Liv and Maddie

Plot

Liv Rooney is a girly girl who was an actress in Hollywood for four years and was offered more roles in other series and movies, but decided to come home instead because she missed her family and wanted to see them again. Her sister, Maddie, is a tomboy with a facility for sports, particularly basketball. They have two younger brothers named Joey and Parker; Joey is one year younger than the twins, while Parker is the youngest child of the Rooney family. Their mother is the school psychologist and later vice-principal in the second season and their father is the coach of Maddie's basketball team. The series revolves around Liv readjusting to normal family life after production on her successful television program Sing It Loud! ended.

Actress Liv Rooney has just come home to Stevens Point, Wisconsin after a four-year stint in Hollywood filming a popular television program called Sing It Loud!, which has just finished its run, to the open arms of her identical twin sister, Maddie, younger brothers, Joey and Parker, and parents, Karen and Pete. The pair had hoped to resume their relationship from before Liv left, but instead have grown into opposing personalities with different interests. Liv has become very girly and enjoys anytime someone mentions her former career, whereas Maddie has become a tomboy, perfecting her basketball skills; she is also the captain of her high school basketball team. The Rooney family also includes Joey, a typical awkward teen who likes cats, Parker, a clever teen with a slightly mischievous personality, Karen, the high school psychologist and later vice-principal, and Pete, the coach for Maddie's basketball team who eventually achieves his dream of becoming coach for a college team in Beloit, Wisconsin. Most events take place at Ridgewood High or the Rooney residence. After the collapse of the house and Maddie getting enrolled in a college in Malibu, California, the rest of the Rooneys move there and take up residence with Karen's younger sister, Dena.

Cast and characters

Reception

Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series' quality a rating of three out of five stars, describing it as a "jovial family sitcom" and applicable for ages seven and above. Ashby credited the series' "comical spin" on common family issues, like sibling rivalry, stating that "As is true of most tween-targeted comedies, the series glosses over a lot, especially when it comes to teen issues, but that's what makes it a worry-free pick for kids." Neil Genzlingersept of The New York Times compared the series to The Patty Duke Show while describing it as "a gentle, moderately amusing comedy" and praising Dove Cameron's portrayal of the down-to-earth Maddie and diva Liv, stating that "the premise gives the writers plenty of opportunities."

Development

Liv and Maddie began production in April 2013. The series was created by John D. Beck and Ron Hart, both of whom also serve as executive producers. Beck and Hart are a production-writing team whose credits include According to Jim, Hey Arnold!, and Shake It Up!. Originally, the pair had shopped a script of a project called Bits and Pieces which featured a blended family similar to series like The Brady Bunch and Step by Step. The series is produced under a joint venture by Beck & Hart Productions, Oops Doughnuts Productions, and It's a Laugh Productions. It is also executive co-produced by Andy Fickman.

On January 13, 2014, Disney Channel renewed Liv and Maddie for a 13-episode second season slated to premiere in fall 2014. The second season was later expanded to 24 episodes. The second season premiered on September 21, 2014. The series was renewed for a third season by Disney Channel on April 3, 2015. The third season premiered on September 13, 2015. On December 21, 2015, actress Dove Cameron stated that Disney Channel was picking up Liv and Maddie for a fourth season. On June 20, 2016, series creator Ron Hart announced on Twitter that the fourth season would premiere in fall 2016. On July 1, 2016, Dove Cameron stated that they had filmed the series' final episode. On August 19, 2016, it was announced by the series creators, John D. Beck and Ron Hart, that the final season would be called Liv and Maddie: Cali Style. They also stated that the fourth and final season will premiere on September 23, 2016.

Casting

Casting took place during the spring of 2012; however, only a pilot episode was produced. The series followed Jodie Sullenger (Kali Rocha), mother of Alanna (Dove Cameron) and Sticky (Joey Bragg), who married Pete Fickman (Benjamin King), father of Crystal (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and Brody (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), with all six adjusting to life under the same roof. Eventually, Disney chose to change the concept of Bits and Pieces into one about a pair of twins. Instead of hiring a new cast, production chose to keep those whom they had already hired and film a completely new pilot. The story now focused on Dove Cameron playing dual roles with the same parental units and brothers. Lead billing for Cozi Zuehlsdorff was later dropped to guest star. The family name of "Rooney" was picked because of Sullenger's enjoyment of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team owned by the Rooney family.

Broadcast

Liv and Maddie airs on Disney Channel in the United States and Family Channel in Canada. The pilot episode aired as a preview on July 19, 2013. The first promo for the series was seen on June 28, 2013. The series officially premiered in the United States on September 15, 2013, and in Canada on September 20, 2013. The series stopped airing in Canada on Family Channel on September 1, 2015, and started airing on Disney Channel on September 5, 2015. La Chaîne Disney in French Canada premiered the episode "Home Run-a-Rooney" on March 24, 2016, twenty days before the US and Canada airing. In the UK and Ireland, the series aired a preview on October 7, 2013, and later premiered on November 8, 2013. In Australia and New Zealand, the series premiered on October 11, 2013. The second season premiered on January 8, 2015. The third season premiered on December 2, 2015. The series premiered in Southeast Asia on January 10, 2014. In the Balkans, Greece, the Middle East and Africa, the series began airing on March 8, 2014. The second season premiered on February 7, 2015.

Music

A full version of the Liv and Maddie theme song, "Better in Stereo", was recorded by Dove Cameron and released as a promotional single by Walt Disney Records on October 15, 2013. A music video was filmed and aired on Disney Channel the night of October 29, 2013.

In the pilot, "Twin-a-Rooney", Liv shows Maddie a clip from the Sing It Loud! finale in which Liv's character, Stephanie Einstein, sings a cover of On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons. A full version of the song was recorded by Cameron and was released as a promotional single by Walt Disney Records on August 27, 2013.

In "Fa-La-La-a-Rooney", Liv performs the classic "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" during the Steven's Point Holiday Spectacular. A full version of the song was recorded by Cameron and is included on Holidays Unwrapped, a holiday album released by Walt Disney Records on October 15, 2013.

In "Song-a-Rooney", Liv performs "FroyoYOLO". It goes viral, but Liv hates it. In the same episode, Liv performs "Count Me In". A full version of "Count Me In" was recorded by Cameron and was released as a promotional single by Walt Disney Records on June 3, 2014.

In "New Year's Eve-a-Rooney", Liv performs "You, Me and the Beat". A full version of the song was recorded by Cameron and was released as a promotional single by Walt Disney Records on December 2, 2014.

In "Rate-a-Rooney", Liv uploads "What a Girl Is". Two versions were created, the first being the one shown on Liv and Maddie and the other, including Christina Grimmie and Baby Kaely, was eventually recorded. Both versions are included in the "Liv and Maddie" soundtrack. The second version was released on March 5, 2015, on iTunes, while the original version was released on March 17, 2015. On March 17, 2015, the Liv and Maddie soundtrack was released. The soundtrack includes "Better in Stereo", "On Top of the World", "FroyoYOLO", "Count Me In", "You, Me and the Beat", and both versions of "What a Girl Is". The soundtrack also includes "Say Hey", "As Long As I Have You", and "True Love", the latter of which would be morphed into two versions: Ballad, which would be sung by Jordan Fisher, and a piano duet featuring Fisher and Cameron. On March 5, 2015, with the announcing of the soundtrack, the singles for those songs, minus FroyoYOLO, will no longer be available.

In "Prom-a-Rooney", Liv performs "True Love" at the school prom. Cameron, like the other songs, recorded a full version of the song, and it was released on March 17, 2015, as part of the Liv and Maddie soundtrack.

In "Band-a-Rooney", Liv's band, "The Dream", performs "Say Hey" at the Battle of the Bands. A full version was recorded by Cameron, with the band member's actor doing the chorus. The song was released as part of the Liv and Maddie soundtrack on March 17, 2015.

In "Video-a-Rooney", Liv's band performs "As Long As I Have You". Cameron recorded a full version, which was released on March 17, 2015, as part of the Liv and Maddie soundtrack. The song was the final song from the soundtrack that was played in the series.

In "SPARF-a-Rooney", Andy Grammer performs "Honey, I'm Good". This is one of the few songs in Liv and Maddie not to be part of the soundtrack.

In "Sing It Louder!!-a-Rooney", Liv and Ruby perform "One Second Chance" on the set of "Sing It Louder". The song was recorded by Cameron and Donzis and was released as a promotional single by Walt Disney Records on November 4, 2016.

Merchandise

Brand marketing promotion from Liv and Maddie still continues strongly, with ACCO Brands under the Day Dream brand featuring 2015 wall calendar and Disney D'Signed clothing line from selected retailers Target and Kohl's. Wooky Entertainment owns Style Me Up, a creative fashion brand for tween girls, featuring Liv and Maddie: Dreams Come True and Liv and Maddie: A Rising Star sketchbooks. Footwear retailer Payless ShoeSource conducts Liv and Maddie-themed character footwear based on the series.