loves Joe, Nick, and Kevin. Much to Joe's chagrin, she often gives them preferential treatment in school, sometimes causing tension between the boys and other students. Her niece is a huge JONAS fan.

Season 2

• Dennis Zimmer (DZ) (Adam Hicks) - A new friend who the band meets while in L.A. He is the son of a music producer who is very rich. He shows the band the hot spots in Los Angeles. He is very fun and outgoing. He is also a rapper who tries to get his father to listen to his songs but can never get the chance.

• Vanessa Page (Abby Pivaronas) - A popular actress who offers Joe a chance of starring in a big-time film.

• Aunt Lisa (Beth Crosby) - Stella's aunt who Stella and Macy stay with while residing in Los Angeles.

Casting

Demi Lovato and 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.

Episodes

Main article: List of Jonas L.A. episodes

Seasons		Episodes	First air date	Last air date
	1	21	May 2, 2009	March 14, 2010
	2	TBA	June 20, 2010	TBA

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's 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's acting..

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Breakout Show	JONAS	Won
		Choice TV Breakout Star Female	Chelsea Staub	Nominated
		Choice TV Breakout Star Male	Frankie Jonas	Won
		Choice TV Actor Comedy	Jonas Brothers	Won

DVDs

Season 1

Title	Release Date	Episodes
JONAS: Rockin' The House	September 22, 2009 (USA)	Wrong Song, Groovy Movies, Pizza Girl, Chasing the Dream, Band's Best Friend, Cold Shoulder, Beauty and the Beat
Bonus features are five episodes from the series plus two never-before aired episodes and a special feature titled You've Just Been Jo' Bro'd: Surprising Chelsea Staub.
I Heart JONAS	January 26, 2010 (USA)	Karaoke Surprise, Love Sick, Frantic Romantic, The Three Musketeers, Forgetting Stella's Birthday, Double Date, Fashion Victim.
Bonus features are seven episodes from the series and a special feature titled You've Just Been Jo' Bro'd: Surprising Jordin Sparks.

Video game

Disney Interactive Studios released a video game based on the series for the Nintendo DS on November 10, 2009.

Music

Season 1

Soundtrack

Untitled

Tracklisting

A soundtrack release has been confirmed by Walt Disney Records. It will feature 10 songs from Season 1. A full version of Give Love a Try was featured on the Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 12 CD.

Track	Title	Episode	Lead Vocals
1	"Give Love a Try"	"Wrong Song", "Karaoke Surprise" and "Exam Jam"	Nick Jonas & Joe Jonas
2	"Pizza Girl"	"Pizza Girl"	Jonas Brothers
3	"Keep It Real"	"Keeping It Real" and "Exam Jam"	Jonas Brothers
4	"Work It Out"	"Band's Best Friend" and "Beauty and the Beat" and "Exam Jam"	Jonas Brothers
5	"Tell Me Why"	"Fashion Victim" and "Detention" and "The Three Musketeers"	Joe Jonas
6	"Blue Danube" (Rock Version)	"That Ding You Do"	Jonas Brothers
7	"Love Sick"	"Love Sick" and "Exam Jam"	Jonas Brothers
8	"Time Is On Our Side"	"Stella's Birthday" and "Exam Jam"	Jonas Brothers
9	"I Left my Heart in Scandinavia"	"Cold Shoulder" and "Exam Jam"	Kevin Jonas
10	"Live to Party (Original Theme)"	All Episodes	Jonas Brothers

Season 2

Soundtrack

Untitled

Tracklisting

Track	Title	Episode	Lead Vocals
1	"Feelin' Alive"		Jonas Brothers
2	"L.A. Baby (Where Dreams Are Made Of)"	"House Party"	Jonas Brothers
3	"Your Biggest Fan"		Nick Jonas
4	"Critical"	"America's Sweethearts"	Nick Jonas
5	"Hey You"		Jonas Brothers
6	"Things Will Never Be the Same"		Jonas Brothers
7	"Fall"	"Back to the Beach"	Jonas Brothers
8	"Summer Rain"
9	"Drive"
10	"Invisible"	"And...Action"	Jonas Brothers
11	"Make It Right"	"Date Expectations"	Joe Jonas
12	"Chillin' in the Summertime"		Jonas Brothers
13	"Set This Party Off"	"House Party"	Jonas Brothers

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International Release

Country / Region	Channel	Season 1 Premiere	Season 2 Premiere
United States	Disney Channel	May 2, 2009	June 20, 2010
Canada	Family Channel	June 12, 2009	July 23, 2010
	Vrak TV	June 7, 2010	Summer 2011
Poland	Disney Channel Poland	October 10, 2009	September 2010
Australia	Disney Channel Australia	June 15, 2009	2010
New Zealand	Disney Channel New Zealand	June 15, 2009
	TV2 (New Zealand)	April 17, 2010	TBA
Chile	Disney Channel Latin America	July 12, 2009 (Advance) July 17, 2009 (Premiere)	2010
Argentina
Ecuador
Peru
Mexico		July 12, 2009 (Advance) July 20, 2009 (Premiere)
Colombia
Venezuela
Brazil
Pakistan	Disney Channel Asia	August 9, 2009
Sri Lanka
Philippines
Bangladesh
Brunei
Hong Kong
Singapore
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
Bulgaria	BNT 1	August 22, 2009	September 2010
	Disney Channel Bulgaria	September 19, 2009
Spain	Disney Channel Spain	August 29, 2009
Israel	Disney Channel Israel	September 9, 2009
France	Disney Channel France
	NRJ 12	2010
United Kingdom	Disney Channel UK and Ireland	September 11, 2009		August 13, 2010
Ireland
Portugal	Disney Channel Portugal	September 13, 2009
Japan	Disney Channel Japan	September 13, 2009 (Advance) September 20, 2009 (Premiere)	TBA
Paraguay	Disney Channel Latin America	September 18, 2009
Italy	Disney Channel Italy
Hungary	Disney Channel Middle East Europe	September 19, 2009
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Romania	Disney Channel Romania
Denmark	Disney Channel Scandinavia	October 2, 2009
Sweden
Norway
Finland
Netherlands	Disney Channel Benelux	October 3, 2009
Belgium		November 1, 2009
South Africa	Disney Channel South Africa	2010
Turkey	Disney Channel Turkey
Arab World	Disney Channel Middle East
Germany	Disney Channel Germany	October 16, 2009
	Super RTL	April 28, 2010
Greece	Disney Channel Greece	November 7, 2009
	ERT	February 3, 2010
India	Disney Channel India	November 30, 2009
Chile	Canal 13	August 21, 2010
Russia	Disney Channel Russia	August 10, 2010

External links

• Official website
• Jonas at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com