Austin & Ally

Austin & Ally is an American television sitcom that premiered on Disney Channel in the United States. The series was created by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert, the writers and producers of Disney Channel sitcoms Sonny with a Chance and Jonas. Production for the pilot episode began in mid-February 2011. On May 25, 2011, Disney Channel announced that Austin & Ally had been picked up for a late 2011 premiere. The first promo was released on October 14, 2011 during Disney Channel's Make Your Mark: The Ultimate Dance-Off event. A series preview followed the premiere of the Disney Channel Original Movie Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!.

Premise:
Austin & Ally is a multi-camera comedy about the unique relationship between a 15-year-old aspiring songwriter with stage-fright named Ally, and Austin, another aspiring singer who obtains celebrity status overnight after performing one of Ally's songs online. The two struggle with how to keep Austin's newfound fame and profit from it, while keeping up with their high school lives. The series has been described as a 'pint-sized' version of HBO's hit comedy-drama Entourage.

Plot:
The series follows the partnership between polar opposites — Austin, an extroverted musician/singer, Ally, a brilliant yet shy songwriter and their two best friends, Trish and Dez. Unbeknownst to Ally, Austin and Dez “borrow” one of her songs, record it, create a video and post it on the Internet, after which it and Austin become a local sensation. When Trish convinces Ally to tell the world she wrote the song, Austin pleads with her to write another hit for him. Instead, the two combine their talents to create a true musical tour-de-force.



Cast:

 * Ross Lynch as Austin Moon, is a 15-year old aspiring singer who became an overnight teen internet sensation. He struggles to maintain the same and make money from his new-found stardom.
 * Laura Marano as Ally Dawson, is a 15-year old aspiring singer-songwriter with an extreme case of stage fright. She wrote the hit song that Austin performed, but nobody knows about it yet and is kept a secret.
 * Raini Rodriguez as Trish De la Rosa, is a 15-year old fashionista, who becomes Austin's personal stylist and his manager. She`s constantly getting fired from jobs. She's Ally's best friend.
 * Calum Worthy as Dez, is a 15-year old geeky aspiring director who films everything he can. He's the one who filmed Austin singing Ally's original song and posted it online. He is Austin's best friend.

Episodes

 * Main article: List of Austin &amp; Ally episodes

Development and production
On May 25, 2011, Disney Channel announced that Austin & Ally had been picked up to a series. The pilot was directed by Shelley Jensen. Casting for the series regulars were held nationally around the United States and shooting for the pilot began in Los Angeles Center Studios in early March 2011. It was announced in May 2011 that production had begun on the series. On September 29, 2011, it was announced that Disney Channel had extended the show's episode order from 13 episodes to 21. Currently, every episode had "&" in it, referencing to the show's title.

Did you know....

 * ......that Laura Marano starred in "Ni Hao Kai-Lan" as Mei Mei?
 * ......that Laura Marano guest starred in two episodes of "True Jackson VP"?
 * ......that Ross Lynch is in a family band called R5, in which he sings and plays guitar?
 * ......that Calum Worthy had his first TV apparence at the age of 9?
 * ......that Raini Rodriguez's brother is Rico Rodriguez?
 * ......that Raini Rodriguez is Tess in the movie "Prom"?
 * ......that Laura used to be in Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
 * ......that Ross was one of the back up dancers for Cymphonique Miller`s "Little Miss Swagger" music video?
 * ......that Both Laura and Raini guest starred in Dexter when they were young?
 * ......that Calum guest starred in Good Luck Charlie with Matt Prokop?
 * ......that Raini Rodriguez was in the movie Paul Blart mall cop with Kevin James?
 * ......that Laura Marano's big sister is Vanessa Marano is starring in Switched At Birth?