''Best Friends Whenever'' is an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas that premiered on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

on June 26, 2015. Its final episode aired on December 11, 2016, after two seasons. The series stars

Landry Bender Landry Bender (born August 3, 2000) is an American actress. She is known for playing the role of Cleo Bernstein in the Disney XD series ''Crash & Bernstein'', and playing Blithe Pedulla in the 2011 film ''The Sitter''. Bender played one of the le ...

, Lauren Taylor, Gus Kamp, Ricky Garcia, Benjamin Cole Royer, and Matthew Lewis Royer.

Premise

Set in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, two teenage girls named Cyd and Shelby are best friends living together while Cyd's parents are on an archaeological dig in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. After an accident in their neighbor Barry's science lab, they are given the ability to travel in time, provided they are thinking of the time they want to go to and are touching. When it comes to their trips to the future, they briefly find themselves strapped to tables in a futuristic lab and must figure out what this means while having various adventures along the way.

Cast and characters

Main

as Cyd Ripley, Shelby's best friend who is staying with Shelby's family while her parents are away in Peru. She owns a pet dog named Diesel. * Lauren Taylor as Shelby Marcus, Cyd's best friend. * Gus Kamp as Barry Eisenberg, an aspiring young scientist who lives in a Winnebago that is parked outside of Shelby's backyard that he also uses for his lab. One of his lasers deflecting off a cup of chemicals gave Cyd and Shelby the ability to travel through time. * Ricky Garcia as Naldo Montoya, Barry's best friend and lab assistant. Barry calls him "Renaldo". * Benjamin Cole Royer as Bret Marcus, Shelby's brother who is the twin brother of Chet. * Matthew Lewis Royer as Chet Marcus, Shelby's brother who is the twin brother of Bret.

Recurring

* Mary Passeri as Astrid, the mother of Shelby, Bret, and Chet. *

Kevin Symons Kevin William Symons (born February 2, 1971) is an American actor, who is best known for role as Dr. Kevin Adams in the television series ''Darcy's Wild Life'', as well as Councilman Bill Dexhart in the television comedy ''Parks and Recreation'' ...

as Norm, the father of Shelby, Bret, and Chet. He works as an accountant at GloboDigiDyne and later gets promoted to the company's Pelican Ball Room. *

Madison Hu Madison Hu (born June 2, 2002) is an American actress. She is known for playing the role of Frankie Wong on the Disney Channel series ''Bizaardvark'', and for her previous recurring role as Marci on the Disney Channel series '' Best Friends Whe ...

as Marci, a friend of Cyd and Shelby who is always relaxed. *

Larry Joe Campbell Lawrence Joseph Campbell (born November 29, 1970) is an American actor and comedian best known for his role as Andy on the ABC sitcom ''According to Jim''. Early life Born in Cadillac, Michigan, Campbell graduated from high school at Pine Ri ...

as Mr. Doyle, a gossip-loving teacher at West Portland High School who teaches science and driver's education. *

Nora Dunn Nora Dunn (born April 29, 1952) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch variety TV series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990, Dr. Reynolds in ''The Nanny'' (1998-1999), and Muriel in ''Home Economics' ...

as Janet Smythe, an entrepreneur and the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of GloboDigiDyne who has invented many things in her life, starting with wireless objects. However, she is an evil mastermind who seeks to hunt down Cyd and Shelby and plans to figure out their time travel abilities and alter time so that she can take over the country. She is eventually defeated by future Cyd and Shelby and taken away by them to be imprisoned with other people like her. * Bryana Salaz as Daisy, a time-displaced princess from the 1500s who ended up in Cyd and Shelby's time. Whenever Cyd and Shelby do a group hug with her, Cyd and Shelby end up briefly transported back in time to where Daisy is imprisoned by an unidentified person. During her time in the present, she lives with Naldo while trying to adapt to modern day cultures. It was later revealed that the unidentified person had trapped Daisy in the tower to keep her from being taken by Sebastian.

Production

''Best Friends Whenever'' was created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, who have also created '' Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja''. On March 6, 2015, Disney ordered ''Best Friends Whenever'' with production starting the same month. The series was renewed for a second season by Disney Channel on February 29, 2016. The second season premiered on July 25, 2016. In February 2017, the cast took to social media to report that the series had not been renewed for a third season. On June 30, 2017, ''TV by the Numbers'' reported that the series had been canceled.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2015–16)

Season 2 (2016)

Broadcast

The series airs on

in Canada. It premiered on

in Australia and New Zealand on October 16, 2015.

Reception

Critical

Brian Lowry, writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', thought the series' pilot episode was formulaic and did not take full advantages of the time travel premise. In particular, the series "appears more content to focus on the humdrum details of Shelby and Cyd's frantic lives than, say, sending them back to meet

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

or ahead to a time of flying cars."

Ratings

References

External links

* {{It's a Laugh Productions 2010s American children's comedy television series 2010s American time travel television series 2015 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings Disney Channel original programming English-language television shows Television series by It's a Laugh Productions Television shows set in Portland, Oregon