Disney Channel wants more ‘Jonas’

jonasbrothers-500x836The Jonas Brothers are keepers at Disney Channel. The cable channel has ordered a second season of the pop stars’ comedy series “Jonas” and has tapped new executive producers: showrunner Lester Lewis and director Paul Hoen. Disney Channels Worldwide entertainment president Gary Marsh called Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas, who are in Italy as part of the European leg of their Live Nation-produced world concert tour, to give them the pickup news.Production on Season 2 of “Jonas” is slated to begin in February for a premiere in the middle of next year. Additionally, Disney Channel has renewed the trio’s short-form reality series “Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream” for a second season. Filming already is under way for a premiere early next year.

“These guys are the superstars of their generation,” Marsh said. “We had the opportunity to extend our relationship with them, which we did.” Disney’s collaboration with the brothers extends beyond the TV series to the successful “Camp Rock” TV movie franchise, concert tours and concert movies. “Jonas” premiered in the spring to solid numbers but couldn’t match the heights of Disney Channel hits like “Hannah Montana.” “Jonas” has been winning its Sunday time slot in key kids demographics, averaging 3.4 million viewers.

Disney brass is looking to take the show to the next level with the addition of Lewis, who has worked on “The Office” and “The Larry Sanders Show,” and Hoen, who has directed nine Disney Channel movies. “Jonas” is unusual in being a single-camera comedy on a channel dominated by multicamera sitcoms. “Lester Lewis, who is coming off ‘The Office,’ has a particular sensibility and is an expert in the craft of creating single-camera comedy, while Paul Hoen brings a unique visual style,” Marsh said.

Meanwhile, the executive producers who launched “Jonas” — sitcom veteran Michael Curtis and Roger S.H. Schulman — have departed the series. Hoen has directed the Jonases in an episode of their show and in the upcoming sequel “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.” “The Jonas brothers are a rare combination of hugely talented and tremendously likable,” the WME-repped Lewis said.

The new season of “Jonas” will follow the brothers as they set out on a summer vacation in Los Angeles that leads to them landing gigs in show business. In addition to the brothers, “Jonas” co-stars Chelsea Staub and Nicole Anderson.

 

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