The Suite Life on Deck


The Suite Life on Deck is an American teen sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008 to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/spin-off of the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The series follows twin brothers Zack and Cody Martin and hotel heiress London Tipton in a new setting, the SS Tipton, where they attend classes at Seven Seas High School and meet Bailey Pickett while Mr. Moseby manages the ship. The ship travels around the world to nations such as Italy, France, Greece, India, Sweden and the United Kingdom where the characters experience different cultures, adventures, and situations.
The series' pilot aired in the UK on September 19, 2008, and in U.S. markets on September 26, 2008. The series premiere on the Disney Channel in the U.S. drew 5.7 million viewers, and it became the most watched series premiere in Canada on the Family Channel. The show was also TV's No. 1 series in Kids 6–11 and No. 1 scripted series in tweens 9–14 in 2008, outpacing veteran series Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place in the ratings. On October 19, 2009, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a third season, which began production in January 2010 and debuted on July 2, 2010. The series was also 2009's top rated scripted series among all children ages 6-14
The series has been broadcast in more than 30 countries worldwide, and was shot at Hollywood Center Studios in Los Angeles. The series was taped in front of a live studio audience, though a laugh track is used for some scenes. The series is the second spin-off of a Disney Channel series ; as well as the last Disney Channel series to debut broadcasting exclusively in standard definition, and the first of three Disney Channel shows to transition from standard definition to high definition, which occurred on August 7, 2009 with the season 2 premiere, "The Spy Who Shoved Me," and the second multi-camera comedy to utilize a filmized appearance instead of the Filmlook appearance that was used in the first season.
On March 25, 2011, a film based on The Suite Life on Deck and its parent series, titled The Suite Life Movie aired on the Disney Channel. The series' forty-minute finale episode, "Graduation on Deck", aired on Disney Channel on May 6, 2011, officially ending the series.

Cast

Main

ActorCharacterSeasons
Matthew TimmonsWoody Fink1–3
Erin CardilloEmma Tutweiller1–3
Windell D. MiddlebrooksKirby Morris1–3
Rachael Kathryn BellAddison1–3
Zoey DeutchMaya Bennett3

Special guest appearances

Development

On February 4, 2008, it was announced that the Disney Channel was developing a new contemporary sequel to the Disney channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The announcement was made by Gary Marsh, the President of the Disney Channel. He stated, "Our audience has shown us that after 88 episodes, 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody' remains one of their favorite sitcoms ever, we decided to find a new way for Zack, Cody, London, and Mr. Moseby to live 'The Suite Life' in a whole new setting – this time aboard a luxury cruise liner." The series original creator, Danny Kallis was announced to be involved with the project. The elements from the original series remain the same though the setting is completely different.
In December 2008, it was reported that the Disney Channel had renewed the series for a thirteen episode second season. On May 11, 2009, Disney issued a press release stating that the second season had been extended to include a larger number of episodes than the original thirteen. Gary Marsh, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide said: "With this second-season extension, the cast of ‘The Suite Life’ makes Disney Channel history by becoming the longest running continuous characters on our air – 138 half-hour episodes. We are thrilled for them, and for the brilliant, inspired production team that made this extraordinary run possible."
As of 2011, The Suite Life series holds the record for having the longest running continuous characters on air and the most canon episodes for any Disney Channel series.

Settings

According to show creators and producers, the choice of setting was made to appeal to an international audience with different ports-of-call, such as India, Greece, Italy, Morocco, the United Kingdom and Thailand. An on-board theater serves as an "organic" set-up for musical numbers. Most of the action in the series occurs on board the SS Tipton. However, the ship travels to a variety of places around the world, which are often unfamiliar places to both Zack and Cody Martin.

SS ''Tipton''

The SS Tipton is a cruise ship belonging to London Tipton's father. The ship had its first canon appearance in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody episode "Let Us Entertain You". Unlike most cruise ships it also includes a school, Seven Seas High School, which is a common setting on the ship, as are the Sky Deck, the lobby, the corridors outside the students' cabins and the cabins themselves. In the third season, the Aqua Lounge, a newly refurbished space on the ship, was shown, and it replaced the Sky Deck as the main hangout. There are also various areas on the SS Tipton that are mentioned, but never seen, including several decks and the ship's putt-putt golf course, where the captain spends most of his time. In the crossover episode of Wizards of Waverly Place, "Cast-Away," Mr. Moseby reveals that the ship itself weighs 87,000 tons. After the events in "Graduation on Deck" the SS Tipton was sold and later dismantled. Mr Moseby mentioned in the season 1 episode "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'", that the ship was not the first ship with the SS Tipton name. Mr Tipton commissioned a scale model "replica-in-a-bottle" of the first SS Tipton as a gift for Captain Lansferd.

Other settings

The show's theme song, "Livin' the Suite Life," was written by John Adair and Steve Hampton, with music composed by Gary Scott, and is performed by British singer Steve Rushton.
The series was one of only 4 of Disney Channel shows still running in 2011 whose theme song is not performed by a star of the series.

Episodes

Note: The show's first ever air date was in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2008.

''Wizards of Waverly Place'' and ''Hannah Montana''

The episode "Double-Crossed" is the second part of a three-way crossover that begins on Wizards of Waverly Place and concludes on Hannah Montana. Cody promises to get tickets for himself and Bailey to a concert in Hawaii featuring Hannah Montana, who has boarded the SS Tipton. In the meantime, the Russo siblings enjoy a cruise of their own until Alex pulls a prank that causes Justin to turn blue.

Film

On September 20, 2010, Disney Channel announced that production had begun for a Disney Channel Original Movie based on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck.
The Suite Life Movie premiered on the Disney Channel in the United States and Canada on March 25, 2011.

Reboot series

In 2013, during an interview with Gawker, Dylan Sprouse revealed he and his brother had pitched an idea to the Disney Channel about continuing the Suite Life series. The show would see Zack and Cody return to the Tipton Hotel in Boston to live with their mother, and would become mentors to a boy who lived with his father at the hotel. Disney rejected the idea initially, but contacted the twins a year later with an edited concept that retained the boy and his father storyline, but Zack and Cody would move to a Miami hotel instead, Selena Gomez would also star and the twins would not get producer credits like they had requested. The Sprouses rejected the concept, leaving the project abandoned.

Broadcast

The Suite Life on Deck premiered in Australia and New Zealand October 6, 2008. It is broadcast on Disney Channel and on NZ MediaWorks TV3 and FOUR.

Merchandise

DVD releases

Other media

An activity book based on the series was released on July 13, 2009. The book is called "The Suite Life on Deck Sink or Swim Sticker Activity Book". A photo album based on the series was also released, and it includes several posters, colored images from the series, captions and activities for the reader. In August 2009, two new books titled "Suite Life on Deck: A Day in the Life" and "Suite Life on Deck Party Planner" were released by Walt Disney.

Reception

U.S. Nielsen ratings

The show's pilot premiered on the Disney Channel in the U.S. on September 26, 2008, and gathered 5.7 million viewers on the night of its premiere. The series premiere in Canada was also the most watched series premiere on Family channel. In December 2008, Business Wire reported the show was 2008's #1 top scripted television series for children between the ages 6 to 11 and pre-teenagers between the ages 9 to 14, beating the veteran series Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place in the ratings. The show was in the #1 spot for the top rated children's television series for many months. The show has been one of the top 4 live-action television series for many months. Since then, "The Suite Life on Deck" held a commanding lead in the time slot, ranking as TV's #1 program among the key children demographics, virtually doubling Nickelodeon among children between the age of 9–14, and defeating it by a 6% among children between the age of 6–11. In addition, the series is #1 in total viewers on all cable, outperforming #2 rank by 800,000 more viewers.
As of August 2009, the highest rated episode of The Suite Life on Deck was "Double-Crossed," the second part of Wizards On Deck with Hannah Montana, a trilogy of crossover episodes featuring guest stars from Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana which premiered on July 17, 2009 on Disney Channel. The special was viewed by more than 10.6 million viewers, program of the night across both cable and broadcast television, and ranks as one of the highest-rated episodes for a Disney Channel original series. This was the first episode that Cody and Bailey go out on a date.
In early October 2009, the series one-hour special episode "Lost at Sea" became the most watched episode of the series, with 7.6 million total viewers, including 3.2 million in the Kids 6–11 demographic, and 2.8 million in the Tweens 9–13 demographic. The episode delivered Disney Channel's best numbers in the hour with regular programming in the net's history. In 2009, the series was the most watched scripted series in the children and tween demographic, outpacing Hannah Montana and several other teenage shows. The series second season's ratings grew 25% higher than the show's season one ratings, the second season has averaged approximately 5.1 million viewers.

Season premiere ratings

Record breaking episodes

iTunes

Before the series officially made its debut on air, the first episode entitled "The Suite Life Sets Sail" was made available as a free download on iTunes. All series have since been made available.

Awards and nominations