Find out which famous Disney Channel series broke the 65-episode rule for the first time between the 90s and 2000s
For those who grew up in the 90s and 2000s, watching Disney Channel shows was an essential part of their daily routine. The popular sitcoms “Lizzie McGuire” and “Mano a Mana” were two of the favorites of many young people at the time, and both shared the fact that they ended after 65 episodes filmed for the television channel.
This number was quite common for many other series in the early days of programming, both for the Disney Channel and for programs broadcast in the channel’s children’s blocks. After completing 65 episodes, the program or series usually ended its story, which could leave the audience frustrated due to the sudden ending.
The cancellation was made so that four separate Disney Channel series could be aired during the week over the course of a year. Each quarter, the new shows would air for 13 weeks, totaling 65 episodes in the end. In this way, with reruns and new episodes, the series maximized its exposure and increased its chances of being syndicated, a common practice in the United States in which the same program is shown on multiple networks.
But in 2003, that started to change. With the huge success of “That’s So Raven”, the 65 episodes were not enough to conclude the story of the young woman who can predict the future. The series ended only when it reached its 100th episode, sharing the audience with the final seasons of “Mano a Mana” and “Lizzie McGuire”.
Since then, the 65-episode rule has been abandoned. The studio has taken the approach that if a show has the potential to be successful, they will produce as many seasons as necessary. Wizards of Waverly Place is a great example of a show that has continued to thrive over a long period of time. Even after a movie and several seasons that totaled over 100 episodes, the story will be getting a revival in 2024.
Source: Recreio
