Jessie (2011 TV series)

Not to be confused with Jesse (TV series).

Jessie
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Pamela Eells O'Connell
Starring	Debby Ryan Peyton List Cameron Boyce Karan Brar Skai Jackson Kevin Chamberlin
Theme music composer	Toby Gad and Lindy Robbins
Opening theme	"Hey Jessie", performed by Debby Ryan
Composers	John Adair and Steve Hampton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	72 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Pamela Eells O'Connell Adam Lapidus
Production locations	Hollywood Center Studios, Hollywood, California
Camera setup	Videotape (filmized); Multi-camera
Running time	22–25 minutes
Production companies	It's a Laugh Productions Bon Mot Productions Disney Channel Original Productions
Original release
Network	Disney Channel
Release	September 30, 2011 (2011-09-30) – present

Jessie is an American sitcom which premiered on September 30, 2011 on Disney Channel. The series was created and executive produced by Pamela Eells O'Connell and stars Debby Ryan as Jessie Prescott, a small town Texas girl who moves to New York City and becomes a nanny to a high profile couple's four children played by Peyton List, Cameron Boyce, Karan Brar, and Skai Jackson.

On March 28, 2013, the series was renewed for a third season, with production resuming in July 2013. Season 3 premiered on October 5, 2013. On April 16, 2014, according to ABC News, Jessie will get engaged in a four-episode arc that will conclude the season this fall, marking the first time a Disney Channel lead character has gotten engaged.

The show was renewed for a fourth season on May 20, 2014.

Plot

The series follows Jessie Prescott (Debby Ryan), a young woman from a small town with big dreams who, rebelling against her strict father, decides to leave the military base in Texas where she grew up and moves to New York City. She accepts a job as a nanny and moves into a multi-million dollar penthouse on the Upper West Side with the wealthy Ross family which includes: jet-setting parents, Morgan and Christina; and their four rambunctious children: Emma Ross (Peyton List), Luke Ross (Cameron Boyce), Ravi Ross (Karan Brar) and Zuri Ross (Skai Jackson); along with the family pet (and Ravi's companion) Mr. (later Mrs.) Kipling, a 7 ft (2 m) Asian water monitor, that was later revealed to be a female. With a whole new world of experiences open to her, Jessie embarks on new adventures in the big city as she grows to rely on the love and support of the children in her care. Assisting her are Bertram Winkle (Kevin Chamberlin), the family's lazy and sarcastic butler, and Tony (Chris Gayla), the building's 20-year-old doorman.

Production

Development

The series was created by Pamela Eells O'Connell who'd had previous experience with the "nanny" sitcom formula, starting her career as a writer on the series Charles in Charge and serving as co-executive producer on The Nanny, before working with Debby Ryan on The Suite Life on Deck. O'Connell is said to have developed Jessie specifically to showcase Ryan's talent. In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Ryan explained how the concept originated – "(O'Connell) and I were throwing ideas back and forth when The Suite Life was coming to an end, and she came up with this. I was absolutely captivated. Then Disney looked at the script and the show runner (O'Connell) and myself and they were like: 'Awesome. We like it. You're on in the fall'". In interviews with Variety, Disney CEO, Gary Marsh spoke of working with Ryan again, – "It's been thrilling to watch Debby grow from an unknown actress to one of our top stars. Debby is a talented young actress who connects to a wide fanbase because she's genuine, relatable and aspirational all at once. Our viewers have followed her from The Suite Life on Deck to 16 Wishes, and we're pleased to be working with her again." Jessie is set to be the first main character to be engaged and married in Disney Channel. There will be a four-part episode of the engagement.

Casting

The cast in December 2011
(Use cursor to identify)

With Ryan signed on, Disney Channel began the search to cast the Ross family in May 2011. Before casting was finalized, there were numerous differences in the original concept for several of the characters. The role of mother to the Ross children was originally a photographer named "Pandora", the role of eldest daughter, Emma was originally named "Anabel", the role of Luke was originally a boy adopted from Korea named "Hiro" and the role of Ravi was originally a boy adopted from South America named "Javier" who had a pet capybara instead of a monitor lizard. Some have speculated that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as a prominent celebrity couple with a multi-cultural adoptive family, may have been one possible inspiration for the series. In an interview with the Boston Herald, O'Connell described her inspiration, saying – "I thought the celebrity parents and gorgeous penthouse would be glamorous, and a nice contrast to Jessie's more modest Texas roots. That fish out of water element makes for good stories, and I was inspired by many families who have adopted children of different ethnicities."

Filming

After casting was finalized and changes were made to several of the characters to suit the actors chosen, the series skipped the pilot phase and was put directly into production. Filming began in June 2011 on Stage 3/8 at Hollywood Center Studios which, prior to start of production, served as the soundstage where the Disney Channel series, Wizards of Waverly Place was taped. Thirteen episodes were originally ordered for the first season, but while the show's first season was in production, Disney Channel ordered an additional seven episodes bringing the total number of episodes for the first season to twenty. When asked about the atmosphere on set during an interview with MSN TV, Ryan described her relationship with the young cast – "I definitely feel like a nanny! They are smart kids, but they're real kids. They like to have fun. My policy is: We can play hard, as long as we work hard, and because we work hard, we need to play hard."

Cast and characters

Main characters

Main characters of Jessie (Use cursor to identify)

• Jessie Prescott (Debby Ryan), an idealistic and resourceful girl from the military base of Fort Hood, Texas. As a recent high school graduate rebelling against her strict father who wanted her to join the Army, Jessie moved to New York City to realize her dreams of stardom, but with an unexpected turn of events ends up becoming a nanny to the four Ross children. Even though at times both Jessie and the Ross kids can annoy each other, they all deeply care for one another and Jessie is even shown to be sometimes overprotective. Later her last name is revealed to be Prescott. In the episode "Make New Friends But Hide the Old", she reveals that she is an only child of her family. Jessie also has a complicated love life. Her mother has never been seen, but is mentioned in "G.I. Jessie".

• Emma Ross (Peyton List), a diva, somewhat ditzy, cynical girl, eager to reorder the world to the way she sees it. Emma is the oldest child of the Ross family, and Morgan and Christina's only biological child. Emma spends most of her time with Zuri, and doesn't appreciate her brother Luke. In Season 2, she acts as Kitty Couture. She is into fashion and starts to get along with Luke more. She and Ravi also spend time together as brother-and-sister.

• Luke Ross (Cameron Boyce), a clever and crafty boy who was born in Detroit and has a passion for video games, break-dancing, and causing a bit of mischief around the penthouse while also being a little sarcastic at times. He considers himself a "ladies' man", having taken a liking to Jessie in particular. Luke even tried to date her in the first few episodes. Luke is the second-oldest of the Ross children. In the episode: "The Kid Whisperer", his full name is revealed to be Lucas. He spends a lot of time with his brother, Ravi, and has a close bond with Bertram as well.

• Ravi Ross (Karan Brar), a gentle boy, born and raised for ten and a half years in West Bengal, India and the newest addition of the Ross family. He is imbued with the culture of his beloved homeland, but is thrilled with his new life in America. He is the third-oldest of the Ross children. He seems to spend most of his time with Luke, but appreciates his sisters all the same. He also spends time with his lizard Mr. Kipling (later revealed as Mrs.Kipling) which he brought from India.

• Zuri Ross (Skai Jackson), a sassy and talkative girl who was brought to NYC from her birth country, Uganda, Africa. She is highly creative with a penchant for rainbows, unicorns, mermaids, and country music, (especially Rascal Flatts, Reba, and Carrie Underwood) and has many stuffed animals and imaginary friends. She is currently the youngest of the Ross children. She has close bonds with Jessie, Emma and her imaginary friends. Later Zuri lets go of all of her imaginary friends, hinting that she's becoming a mature adolescent.

• Bertram (Kevin Chamberlin), the Ross family's eccentric butler. He is grouchy and often very lazy though begrudgingly helps Jessie navigate her job as nanny to the four Ross children. In "The Kid Whisperer", his hoarding obsession is revealed. In "Tempest in a Teacup", it is revealed that Bertram is claustrophobic. He also has a passion for opera music. Even though the Ross kids as well as Jessie will get on his nerves sometimes(he is the primary target of many of Luke/Zuri's pranks), he deeply cares about them. In the episode "One-Day Wonders", it is revealed that his last name is Winkle.

Recurring characters

• Tony (Chris Galya) is the doorman in the building where the Ross family lives who has strong feelings for Jessie (and eventually becomes her on-and-off boyfriend) and helps her navigate her adventures in the big city. He also starts to date Jessie in "The Princess and the Pea Brain". They later break up in "Break Up and Shape Up". As mentioned in "The Trouble With Tessie", his last name is Chiccolini. His parents own a restaurant in Little Italy. A recurring joke on the show has Jessie asking the kids where they found something strange (but needed), and the response is invariably "Tony knows a guy."
• Mrs. Kipling, formerly Mr. Kipling (Frank) is the Ross family's house pet, a seven-foot Asian water monitor lizard, that Ravi brought from India when he came to America. In "The Secret Life of Mr. Kipling", it is revealed that she is actually a female monitor lizard and has laid twelve eggs. The names of Mrs. Kipling's twelve babies are Mowgli, Sanjay, Gupta, Slumdog, Kumar, Ravi Jr., Scooter, Rikki, Tikki, Tavi, Mohandas, and Padma.
• Rhoda Chesterfield (Carolyn Hennesy) is the cold-hearted head of the city condominium board in the building where the Ross family lives. Her first spat with Jessie and the Ross clan involved Mrs. Kipling tearing her clothes up in the elevator. She dislikes anyone who is not rich, who is under 20, or who is less self-absorbed than herself. This sadly doesn't stop her from repeatedly hitting on Bertram, lavishing too much affection on her chihuahua, Zeus, or constantly calling Jessie by the wrong name (Bessie, Tessie, Nessie, etc.). In "101 Lizards", it is revealed that she has a daughter, Cassandra (whom she mistreats and refers to as her assistant), and owns a lizard sanctuary. It is also revealed that she has been married more than once. She had no romantic feelings toward her first husband and married him for his money. Despite her rivalry against the Ross family, it is shown in "101 Lizards" she seems to have a soft spot for Emma.
• Christina Ross (Christina Moore), mother to the four Ross children and a former supermodel turned business magnate.
• Morgan Ross (Charles Esten) is the father to the four Ross children and a famous movie director. The pilot episode reveals he is friends with George Lucas. In "Gotcha Day", he thought that a chili slip 'n slide was a great idea.
• Stuart Wooten (J.J. Totah), is a quickwitted yet lovestruck kid. He has a huge crush on Zuri and is a good friend to the Ross brothers. He appears in "Trouble with Tessie", "Quitting Cold Koala", and "Panic Attack Room". In the end of "Quitting Cold Koala", he and Zuri go on a romantic picnic, implying that they have a relationship. Stuart is usually nice and kind, but he's able to show his rudeness whenever he wants to, like Zuri does, as seen in later episodes. In "Quitting Cold Koala", he attempts to make Zuri jealous and hint that she likes him back. In "Panic Attack Room", he addresses the Ross brothers as neanderthals, annoyed that they interrupted his board game date with Luke & Ravi's younger sister (Zuri). He also has an obsession with different pants for different occasions, such as "picnic pants" and "panic room pants". Stuart makes his return in "Acting With The Frenemy", where he is jealous when Zuri has a crush on Shane, Luke's new member and they have a dance off for Zuri. He stands up for her, creating romance between the two. He appears again in "Where's Zuri?" after undergoing transformation from Stewart to Stu Dog by his new "Manny". Zuri falls for him in this episode.
• Officer Petey (Joey Richter) is a police officer who is strangely obsessed with the performing arts. He is not a very good police officer. In fact, he wanted to be an actor. The episode "Pain In The Rear Window" reveals that he has very little physical strength and cannot tolerate the sight of bruised skin, let alone blood. It is also reveals that he did not go to an academy
• Nanny Agatha (Jennifer Veal) is an unattractive, arrogant British nanny who frequently locks horns with Jessie and the Ross children. During their first meeting, she attempts to ban Zuri and Jessie from Central Park. Zuri and Jessie ignore Agatha and keep coming back, so Agatha starts posting mean things saying that Jessie is a bad nanny on her website "Toddler Tattler". Zuri, Jessie, and Christina stand up to Agatha and Agatha shuts down her website. Agatha has a twin sister, Angela (Jennifer Veal), revealed in "Evil Times Two", who is even more dishonest (but much prettier) and tries to steal Jessie's job, but the kids and Jessie stand up to her and she goes back to England. So far, this is the only time Agatha, who despises the long-favored Angela, was on the same side as Jessie. Officer Petey met Agatha (dressed as a clown) at a fair in the park, and thought she was cute until he learned her mole and snaggle-tooth were not part of her costume.
• Connie Tompson (Sierra McCormick), also known as "Creepy Connie", is an insane girl with an obsessive crush on Luke. He describes her as "Creepy with a capital K". She appeared in the episode "Creepy Connie Comes a Callin'", when she tutors Luke, but also tries to flirt with him. Then, she appeared in the episode "Creepy Connie's Curtain Call", when she auditions for the school play written by Jessie. She causes "accidents" to the female lead and understudies, so she can get the lead role and kiss Luke. Also in "Creepy Connie 3 : The Creepening", where she hires an actress, Mackenzie (G. Hannelius), to pretend to be obsessed with Luke so he'll like Connie. In the episode "Creepy Connie's Curtain Call", she starts dating Ravi, but pretends to not remember him in "Creepy Connie 3: The Creepening". She is also an avid fan of Harry Potter.
• Boomer (Lombardo Boyar) is Emma's new boss and Creepy Connie's uncle.
• Brooks Wentworth (Pierson Fode) is Jessie's new boyfriend and later husband as of the episode "Between the Swoon and New York City".

Guest stars

• Unnamed dancer (Taj Speights) is an unnamed dancer who appeared in "Creepy Connie Comes a Callin" and appears in two more episodes since that.
• Rosie (Kelly Gould) is Emma's best friend who lives in a crime-ridden area of the city, but is actually a nice girl. She used Emma to lampoon a nasty girl in "Make News Friends But Hide the Old" but since Emma and Rosie both hate the bully, they become friends by the end of the episode. She returns again in "Trashin Fashion" as Emma's camera girl for their blog. Their friendship is threatened by Bryn in "Kids Don't Wanna Be Shunned".
• Bryn Breitbart (Katherine McNamara) appeared in two episodes in Season 2, "Kids Don't Wanna Be Shunned" and "Diary of a Mad Newswoman". In "Kids Don't Wanna Be Shunned", Bryn attempts to steal Emma's friends by pretending she is of Danish royalty. In "Diary of a Mad Newswoman", Emma forgives Bryn and they become coworkers on Ravi's school news show. She tries to ruin Emma by feeding her a fake story, but Emma, Luke, and Ravi catch her in her act. Luke had a crush on her before her plot was revealed.
• Shaylee Michaels (Maia Mitchell) appeared in the episode "Jessie's Big Break". She is a successful Australian actor who befriends Jessie. Her boyfriend McD (John DeLuca), who is also the director of the movie, attempts to flirt and kiss Jessie and later turn Shaylee against Jessie by claiming Jessie was lying to her. Jessie ultimately proves her innocence with Luke's camera footage proving that McD had indeed flirted with Jessie.
• Chris Bosh (himself) appeared in the episode "Say Yes To the Messy Dress". He keeps his stinky white socks from the tenth grade as a sign of "good luck", even though Luke disagrees with him and try to sabotage his chance to win a basketball game against the New York Knicks.
• Adam Sandler (himself) appeared in the episode "Punched Dumped Love". He appears as himself making spare change. He claims he wants to go by his nickname "Thunder".
• Ted (Spencer Boldman) appeared in the episode "Break-Up and Shake-Up". According to Jessie, he was ugly when she dated him (and dumped) and is now a male model. Jessie attempts to use him to make Tony jealous. In the end, he goes off with Victoria (Lulu Antariksa).
• Vic (Lulu Antariska) appeared in the episode "Break-Up and Shake-Up" going by the nickname Vic. Tony trains her to become a doorwoman, causing Jessie to become jealous of them. In the end, Vic goes off with Ted.
• Max Bauer (Matthew Timmons) is Jessie's young agent. He appears in "Caught Purple Handed". He says that he is living in his mother's basement and has to pay her rent. He gets Jessie her first informerical job as a hand model, but is fired with her after Jessie botches the job. Jessie later thanks Max for his faith in her and agrees to let him stay as her agent.
• Earl (Garrett Clayton) appeared in the episode "The Blind Date; the Cheapskate and the Primate". He is the trash guy in the apartment.
• Maybelle (Stefanie Scott) is the new girl in the Ross's apartment building. She appears in "Hoedown Showdown" where she ties up Emma's new "soul mate" after he asks her out knowing Emma likes him.
• Mackenzie (G. Hannelius) is another creepy girl in school along with Connie Thompson. She appears in "Creepy Connie 3 : The Creepening", where she has a psycho crush on Luke just like Connie. She is very creepy by making a bracelet of baby teeth for Luke and also wanting Luke to date her just like Connie. However, Connie and Mack wrestle after they find out they both like Luke. Later in the episode, it is revealed that Mack was an actress and really did not have any crush on Luke.
• Mrs. Arthur (Jo Anne Worley) is Nana Banana in "Zuri's New Old Friend"
• Grimm Halloran (Meshach Taylor)
• Jasmine Epstein (Ava Penner)

Episodes

Main article: List of Jessie episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	26		September 30, 2011 (2011-09-30)	September 7, 2012 (2012-09-07)
2	26		October 5, 2012 (2012-10-05)	September 13, 2013 (2013-09-13)
3	26		October 5, 2013 (2013-10-05)	November 28, 2014 (2014-11-28)
4	20		January 9, 2015 (2015-01-09)	October 16, 2015 (2015-10-16)

Crossovers

Austin & Jessie & Ally All Star New Year

In November 2012, Disney Channel announced that the show would crossover with Austin & Ally as a one-hour special episode titled "Austin & Jessie & Ally All Star New Year". The special episode aired December 7, 2012, and was followed by a new episode of Phineas and Ferb.

Good Luck Jessie: NYC Christmas

In October 2013, Disney Channel announced another crossover episode. This crossover is with Good Luck Charlie, it is called "Good Luck Jessie: NYC Christmas", and it aired on November 29, 2013. In the episode, PJ (Jason Dolley) and Teddy (Bridgit Mendler) go to New York for Christmas Eve and stay with Jessie for Christmas due to a snowstorm.

Controversy

Disney Channel did not broadcast "Quitting Cold Koala" on its originally scheduled date of May 17, 2013 and showed a rerun of "Kids Don't Wanna Be Shunned" instead. The episode did, however, appear on the Disney Channel website, "WATCH Disney Channel", and on "Disney Channel On Demand", the channel's video-on-demand service. Disney Channel announced on their Facebook page "We are removing this particular episode from our regular programming schedule and will re-evaluate its references to gluten restrictions in the character's diet". The edited version of "Quitting Cold Koala" aired on July 5, 2013 as part of a 2 episode spectacular. All gluten jokes were removed in the revised version.

Release

The pilot episode of Jessie was released as a free download via the iTunes Store one week prior to its Disney Channel premiere. Making its official debut on the Disney Channel on September 30, 2011, the series became the network's most-watched premiere on a Friday since September 2008, when The Suite Life on Deck debuted. The premiere of Jessie ranked as the No. 1 telecast at 9 p.m. with a total of 4.6 million total viewers in the target demographics, scoring 2.3 million viewers among kids 6–11 and 1.8 million viewers among tweens 9–14, with an average of 887,000 viewers among adults age 18–49. The most watched episode of Jessie is "Star Wars" with 7.32 million viewers and the least watched episode is "Snack Attack" with 2.01 million viewers.

The series started airing on Disney XD on June 28, 2013 with no episode order. The series now has two airing networks in America.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Reference
2012	Popstar Awards	TV Actress	Debby Ryan	Won
	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor	Karan Brar
2013				Nominated
	BAFTA Awards	Kid's Vote – Television	Jessie	Won
2014	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program (Series or Special)	Karan Brar	Nominated
	2014 Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Show	Jessie	Nominated
		Favorite TV Actress	Debby Ryan	Nominated
	2014 Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress: Comedy		Nominated

Indian adaptation

An Indian adaptation of the show, titled Oye Jassie, premiered on Disney Channel India on October 11, 2013. Like most Indian adaptions, the episodes and characters are similar to the original.

Broadcast

The series airs worldwide on Disney Channel. The series premiered on September 30, 2011 in Canada, on November 25, 2011 in Australia and New Zealand, and on December 17, 2011 in Singapore. It later previewed on January 29, 2012 and premiered on February 17, 2012 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and in South Africa on April 1, 2012.

External links

• Official website
• Jessie at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show