''Kickin' It'' is an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic 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. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television series created by

Jim O'Doherty Jim O'Doherty (born 1959) is an American television producer, writer and actor. Career As a television producer and writer he is best known for his work on the sitcoms '' Grounded for Life'' and ''3rd Rock from the Sun''. He was nominated for a P ...

that aired on

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

from June 13, 2011 to March 25, 2015. The series stars Leo Howard, Dylan Riley Snyder, Mateo Arias,

Olivia Holt Olivia Hastings Holt (born August 5, 1997) is an American actress and singer. She starred in the Disney XD series ''Kickin' It'', List of Disney Channel original films, Disney Channel Original Movie ''Girl vs. Monster'', and the List of program ...

, Alex Christian Jones, and Jason Earles.

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 * Dylan Riley Snyder as Milton * Mateo Arias as Jerry *

as Kim (seasons 1–3, guest season 4) * Alex Christian Jones as Eddie (seasons 1–2) * Jason Earles as Rudy

Production

On November 11, 2010,

ordered martial arts inspired

series ''Wasabi Warriors'', a working title, which was created by

, who has previously worked on '' Grounded for Life'' 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 Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...

''. Jim O'Doherty and Marc Warren serve as executive producers, while Joey Scott serves as producer. Starring in the series are Jason Earles as Rudy, Leo Howard as Jack, Mateo Arias as Jerry, Dylan Riley Snyder as Milton, Alex Christian Jones as Eddie, and

as Kim. The

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

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) * Hollywood ...

in January 2011 for a 2011 premiere and would be a production of

It's a Laugh Productions It's a Laugh Productions, Inc. is an American production company owned by The Walt Disney Company which produces live-action teen sitcoms and sketch comedies airing on Disney Channel and Disney XD. It is a division of Disney Branded Televisio ...

. 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 continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, 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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in November 2013 for a 2014 premiere. It was also announced that

would be leaving the series to star in

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

'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 Branded Television, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children aged 7–11, and older children and adolescents aged 8� ...

. 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 American English-language television shows Disney XD original programming American martial arts television series Television series by It's a Laugh Productions