Disney Social Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Liv and Maddie Rooney

Liv and Maddie is an American sitcom created by John Beck and Ron Hart and produced by It's a Laugh Productions for Disney Channel. It stars Dove Cameron playing identical twins with entirely different personalities. The series began production in April 2013 with a pilot episode aired on July 19, 2013.[1][2] The first promo for the series was seen on Friday, June 28, 2013, after the premiere of a Disney's Mickey Mouse Shorts.

On January 13, 2014, Disney Channel renewed Liv and Maddie for a 13-episode second season slated to premiere Fall 2014.[3]

Production[]

Development[]

Liv and Maddie was created by John Beck and Ron Hart, and is produced under a joint venture by Beck & Hart Productions, Oops Doughnuts Productions and It's a Laugh Productions.[4][5] Beck and Hart are a production/writing team whose credits include According to JimHey Arnold!, and Shake It Up!. The show is also executive co-produced by Andy Fickman (She's the Man), Betsy Sullenger (You Again) and John Peaslee (8 Simple Rules). Originally, the pair had shopped a script of a project called "Bits and Pieces", which features a blended family similar to shows like The Brady Bunch and Step by Step.

Casting[]

Casting took place during the spring of 2012 [6] and only produced a pilot episode. The show followed Jodie Sullenger (Kali Rocha), mother of Alanna (Dove Cameron) and Sticky (Joey Bragg), who marries Pete Fickman (Benjamin King), father of Crystal (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and Brody (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), and 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.[7]Instead of hiring a new cast, production chose to keep who they had already hired and film a completely new pilot. The story now focused on Dove Cameron playing dual titular 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 who are owned by the Rooney family.[7]

Music[edit][]

A full version of the Liv and Maddie theme song, Better in Stereo, was recorded by Cameron and released as a promotional single by Walt Disney Records on October 15, 2013.[8] A music video was filmed and aired on Disney Channel the night of October 29, 2013.

In the pilot episode "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.[9]

In the episode, "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.[10]

In the episode, "Song-A-Rooney", Liv performs a song entitled "Count Me In". A full version of the song was recorded by Cameron and was released as a promotional single by Walt Disney Records on June 3, 2014.[11]

Plot[edit][]

Liv Rooney (Dove Cameron) has just come home to Stevens Point, Wisconsin[12] after a four-year stint in Hollywood filming a popular television program, Sing It Loud!, that just finished its run, to the open arms of her parents, brothers, and twin sister, Maddie (also played by Cameron). The pair had hoped to resume their relationship from before Liv left, but have unfortunately grown into opposing personalities. Liv has become very girly and enjoys any time someone mentions her former career, whereas Maddie has become a tomboy perfecting her basketball skills and is the captain of her basketball team. They have two brothers: Joey (Joey Bragg), the typical awkward teen, and Parker (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), a confident and clever child. Rounding out the Rooney clan is their mother Karen (Kali Rocha), the school psychologist, and their father Pete (Benjamin King), Maddie's basketball coach, both of whom are anxious to now care for all their children under one roof. Some events take place at Ridgewood High School, where the three elder Rooney children attend and both parents work.

Cast and characters[edit][]

 [1]Main characters of Liv and Maddie, Tenzing Trainor as Parker, Joey Bragg as Joey, Dove Cameron as Liv and Maddie, Kali Rocha as Karen and Benjamin King as Pete. (Use cursor to identify)===Main characters[edit]===

  • Liv Rooney (Dove Cameron)[2] is one of a pair of identical twins and the eldest child of the Rooney family, and is older sister to Joey and Parker. Like Maddie, Liv is a sophomore at Ridgewood High School. When the pair celebrate their Sweet 16, Karen states that Liv is 6 minutes older than Maddie being born at 11:56PM, but on a different day than Maddie. Prior to coming home, Liv finished production on a popular television program, "Sing It Loud!", to which she continually refers to, and adjusting back to home life is more trying than she hoped. Her siblings affectionately call her "Hollywood". In Flashback-A-Rooney, it was revealed by Karen that Liv's full name is "Olivia".[13] It is shown that Liv shares the personality quirks of her mother, Karen, as seen in Shoe-A-Rooney when the pair reveal their affinity for shoes. At the end of season one, Liv began production on her new movie, Space Werewolves.
  • Maddie Rooney (Dove Cameron)[2] is one of a pair of identical twins and the second eldest child of the Rooney family, and is older sister to Joey and Parker. Like Liv, Maddie is a sophomore at Ridgewood High School. When the pair celebrate their Sweet 16, Karen states that Maddie is 6 minutes younger than Liv being born at 12:02AM, but on a different day than Liv. Maddie is captain of the girl's basketball team of Ridgewood High, and is equally diligent to her team captain duties as her studies. Her catchphrase is "Bam! What?!" Maddie's main love interest is Diggie, captain of Ridgewood High's boy's basketball team. In Sleep-A-Rooney, it was revealed by Willow that Maddie's full name is "Madison".[14] It was revealed again by Karen in Flashback-A-Rooney.[15] It is shown that Maddie shares the personality quirks of her father, Pete, as seen in Dump-A-Rooney when the pair show their competitive side while preparing for a 2-on-2 basketball tournament.
  • Joey Rooney (Joey Bragg)[2] is the middle child of the Rooney family. He is the middle brother to Liv and Maddie and older brother to Parker. Joey is a freshman at Ridgewood High School. Parker affectionately calls him "Munch". Although close in age to his older twin sisters, only a school year younger as a freshman, Joey is perceived as immature, awkward, and somewhat of a brainiac. Joey has a close relationship with his younger brother, Parker, especially in pranking or being manipulative, but with Liv and Maddie's assistance, there is hope for growth. He and Artie are bitter rivals. In Sweet 16-A-Rooney, it is revealed that his full name is "Joseph".[16]
  • Parker Rooney (Tenzing Norgay Trainor)[2] is the youngest child of the Rooney family, and is the youngest brother to Liv, Maddie, and Joey. Parker is a 5th grader at an unknown school. Parker is an intelligent and clever kid with growing "playground buzz" who does karate and is somewhat manipulative. He is not a troublesome child, but somewhat of a trickster, as shown in Fa La La-A-Rooney when he swindles money from Joey in order to purchase an expensive toy he suspects no one would give him.
  • Karen Rooney (Kali Rocha)[2] is married to Pete, and is the mother of Liv, Maddie, Joey, and Parker. She is the school psychologist for Ridgewood High School. Karen often uses her knowledge of family psychology at home, sometimes forming family meetings and sharing her "punching pillows". In Sweet 16-A-Rooney, it is revealed that Karen had kept secret that the twins, Liv and Maddie, were born near midnight and technically have separate birthdays.
  • Pete Rooney (Benjamin King)[2] is married to Karen, and is the father of Liv, Maddie, Joey, and Parker. He is the coach of the girl's basketball team for Ridgewood High School. Pete enjoys bringing competition into the home, often wearing his whistle and pushing Maddie to better her basketball ability. Pete shows typical father characteristics such as his misunderstandings of his daughters' emotional development and shares his sons' creative mentality.

Recurring characters[edit][]

  • Diggie (Ryan McCartan) is Maddie's main love interest. Diggie is captain of the boy's basketball team of Ridgewood High School, and is perceived as confident and strong. Diggie affectionately calls Maddie simply as "Rooney". In Move-A-Rooney, Diggie finally expresses his feelings toward Maddie after she tells him they are moving. Diggie is also seen as a mentor for Joey when it comes to anything related to being "cool". Diggie is also the manager of local frozen yogurt shop.
  • Willow (Jessica Marie Garcia) is a teammate and best friend of Maddie's. She plays center, and often exclaims that she "Doesn't go down!" She and Maddie share a special high-five. Willow's only weakness is her overwhelming crush on Joey, as seen in Slump-A-Rooney, when she misdirects a love note to be from him.
  • Stains (Bridget Shergalis) is a teammate and friend of Maddie's. She is a petite girl with a hearty appetite, whose clothing gets inadvertently dirty in each episode. She also has a habit of rubbing the side of her nose with her thumb when she gets involved in a scheme, as seen inTeam-A-Rooney when the team rallies against Principal Fickman.
  • Artie (Jimmy Bellinger) is a classmate and proclaimed nemesis of Joey's. The pair are often competitive in proving who is smarter than the other, with Joey usually falling short. In Moms-A-Rooney, it is revealed that Artie has a crush on Joey's famous sister, Liv. He is also a sci-fifanatic, showing up at a promotional event for Space Werewolves.
  • Evan (Carter Hastings) is one of Parker's "dojo buddies", and presumably his best friend. Evan is an underhandedly polite child, whose mother (an unseen character) is perceived as mildly overprotective. A year younger than Parker, the pair tend to get into difficult situations with Parker often protecting Evan, as seen in Slump-A-Rooney when Parker helps Evan stand up to his mother.
  • Principal Fickman (Larry Miller) is the Principal of Ridgewood High School. He is close to his mother and somewhat stern when it comes to school related matters, as seen in Team-A-Rooney when he had cut the girl's basketball team's budget.
  • Johnny Nimbus (Kurt Long) is the local television weatherman who is often selected to host various events around town.

Guest stars[edit][]

  • Dwight Howard as Bernard, Joey's short-lived personal trainer. He is apparently good at basketball, and Maddie decides to pair with him instead of Pete in the 2-on-2 tournament. Pete feels pushed aside and pairs with Diggie instead. Maddie, in turn, feels betrayed and apologizes to her father. Bernard eventually partners with Diggie, and the pair win the tournament.
  • Kel Mitchell as Q-Pop, a hip-hop dance instructor. Maddie and Diggie decide try more adventurous things, and choose to take up hip-hop dancing. When Joey expresses his own interest, Maddie tells him to take the class instead. Maddie, soon, feels left out and the three take the lessons together.
  • Laura Marano as Fangs, a girl raised by wolves who penned a book about being raised by wolves. She is invited to Stevens Point by Liv in an effort to teach her how to act like a werewolf in preparation for Liv's audition for Space Werewolves.
  • Raquel Castro as South Salamanaca, Liv's co-star from Sing It Loud!. She is invited to Stevens Point by Liv for a short visit and to meet Liv's family and friends. At a party, Maddie tells Diggie to be kind to her, but mistakens Diggie and South's friendliness for flirting, and South apologizes.

Episodes[edit][]

Main article: List of Liv and Maddie episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired (U.S. dates)
Season premiere Season finale
1 21[17] July 19, 2013 (preview)[18]

September 15, 2013 (premiere)[19]

July 27, 2014[20]
2 13 September 21, 2014[20] TBA

Broadcast[edit][]

Liv and Maddie airs worldwide on Disney Channel. The series was previewed on July 19, 2013 on Disney Channel in the United States andFamily Channel in Canada. It officially premiered on September 15, 2013 and September 20, 2013 in the United States and Canada respectively.[21] In the UK and Ireland, the series was previewed on October 7, 2013 and later premiered on November 8, 2013.[22][23] In Australia and New Zealand, the series simply premiered on October 11, 2013.[24] It premiered in Southeast Asia on January 10, 2014[25] and on March 8, 2014 in South Africa.[26]

Awards and nominations[edit][]

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Female Breakout Star Dove Cameron Nominated

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014 Kids' Choice Awards Mexico International Program Liv and Maddie Pending
Advertisement