Andi Mack is such an interesting show. I was blown away by the modern themes and the casting. It manages to hit upon issues that are all too familiar to generations of women. I really don’t want to spoil it for you so I went out of my way to avoid any spoilers. The creator of Andi Mack, Terry Minsky told us that she came up with the idea of the show when she read about Jack Nicholson’s life. Don’t look up his life story until you watch the show because it will be a spoil it for you.
Watch TV with your Parents
This show is wonderful for teens and adults. When asked what is the message that you want to send to 12 and 13 years olds, Terry Minsky said, “my message is to watch TV with your parents. I have a daughter who’s 22 and a lot of our conversations were generated by shows that we saw on television. You watch a Lifetime movie about bullying and just be like, does that ever happen to you? I think that television is a great medium for parents and kids to start a conversation. That was my goal. It wasn’t so much of a message to the kids. It was more like, I hope this is good enough for mothers and daughters or mothers and parents and children…Generations of a family to watch together.”
Multicultural Families
It is nice to see a new show be so progressive and feature a multicultural family. The show became multicultural in such an interesting way. Exective Producer, Michelle Manning told us all about it. “The decision to go with [a multicultural show] was this one [Payton Elizabeth Lee aka Andi Mack] walked in the room and it was, that’s Andi. Terri is writing about a neurotic Jewish kid.” (Please note – Michelle Manning is referencing that part of Terri Minsky’s creative process is writing about herself, which she self-describes as such.)
Disney Channel’s ANDI MACK
Joining Peyton Lee in the ensemble cast are Lilan Bowden (“Zombie Apocalypse”) as Rebecca “Bex” Mack, Lauren Tom (“The Joy Luck Club,” “Friends”) as Celia Mack, Joshua Rush (Disney Junior’s “The Lion Guard”) as Cyrus Goodman, Sofia Wylie (“Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn,” “So You Think You Can Dance”) as Buffy Driscoll and Asher Angel as Jonah Beck. Recurring cast members are Stoney Westmoreland (“Scandal,” “War Dogs”) as Henry “HAM” Mack, Emily Skinner as Amber and Trent Garrett (“All My Children,” “New Girl”) as Bowie.
In the Disney Channel Premiere “Tomorrow Starts Today” – Andi’s family life is thrown for a loop when her big sister, the freewheeling Bex, returns home on the eve of her 13th birthday. It begins with Bex arranging for Andi to train for Ultimate Frisbee with the cutest guy at school, Jonah Beck, who she learns has a high school age girlfriend, Amber. Andi also grapples with telling her best friends Buffy and Cyrus some big news, but is preoccupied making Jonah Beck a bracelet, at his request. Meanwhile, Cyrus becomes the Space Otters’ official Enthusiastic Supporter, helps them win their first game.
You definitely need to check out the newest show from Disney Channel, Andi Mack. You can watch the premiere tonight, April 7, 2017 at 8:30 PM EST.
This is blog post is sponsored in exchange for an all-expense paid trip from Disney. However, as always, all experiences and opinions are my own.