''Kickin' It'' 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 Jim O'Doherty that aired on

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

from June 13, 2011 to March 25, 2015. The series stars Leo Howard,

Dylan Riley Snyder Dylan Riley Jacob Snyder (born January 24, 1997) is an American actor, filmmaker, and Twitch streamer. Beginning his acting career in community theatre at the age of five, Snyder is known for his acting, singing, and dancing abilities, starring ...

, Mateo Arias, Olivia Holt, Alex Christian Jones, and

Jason Earles Jason Daniel Earles (born April 26, 1977) is an American actor. Known for his role as Jackson Stewart in the Disney Channel sitcom ''Hannah Montana'' and his role as Rudy Gillespie in the Disney XD series '' Kickin' It''. Early life Earles was ...

Premise

Located in a strip mall, the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy is known as the worst dojo in the underperforming nationwide Bobby Wasabi chain. To improve the dojo's image, a tight knit crew of underdogs enlists Jack to join and help teach them about life, karate, and friendship.

Episodes

Cast

* Leo Howard as Jack *

as Milton * Mateo Arias as Jerry * Olivia Holt as Kim (seasons 1–3, guest season 4) * Alex Christian Jones as Eddie (seasons 1–2) *

as Rudy

Production

On November 11, 2010,

ordered martial arts inspired

series ''Wasabi Warriors'', a working title, which was created by Jim O'Doherty, who has previously worked on ''

Grounded for Life ''Grounded for Life'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001, as a mid-season replacement on Fox. Created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin, it ran for two seasons on the network until being canceled only two episodes into ...

'' and ''

3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, ...

''. Jim O'Doherty and Marc Warren serve as executive producers, while Joey Scott serves as producer. Starring in the series are

as Rudy, Leo Howard as Jack, Mateo Arias as Jerry,

as Milton, Alex Christian Jones as Eddie, and Olivia Holt as Kim. The

multi-camera The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneou ...

series would begin production in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

in January 2011 for a 2011 premiere and would be a production of It's a Laugh Productions. On May 16, 2011, Disney XD announced that the series would be premiering as ''Kickin' It'' on June 13, 2011. The series was inspired by Jim O'Doherty's childhood growing up on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18t ...

, where he earned a green belt in martial arts, but was forced to end his training when his local dojo closed down and was turned into a veterinary clinic. This childhood connection to martial arts, combined with three of his daughters' interest in karate, laid the foundation for the premise of the series. On September 21, 2011, Disney XD renewed the series for a second season. On November 5, 2012, Disney XD renewed the series for a third season, with Alex Christian Jones not returning. On August 21, 2013, Disney XD renewed the series for a fourth season, with production to start in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

in November 2013 for a 2014 premiere. It was also announced that Olivia Holt would be leaving the series to star in

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 Comp ...

's comedy series '' I Didn't Do It''.

Broadcast

In the UK and Ireland, the series aired on

, where it aired as a preview on July 21, 2011, and officially premiered on September 1, 2011. In Australia and New Zealand, the series aired on

, where it aired as a preview on December 31, 2011, and officially premiered on August 25, 2012. In Australia, the series premiered on

on April 10, 2014. In Malaysia, the series premiered on

on September 24, 2012.

Ratings

The series premiere of ''Kickin' It'' launched as the highest-rated series premiere in

history, including when the network was known as

Toon Disney Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...

. The series premiere garnered 873,000 total viewers and performed well in key demographics, with 578,000 viewers among kids 6–14 and 393,000 viewers among tweens 9–14. Additionally, it marked as the number-one series premiere of all time among kids 6–11, where it received 431,000 viewers.

References

External links

* {{It's a Laugh Productions 2010s American children's comedy television series 2011 American television series debuts 2015 American television series endings Disney XD original programming English-language television shows Martial arts television series Television series by It's a Laugh Productions