This article is about the Disney Channel series. For other uses, see Hannah Montana (disambiguation).[]
Hannah Montana, also known as Hannah Montana Forever in its fourth and final season, is an American musical comedy television series created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien. It focuses on Miley Stewart (portrayed by Miley Cyrus), who is a teenager living a double life as an average schoolgirl by day and as the famous recording artist Hannah Montana by night. The story follows the daily life of Stewart, her brother, and her friends while also starring Cyrus's country singer father Billy Ray Cyrus as her dad.
The series, produced by It's a Laugh Productions and Michael Poryes Productions, premiered on Disney Channel on March 24, 2006 and concluded on January 16, 2011 after having aired four seasons and ninety-eight episodes, as a result of Cyrus's rising music career and popularity, as well as her desire to pursue more mature acting roles. The soundtrack albums Hannah Montana (2006), Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), Hannah Montana 3 (2009), and Hannah Montana Forever (2010) were released to coincide with their respective seasons. In 2007, the success of the series led to the Best of Both Worlds Tour, which visited North America. The following year, it was adapted into the 3D film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert its accompanying soundtrack. In 2009, the first feature film of the series, titled Hannah Montana: The Movie was released to commercial success, and was additionally promoted through its accompanying soundtrack. All seasons of the show have been distributed on DVD.
The series received generally favorable reviews from critics, and has been recognized as a "guilty pleasure" by several media outlets. The show's instant success is widely credited with the launch of Cyrus's career and her establishment as a teen idol. However, as she continued to develop an increasingly provocative image as the series progressed, the series has received criticism for appearing to be a negative influence on its younger audience.
Storylines[]
In its series premiere, Hannah Montana who is first introduced as Miley Stewart, lives a double life as an average schoolgirl by day and a famous recording artist Hannah Montana by night. Her father Robby Stewart is a successful country music singer under the stage name Robbie Ray, and raises Miley and her brother Jackson Stewart as a single father in Malibu, California after their mother Susan died. Miley's best friend Lilly Truscott discovered her secret while attending a Hannah Montana concert.[1] Later in the first season, Miley herself revealed her secret to their close friend Oliver Oken with the intention of ending his romantic interest in Hannah Montana. Lilly and Oliver assumed the aliases Lola Luftnagle and Mike Standley III when appearing with Hannah in order to protect Miley's secret. Meanwhile, Jackson is employed at Rico's Surf Shop, where his child-aged boss Rico Suave often assigns him to complete embarrassing tasks.
Miley, Lilly, and Oliver begin high school in the second season. Rico, who begins high school after skipping several grades, nearly discovers Miley's secret on several occasions. Later in the season, Miley admits to Jake Ryan, whom she initially disliked and later dated in the first season, that she is Hannah Montana. However, their briefly rekindled relationship ends after he struggles to adopt a normal, non-celebrity lifestyle, which Miley is concerned she will lose as a result of dating the actor. Meanwhile, Jackson continues to find himself in conflict with Rico, and opens a short-lived "cheese jerky" stand with Oliver after being briefly fired from the surf shop.
While Miley is off shooting a movie (a parody of Indiana Jones), Lilly and Oliver begin dating in the third season. Though Miley initially feels uncomfortable with the changed dynamic of their friendship, she often helps the pair reconcile after arguing with one another. Miley herself begins dating Jake again, but develops feelings for her bandmate Jesse. Jackson moves into his own apartment while attending college, while Lilly moves in with the Stewart family after her mother finds work in Atlanta, Georgia. In the two-part season finale, Robby buys a ranch in Malibu to bring Miley's horse Blue Jeans from Tennessee, while Jackson leaves his apartment and returns home. Oliver also embarks on a tour with the band that lived above Jackson's former apartment.
In the fourth season, the Stewart family moves into their new ranch, and Miley begins dating Jesse. He admits that he discovered her secret by paying attention to her actions, and it begins to inconvenience her friends and family. After much deliberation, Miley reveals to Jay Leno's television audience that she is Hannah Montana. Afterwards, Miley and Lilly graduate high school, with arrangements to attend college. In the series finale, Miley and Lilly prepare to go to college, yet another movie offer comes up. Miley tries to make Lilly reject her, only to fail multiple times. She convinces Lilly to come with her to Paris (where the movie is shooting), however at the airport, Lilly decides not to go, but to return to college (this is due to Oliver convincing Lilly that Miley will get another movie role next year). Miley continues to Paris, only to come back, joining Lilly in Stanford. Jesse and Oliver guest star in that episode and a Montage of pictures play at the end of the episode.
Characters[]
Main
- Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart (season 1-4) / Hannah Montana (season 1-3, beginning of 4)
- Emily Osment as Lilly Truscott (season 1-4) / Lola Luftnagle (season 1-3, beginning of 4)
- Mitchel Musso as Oliver Oken/Mike Standley III (seasons 1-3; recurring season 4)
- Jason Earles as Jackson Stewart (season 1-4)
- Billy Ray Cyrus as Robby Stewart (season 1-4)
- Moisés Arias as Rico Suave (season 2-4)
Recurring
- Selena Gomez as Mikayla
- Cody Linley as Jake Ryan
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