''Milo Murphy's Law'' is an American animated comedy television series created by
Dan Povenmire and
Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
Jeffrey Kent "Swampy" Marsh (; born December 9, 1960) is an American animator, voice actor, writer, director, and producer. With Dan Povenmire, Marsh is the co-creator and co-star of the Disney Channel animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' and ...
for
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 ...
and
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 ...
. The series premiered on October 3, 2016,
on Disney XD. It revolves around the title character, Milo Murphy, who is a descendant of the "Original Murphy" of
Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."
Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...
, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The series takes place in the same universe as Povenmire and Marsh's previous series ''
Phineas and Ferb
''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...
'', with multiple references to the show occurring across the first season, culminating in a crossover at the start of the second season and continuing throughout with other plot threads from the former series.
While working on ''
Hamster & Gretel'', Povenmire stated that he and Marsh "...would both really love to do more ''Milo Murphy''...I'm willing to do more than one show at a time," and according to Povenmire, a possible third season hinged on its
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
viewership.
Characters
Main
*
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...
as Milo Murphy, the title character of the series. He has a reputation for having extreme misfortune due to being a descendant of the creator of Murphy's Law. Despite constant misfortune, he is optimistic and has a talent for overcoming his bad luck. He carries a backpack with him that seems to have what he needs for any given situation. It was given to him by his old babysitter, Veronica, who was the only one able to handle Murphy's Law.
*
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She first gained prominence starring on the Disney Channel series ''Girl Meets World'' (2014–2017). She signed with the Disney Music Group, Disney ...
as Melissa Chase,
the long-time best friend of Milo's. Her father is the local fire chief. She has had a secret fear of rollercoasters, since
one nearly fell on her, and has fake front teeth after catching a
pop fly
In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...
.
* Mekai Curtis as Zack Underwood,
Milo's best friend. He was once the lead singer of a
boy band
A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...
called "The Lumberzacks".
Supporting
The Murphys' house
*
Diedrich Bader
Karl Diedrich Bader (born December 24, 1966) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his comedic and voice acting roles. He has appeared as a series regular in television sitcoms ''The Drew Carey Show'', '' American Housewife'', ...
as Martin Murphy, Milo's father. Just like his son, he has extreme misfortune. He is a safety inspector, mostly due to the fact that when he's around, safety contingencies are pushed to the limit.
*
Pamela Adlon
Pamela Adlon ( ; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American-British actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Ju ...
as Brigette Murphy, Milo's mother who is an architect.
*
Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates with Riki Lindhome. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in '' 'Til Death' ...
as Sara Murphy, Milo's older sister and fellow ''Dr. Zone'' fan.
*
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of his work has consisted of vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as '' Adventure Time'', ''American Dad!'', '' Avatar: The Las ...
as Diogee Ex Machina Murphy, Milo's dog. He regularly follows Milo, who keeps telling him to go home. His name is pronounced "d-o-g", and his middle name refers to the fact that he often appears out of nowhere, to help Milo out of seemingly hopeless situations. In general, his whole name is a play off of the phrase "deus ex machina" (with "god" as the translation of "deus").
*
Dan Povenmire as
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (a.k.a. "Professor Time"), a formerly-evil-scientist-turned-O.W.C.A. member. Doofenshmirtz becomes a supporting character in the second season, living in the Murphys' garden shed after his house is destroyed by Murphy's Law.
Jefferson County Middle School
*
Chrissie Fit
Chrissie Fit (born April 3, 1984) is an American actress and singer. In 2007, Fit rose to prominence after she was cast as the character Mercedes Juarez in the medical drama, ''General Hospital''. She also played the roles of CheeChee in the DCOM ...
as Amanda Lopez,
a student in Milo's class who is a perfectionist and serves as the love interest for Milo throughout the series.
*
Vincent Martella
Vincent Michael Martella (born October 15, 1992) is an American actor. He is best known for providing the voice of Phineas Flynn on the Disney Channel animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' (2007–2015; 2025–present). Martella is also known for ...
as Bradley Nicholson,
a pessimistic and arrogant student who is jealous of the attention Milo gets.
*
Greg Cipes as Mort Schaeffer, a friend of Milo and Bradley's and the drummer in their band.
* Django Marsh as Chad Van Coff, a classmate of Milo's who is convinced that Mr. Drako is a vampire.
*
Alyson Stoner as Lydia, a classmate of Milo's as well as Amanda's best friend.
* Michael Culross as Kyle Drako, a middle school teacher with a slight
Hungarian accent based upon that of 1930's
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
actor
Bela Lugosi
Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...
. A recurring gag involves him exhibiting the traits of a vampire.
*
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor. He made his film debut with a leading role in '' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakout role as Jason "J.D." Dean, a sociopath ...
as Elliot Decker, the school crossing guard and self-described "Safety
Czar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
" who makes it his mission to protect the city from Milo.
*
Mackenzie Phillips as Elizabeth Milder, the principal of Jefferson County Middle School.
*
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...
as Nolan Mitchell, the football coach of Jefferson County Middle School.
*
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Louise Christine Chalke (; born August 27, 1976) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring roles as the second Becky Conner in the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1993–1997), Elliot Reid in the NBC/ABC medical comedy series '' Sc ...
as Mrs. Murawski, the science teacher of Jefferson County Middle School who holds an unhealthy affection for her desk.
*
Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Newman was part of the original cast of NBC's sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from its inception in 1975 until her departure in 1980.
Newman took an ...
as Ms. White, another middle school teacher.
Bureau of Time Travel Agents
* Dan Povenmire and
Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
Jeffrey Kent "Swampy" Marsh (; born December 9, 1960) is an American animator, voice actor, writer, director, and producer. With Dan Povenmire, Marsh is the co-creator and co-star of the Disney Channel animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' and ...
as Vinnie Dakota and Balthazar Cavendish. The pair are time travelers given the assignment to prevent the extinction of the pistachio. They are considered a joke by their fellow time agents because their job is considered inconsequential. Dakota dresses in 1970s
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
clothing while Cavendish dresses in 1870s
victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
formal wear. In the episode "Missing Milo", they are revealed to be the inspiration for Dr. Zone and Time Ape.
*
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...
as Mr. Block, Cavendish and Dakota's superior.
** Hamill also voices Bob Block, Mr. Block's great-great-great-grandfather in the present day, who hires Cavendish and Dakota as janitors for P.I.G.
*
Ming-Na Wen and
Brett Dalton
Brett Patrick Dalton (born January 7, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Grant Ward and Hive in ABC's series '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', as well as Detective Mark Trent in the NBC procedural drama series '' Found'', an ...
as time agents Savannah and Brick. Unlike Dakota and Cavendish, the pair resemble traditional secret agents and drive a time vehicle that resembles a limousine. Their character designs are based on their voice actors, who portrayed secret agents in the television series ''
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''
O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym)
* Dee Bradley Baker as
Perry the Platypus
Perry the Platypus is a fictional anthropomorphic bipedal platypus from the American animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' and '' Milo Murphy's Law''. Perry was created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Perry is featured as the star of ...
, aka "Agent P", a platypus agent and the pet of the Flynn-Fletcher family.
* Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as
Major Monogram, Perry's superior in O.W.C.A.
* Tyler Alexander Mann as
Carl, Major Monogram's
personal assistant
A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task. It is a subspecialty of secretarial duties ...
.
Octalians
*
Joanna Hausmann as Alien Commander, the captain of an extraterrestrial fleet interested in the capture of Milo.
*
Odessa Adlon as Orgaluth, the Alien Commander's daughter.
* Brock Powell as Alien Pilot, the Alien Commander's
second-in-command
Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation.
Usage
In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...
.
*
John Ross Bowie and
Cedric Yarbrough
Cedric Yarbrough (; born March 20, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He has starred in the series ''Reno 911!'' as Deputy S. Jones and as Kenneth on the ABC sitcom '' Speechless'', as well as voicing Gerald Fitzgerald on the Netflix comedy ...
as Loab and Khone, the Alien Commander's "favorite" field agents.
* Al Yankovic, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, and Brock Powell as Beek, Mantel and Dorsal, additional field agents under the Alien Commander.
Others
*
Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...
as Eileen Underwood,
Zack's mother who works as a surgeon.
*
Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...
as Marcus Underwood, Zack's father.
*
Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Kayvan Pasdar (; April 30, 1965) is an American film, television, and voice actor. He is known for his roles in ''Profit'', '' Near Dark'', '' Carlito's Way'', '' Mysterious Ways'', ''Desperate Housewives'', '' Burn Notice'', '' Heroes'' a ...
as Richard Chase, Melissa's father who works as a fireman.
*
Jemaine Clement as Doctor Zone,
the main character of the eponymous show within a show, inspired by
the eponymous character from ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''.
** Clement also voices Orton Mahlson, the creator and star of ''Doctor Zone'', whom Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions. His name is a parody of series writer
Martin Olson.
*
Sophie Winkleman as Time Ape,
Dr. Zone's sidekick.
*
Rhys Darby
Rhys Montague Darby (born 21 March 1974) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. He is known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nomin ...
as King Pistachion, a mutated pistachio that takes over Cavendish and Dakota's future with his army of Pistachions.
* Scott D. Peterson as Scott, an "Undergrounder" who lives beneath Danville.
* Vincent Martella as
Phineas Flynn, an upbeat young boy whom Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
* David Errigo Jr. as
Ferb Fletcher, a boy of few words whom Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
*
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles on-screen and in theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatric ...
as
Candace Flynn, Phineas' sister whom Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
*
Maulik Pancholy as
Baljeet Tjinder, a friend of Phineas and Ferb's whom Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
* Bobby Gaylor as
Buford van Stomm, a friend of Phineas and Ferb's whom Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
* Alyson Stoner as
Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, a friend of Phineas and Ferb's whom Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
*
Dan Povenmire as Colonel Niblet, head of a mysterious government agency.
* Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Lieutenant Tennant, a government lieutenant under Colonel Niblet.
*
John Viener as the disembodied head of
Norm
Norm, the Norm or NORM may refer to:
In academic disciplines
* Normativity, phenomenon of designating things as good or bad
* Norm (geology), an estimate of the idealised mineral content of a rock
* Norm (philosophy), a standard in normative e ...
, Doof's formerly giant robot man.
*
Olivia Olson as
Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, Doof's goth daughter from his failed marriage.
*
Mitchel Musso
Mitchel Tate Musso (born July 9, 1991) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his three Disney Channel roles as Oliver Oken in ''Hannah Montana''; Jeremy Johnson in the animated series ''Phineas and Ferb''; and his Disney XD r ...
as
Jeremy Johnson, Candace Flynn's boyfriend.
* Maulik Pancholy as "Neal from the Comic Shop", Sara's love interest.
Episodes
The show currently comprises two seasons with 20 episodes each. When asked about the odds of a third season in May 2020, Povenmire stated they are still at a low and the odds all hinge on the uptick in views on Disney+ which had yet to happen.
Crossovers
The second-season premiere episode was a crossover with the series creators' previous show, ''
Phineas and Ferb
''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...
''. The entire ''Phineas and Ferb'' cast reprised their roles for the special, with the exception of
Thomas Sangster, the original voice of Ferb, due to scheduling conflicts. Ferb was instead voiced by David Errigo Jr. Following the crossover, the ''Phineas and Ferb'' characters
Doofenshmirtz,
Perry the Platypus
Perry the Platypus is a fictional anthropomorphic bipedal platypus from the American animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' and '' Milo Murphy's Law''. Perry was created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Perry is featured as the star of ...
,
Major Monogram and
Carl joined the cast of ''Milo Murphy's Law'' in a recurring capacity, following the destruction of
Doofenshmirtz's penthouse building.
''Milo Murphy's Law'' character Trucker Ted appeared in the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
film ''
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe'', with Bob Bowen reprising his role.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...
was also slated to return as Milo Murphy in the film, but his scenes were cut from the final release.
Reception
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. rated the show 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "Parents need to know that ''Milo Murphy's Law'' is a hilarious animated series from the creators of ''Phineas and Ferb''. It suggests that the fabled Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong will go wrong) is a real condition that afflicts its titular character and puts him through all sorts of unpredictable trials. As a result, there are lots of scary and potentially painful accidents (falling off a cliff, being chased by wolves, getting caught in a subway turnstile), but Milo always approaches them with a can-do attitude that positively influences his friends as well. As for his friends, they prove their worth by sticking with him regardless of what that exposes them to, so there are lots of good messages there".
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. rated the crossover episode, titled "The Phineas and Ferb Effect", 4 out of 5 stars, stating, "Expect a lot of action involving oversized plantlike monsters who don human identities and turn some people into plants themselves, but no real violence. If this is your kids' introduction to any of these characters, know that this fun mix of personalities will encourage them to seek out more of their separate escapades".
''Parrot Analytics'' reported in May 2021 that "the audience demand for ''Milo Murphy's Law'' is 4 times the demand of the average TV series...", and it was also ranked as No. 77 of the top 100 series on
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
. On February 23, Marsh stated that although Disney had apologized to him and Povenmire for promoting the show poorly in the past, "... the show is doing well on Disney+, and that maybe its success will possibly justify a couple of specials".
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{Portal bar, Cartoon, Disney, Animation, 2010s
2010s American animated comedy television series
2010s American children's comedy television series
2016 American animated television series debuts
2019 American television series endings
American children's animated comedy television series
Disney Channel original programming
Disney XD original programming
American English-language television shows
Animated television series about children
Television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
Television series by Disney Television Animation