Ready for this Bizaardvark interview? I sat down with the Bizaardvark cast, creators, and executive producer to learn more about this fresh new Disney Channel show.
Have you seen Bizaardvark yet? A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I got a sneak peek of this new Disney Channel show and got to visit the Bizaardvark set while I was in Los Angeles for the Finding Dory world premiere. As soon as the show began, I thought about my nieces who love to make silly videos with their friends, and when the "Comeback Song" came on I knew they were going to love this show. The show is clever and so timely since so many kids are using social media now.
Check out the Bizaardvark "Comeback Song" here:
What is Bizaarvark?
We got to chat with the creators of Bizaardvark, Kyle Stegina and Josh Lehrman, who were participants in Disney Channel's inaugural Storytellers program, which fosters creative ideas and develops the next generation of series creators and writers of programming for kids, tweens and families. They were able to tell us about the idea for the show and it's central themes they'd be tackling with this show.
Is Vuuugle real?
Right before watching the first episode, Kyle Stegina told us, "The whole episode is centered on 'where do I belong,' which I think is such a huge topic at this age. And we’re still trying to figure that out... And for these two girls, Paige and Frankie, it happens to be a vuuugle. Paige and Frankie are two really creative young comedians who find their salvation in vuuugle. They go to this school where they don’t fit in until they find vuuugle, [which is] basically our version of YouTube, and it’s this bastion of strange, weird creativity... It’s really everyone is welcome for what they do. Which, is like one of the central themes of YouTube and I think the Internet in general, is that everyone is welcome to do their own thing. Or you know what’s your niche and what do you do when everyone’s celebrated for that? Because really no one does kind of the same thing." So no, vuuugle isn't an actual site, but it's similar to YouTube.
"Draw My Life" - photo courtesy of Disney Channel/Ron Tom
Josh Lehrman added, "And that was one of our goals too when we were creating this show, We were trying to create a different type of girl for the Disney Channel. Throughout the episodes of the show, these are two girls who are very creative. Their focus is not on boys. You know when we showed this pilot to kids they really responded to the idea of these kids embracing their weirdness. And lots of kids were like, I’m weird too. You know which we were really happy to see. So hopefully that comes through."
As a parent, and aunt to 4 precious teens and tweens, this was music to my ears! At times I'm disheartened by the internet world when I read stories of bullying or see pictures of children that look far too grown up for their age, and I worry about how our children will navigate this terrain. But, this show feels like a safe place for them to just be kids and that's what I was most excited about after watching the first episode.
Eric Friedman, Executive Producer of Bizaardvark, said, "It's capturing the world of today." I think he's definitely right. Bizaardvark touches on a lot of the themes that today's kids are dealing with and it does it in a really authentic but lighthearted way. Friedman also added that he's just so proud of the show and that the cast is phenomenal. Again, I have to agree with him there.
We also got to sit down with the talented cast to discuss their roles and how they got involved in the show. The energy among these young stars was electric and you can tell there is great chemistry between them.
Bizaardvark Cast
The Bizaardvark cast is made up of Olivia Rodrigo (Paige Olvera), Madison Hu (Frankie Wong), DeVore Ledridge (Amelia Duckworth), Jake Paul (Dirk Mann),and Ethan Wacker (Bernard ‘Bernie’ Schotz).
Jake Paul and Ethan Wacker
You (or your kids) may already be familiar with one of the stars since Jake Paul is a YouTube and Vine star with millions of followers. In fact, he's the first social media star to be a series regular on a Disney Channel show. Of course, the role of Dirk was a pretty natural fit for him and he said that he's so excited about Bizaardvark because it's so much fun to work on and acting with the other talent has been such a great experience. He also mentioned that "Bizaardvark is going to be the best show. PERIOD!" I'm pretty sure a lot of kids are going to agree with him.
Since a large part of Bizaardvark is creating videos for vuuugle, we asked the young stars if any of them had any real-life experience with creating YouTube videos. Ethan said that he'd just started a YouTube channel with a couple of his friends but he said he doesn't have that much experience. Thankfully, he's got Jake to help him out.
DeVore Ledridge said that Jake Paul has shown them that it's not at all easy and you have to put a lot of work into it. She added that she tried doing makeup tutorials about a year before she got cast in Bizaardvark, but she quickly found out how difficult it was and that it was a bit embarrassing.
Paul also gave us some tips that I think are really valuable. He said, "The biggest things that I tell everyone is to find your niche and be consistent. You can't post one video and then stop next week. You have to hit it like every week or every two days or whatever you feel comfortable with. Really create that brand. If you're making similar videos to someone else, you're never going to be the biggest in that category."
We also wanted to know if the cast had any input into the videos or storylines in Bizaardvark. Madison Hu said, "Sometimes, yeah. We have a lot of freedom to add our own personal touches" Olivia Rodrigo said, "We ad lib a lot of stuff, which you can't really tell in the finished product." Executive Producer Eric Friedman added, "They're all so funny that I let them do their thing sometimes. They add such great things to what we've written."
So, why should families tune in and what makes Bizaardvark so special? We asked and the cast had a lot to say. DeVore Ledridge said, "I think it's something that no one's ever seen before." Olivia Rodrigo added, "It's really cool because it's social media oriented and that's a big part of today's world. And, we go on such crazy adventures you wouldn't want to miss it."
Madison Hu said, "I think the show shows a kid that they can follow their dreams if they work hard enough." DeVore Ledridge added to that sentiment, "Especially your characters [Paige and Frankie], because in the first episode you said you don't fit in, but even though you might not feel like you fit in in certain areas, there is always something for you. You just have to work hard to find your place."
Be sure to catch Bizaardvark on Sundays at 9:30 PM ET!
If you like Bizaardvark, you'll probably also enjoy Disney Channel's Stuck in the Middle. Check out my interview with exclusive photos of the Stuck in the Middle cast. You might also enjoy Disney's Channels Bad Hair Day. You can read my exclusive interview with Leigh-Allyn Baker and check out my Bad Hair Day review.
Linda Manns says
Once again, Disney came up with a great show. I love this idea. I am so happy you got to visit the set and meet these people. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this with us. Thank you so much