Disney Orders Live-Action Vampirina and Girl Band Series for 2025
On the heels of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place‘s launch (and some cancellations in recent months), Disney Branded Television has greenlit two new, music-driven comedies: a live-action take on Vampirina, and How We Became the Biggest Band in the World.
Both series are slated to premiere in 2025, on Disney Channel and Disney+.
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Based on the books written by Anne Marie Pace and illustrated by LeUyen Pham, and inspired by the Disney Jr. animated series of the same name, Vampirina follows Vee (played by newcomer Kenzi Richardson), a tween vampire girl who leaves the safety of Transylvania to attend a performing arts boarding school. “Living amongst humans for the first time, she pursues her passion for music while keeping her vampire secret, something that’s made more challenging when her overprotective father charges an overzealous ghost to live with her at the school,” the official synopsis tells us.
The cast also includes Faith Hedley (the International Tour of Disney’s The Lion King) as Britney, Jiwon Lee as Sophie, Shaun Dixon as Elijah and Milo Maharlika as Demi.
Randi Barnes serves as Vampirina showrunner and will executive-produce alongside Tim Federle and Bronwyn North-Reist. General Hospital grad Kimberly McCullough directed and executive-produced the pilot.
How We Became the Biggest Band in the World, meanwhile, follows three members of a mega-famous pop group, Electric Bloom, as they look back and tell the story of their band and friendship, starting with the day they all met in middle school. Lumi Pollack (Class of 1970) and newcomers Carmen Sanchez and Ruby Marino play band members Posery, Jade and Tulip, and while Nathaniel Buescher (Circuit Breakers) plays Lucas.
Eric Friedman serves as showrunner and will executive-produce alongside writers Alex Fox and Rachel Lewis, songwriter Diane Warren (who penned songs for the pilot) and Bahareh Batmang. Jody Hahn directed and executive-produced the pilot.
“How We Became the Biggest Band in the World and Vampirina are two standout additions to Disney Channel’s comedy slate,” Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, said in a statement. “Both new series are full of all the elements we know our young audiences love: relatable, aspirational characters, upbeat music and plenty of laughter, friendship and heart.
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