This article is about the Disney Channel series. For its title character, see Miley Stewart. For other uses, see Hannah Montana (disambiguation).
Hannah Montana

Also known as
Hannah Montana Forever(season 4)
Genre
Sitcom
Teen sitcom
Musical comedy
Created by
Michael Poryes
Rich Correll
Barry O'Brien
Starring
Miley Cyrus
Emily Osment
Mitchel Musso
Jason Earles
Billy Ray Cyrus
Moisés Arias
Opening theme
"The Best of Both Worlds" by Miley Cyrus
Country of origin
United States
Originallanguage(s)
English
No. of seasons
4
No. of episodes
98 (list of episodes)
Production
Executiveproducer(s)
Steven Peterman
Michael Poryes
Camera setup
Videotape (multi-camera)
Filmlook (seasons 1–3)
Filmized (season 4)
Running time
23–24 minutes
Productioncompany(s)
It's a Laugh Productions
Michael Poryes Productions
Release
Original network
Disney Channel
Picture format
SDTV
NTSC (480i)
PAL (576i) (seasons 1–3)
HDTV (720p) (U.S.)
1080i(international) (season 4)
Original release
March 24, 2006 – January 16, 2011
External links
Official website
Hannah Montana, also known as Hannah Montana Forever for the fourth and final season, is an American musical comedy series created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien which focused on Miley Stewart(portrayed by Miley Cyrus), a teenager living a double life as an average schoolgirl by day and a famous recording artist Hannah Montana by night. It follows the day-to-day life of Miley, her brother and friends while also starring Cyrus' country singer father Billy Ray Cyrus as her dad.

The series, produced by It's a Laugh Productions and Michael Poryes Productions, premiered on Disney Channel on March 24, 2006 and concluded on January 16, 2011 after airing four seasons and ninety-eight episodes. Thesoundtrack albums Hannah Montana (2006), Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), Hannah Montana 3 (2009), and Hannah Montana Forever(2010) were released to coincide with their respective seasons. In 2007, the series' success led to the Best of Both Worlds Tour, which visited North America. The following year, it was adapted into the 3D film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert and its accompanying soundtrack. In 2009, the series' first feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie was released to commercial success, and was additionally promoted through its accompanying soundtrack. The show has additionally distributed all seasons to DVD.

The series received generally favorable reviews from critics, and has been recognized as a "guilty pleasure" by several media outlets. The show's instant success is widely credited with the launch of Cyrus' career and her establishment as a teen idol. However, as she continued to develop an increasingly provocative image as the series progressed, the series has received criticism for appearing to be a negative influence on its younger audience.

 

Contents
 [hide] 
1Conception1.1Opening sequence
2Premise2.1Cast and characters
2.2Storylines
3Reception3.1Awards and accolades
3.2U.S. television ratings
4Criticism4.1Cyrus' public image
4.2Lawsuits
5Episodes
6Broadcast
7Films7.1Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
7.2Hannah Montana: The Movie
8Discography
9Distribution
10See also
11References
12External links
 

Conception
Michael Poryes, who is credited as co-creator, also co-created the hit Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven. The show is produced by It's a Laugh Productions, Inc. and Michael Poryes Productions, in association with Disney Channel Original Productions. It is filmed at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, California.

The original idea for this show was based on the That's So Raven episode "Goin' Hollywood", which served as the backdoor pilot for a sitcom tentatively called Better Days to star Alyson Stoner, in which a child star of a popular TV show of the same name was to try her hand at going to a normal school. The episode "New Kid in School" has the basic premise as that aforementioned episode. Former American Juniors finalist Jordan McCoy, future Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen and pop and R&B singer JoJo (who rejected the role)[1] were considered for the role of Chloe Stewart. Miley Cyrus originally auditioned for the role of the "best friend"[2] Lilly Romero,[citation needed] later changed to Lilly Truscott, but they thought she would be better for the main character, so she tried out for Chloe Stewart/Hannah Montana. Chloe Stewart was later changed to Miley Stewart when Cyrus got the part.[3] The names of Hannah Montana were changed a few times. One of the previous names was Alexis Texas.[4]

In December 2006, Disney announced plans to release Hannah Montana products, including clothing, jewelry, apparel, and dolls, at selected stores.[5] Play Along Toys released the Hannah Montana fashion dolls, singing dolls, Miley Stewart doll, and other merchandise in August 2007. More Hannah dolls were released in November, along with Oliver, Lilly, and later Jake Ryan dolls. They became one of the most popular Christmas toys in 2007.[6]

According to the Daily Dispatch, the TV series held a global audience of 200 million viewers in 2008. "If Miley’s viewers were a country, they would be the fifth largest population in the world – just ahead of Brazil."[7] By February 2008, the Hannah Montana franchise had become so important that Disney convened an "80-person, all-platform international meeting to discuss Hannah Montana's future".[8] All Disney business segments were represented at the meeting.

Opening sequence
The theme song for Hannah Montana is "The Best of Both Worlds" written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil, produced by Gerrard and performed by Miley Cyrus (as Hannah Montana). John Carta, who also composed the music cues to signify scene changes and commercial breaks for the first season, composed the music for the song. The song's lyrics describe the basic premise of the television series.

The full-length version of the song, which is 2 minutes, 54 seconds in length, was included on the show's soundtrack, released in October 2006. For the TV version of the theme, which lasts only 50 seconds, only the first two stanzas and the last two were used. "Just Like You" and "The Other Side of Me" were originally tested for the opening theme song, before "Best of Both Worlds" was chosen as the theme.

The opening sequence for the first two seasons features episode clips of each cast member when their name appears. Each cast member's name is "wiped" on the screen in a marquee-light-style. The sequence then switches to full-screen episode clips (most of the clips used in the Season One version of the sequence were of the early produced episodes) with the creator's names appearing in the second-to-last clip. The show's title logo design appears at the beginning and end of the sequence (the latter portion on the "concert stage" features Cyrus as her character Hannah Montana). The only change to the sequence for season two were the replacement of episode clips and the addition of the Disney logo above the show's title logo.

For season three, a new version of the opening credits was used. It features Miley as herself and Hannah Montana in aTimes Square-like setting. The names of the actors and actresses and clips from the show appear in a sort-of marquee board and it features Hannah Montana with her new wig and clothes style. The song playing is a remixed version of "The Best of Both Worlds", that was originally recorded for (and heard in) Hannah Montana: The Movie. This marked the first time that a Disney Channel series has completely revamped its opening title sequence. The sequence was reformatted for high definition and slightly altered for season four, with the credit typing changed, the addition of the "Forever" wording in the main title logo, the removal of Mitchel Musso from the credit sequence and the inclusion of clips from season four episodes.

Premise
Cast and characters
See also: List of Hannah Montana characters and List of Hannah Montana main characters
 
Miley Cyrus (pictured) served as the series' central focus during its four-season run.
Throughout its run, the series was led by five (seasons 1; 4) and six (seasons 2–3) primary characters. Its original main characters are Miley Stewart (portrayed by Miley Cyrus), Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment), Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso), Jackson Stewart (Jason Earles), andRobby Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus).[9] In the second season, Rico Suave (Moisés Arias), who originally appeared in a supporting capacity during the first season,[10] was integrated into the primary cast.[11] During the fourth and final season, Oken became a supporting character due to Musso's involvement on the television series Pair of Kings, which aired on the sister station Disney XD.[12]

The aforementioned character's storylines were largely developed by supporting cast members. Susan Stewart (Brooke Shields) is shown as Miley and Jackson's deceased mother in flashback scenes, while Aunt Dolly (Dolly Parton) is portrayed as Miley's godmother (Parton is Cyrus' real-life godmother). Jake Ryan (Cody Linley) was depicted as an actor for the popular television series Zombie High. He briefly attended Seaview Middle School with Stewart, Truscott, and Oken, and engaged in an on-again/off-again relationship with Stewart in several points during Hannah Montana. Roxy Roker (Frances Callier) was close friends with the Stewart family, and additionally served as their bodyguard during public appearances. Amber Addison (Shanica Knowles) and Ashley Dewitt (Anna Maria Perez de Taglé) are shown as stereotypical school divas, and are notably the rivals of Stewart and Truscott. Jesse (Drew Roy) is introduced as one of Miley's later love interests.

 
Storylines


 
Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment, left) and Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso, right) portrayed Stewart's best friends throughout the series.
In its series premiere, Hannah Montana first introduced Miley Stewart, who lives a double life as an average schoolgirl by day and a famous recording artist Hannah Montana by night.[13] Her father Robby Stewart is a successful country music singer under the stage name Robbie Ray, and raises Miley and her brother Jackson Stewart as a single father in Malibu, California after their mother Susan died. Miley's best friend Lilly Truscott discovered her secret while attending a Hannah Montana concert.[13] Later in the first season, Miley herself revealed her secret to their close friend Oliver Oken with the intention of ending his romantic interest in Hannah Montana. Lilly and Oliver assumed the aliases Lola Luftnagle and Mike Standley III when appearing with Hannah in order to protect Miley's secret. Meanwhile, Jackson is employed at Rico's Surf Shop, where his child-aged boss Rico Suave often assigns him to complete embarrassing tasks.

Miley, Lilly, and Oliver begin high school in the second season. Rico, who begins high school after skipping several grades, nearly discovers Miley's secret on several occasions. Later in the season, Miley admits to Jake Ryan, whom she initially disliked and later dated in the first season, that she is Hannah Montana. However, their briefly rekindled relationship ends after he struggles to adopt a normal, non-celebrity lifestyle, which Miley is concerned she will lose as a result of dating the actor. Meanwhile, Jackson continues to find himself in conflict with Rico, and opens a short-lived "cheese jerky" stand with Oliver after being briefly fired from the surf shop.

While Miley is off shooting a movie (a parody of Indiana Jones), Lilly and Oliver begin dating in the third season. Though Miley initially feels uncomfortable with the changed dynamic of their friendship, she often helps the pair reconcile after arguing with one another. Miley herself begins dating Jake again, but develops feelings for her band mate Jesse. Jackson moves into his own apartment while attending college, while Lilly moves in with the Stewart family after her mother finds work in Atlanta, Georgia. In the two-part season finale, Robby buys a ranch in Malibu to bring Miley's horse Blue Jeans from Tennessee, while Jackson leaves his apartment and returns home. Oliver also embarks on a tour with the band that lived above Jackson's former apartment.

In the fourth season, the Stewart family moves into their new ranch, and Miley begins dating Jesse. He admits that he discovered her secret by paying attention to her actions, and it begins to inconvenience her friends and family. After much deliberation, Miley reveals to Jay Leno's television audience that she is Hannah Montana. Afterwards, Miley and Lilly graduate high school, with arrangements to attend college. In the series finale, Miley and Lilly prepare to go to college, yet another movie offer comes up. Miley tries to make Lilly reject her, only to fail multiple times. She convinces Lilly to come with her to Paris (where the movie is shooting), however at the airport, Lilly decides not to go, but to return to college (this is due to Oliver convincing Lilly that Miley will get another movie role next year). Miley continues to Paris, only to come back, joining Lilly in Stanford. Jesse and Oliver guest star in that episode and a Montage of pictures play at the end of the episode.