EXCLUSIVE: After four seasons, 100 episodes and a hit TV movie, Disney Channel has decided to end its sitcom
Good Luck Charlie.
Production on the series will wrap soon, with new episodes slated to
roll out through early 2014. The series, executive produced by creators
Phil Baker & Drew Vaupen and Dan Staley, also will remain on Disney
Channel’s daily schedules around the world. “On behalf of everyone at
Disney Channel, it’s been our great pleasure to work with the
extraordinary producers Phil Baker, Drew Vaupen and Dan Staley and the
writers and crew of
Good Luck Charlie,” a rep for the kids channel said. “We could not have dreamt of a better cast than Bridgit Mendler,
Jason Dolley, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Bradley Steven Perry, Mia Talerico and
Eric Allan Kramer (and even little Logan Moreau as Baby Toby!) and the
many guest stars who make the series so special.” The series, which
centers on the everyday adventures of the busy Duncan clan — working
full-time parents Bob and Amy; their three teen kids PJ, Teddy and Gabe;
and fast-growing toddler Charlie — helped launch the recording career
of Mendler and collected more than 25 million online votes in its “name
the baby poll.”
Good Luck Charlie, part of Disney Channel’s strategy for
targeting families with more authentic stories told from the young
characters’ POV but also relatable to their parents, was a breakout for
Disney Channel, earning a second-season renewal three months into its
freshman run in spring 2010. It hit its zenith with the December 2011
movie
Good Luck Charlie: It’s Christmas, which drew a 8.3
million viewers to become the most-watched cable live-action movie of
the year. The show still is doing respectable business. For 2012, it was
TV’s #1 series across kids 2-11, kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14. Year to
date, it is averaging 3 million total viewers per episode and is the #1
series in its time period among all kid demos — 2-11, 6-11 and tweens.
However, Disney Channel tends to pull the plug on its shows, even the
most successful ones like
Hannah Montana and
Wizards Of Waverly Place, once they hit the 100 episode mark. As the channel puts it, “all good things must come to an end.”
