Penny on M.A.R.S. is an Italian teen dramedy television series that premiered on Disney Channel in Italy on 7 May 2018.[1] The series is a spin-off of the Italian series Alex & Co. The series is commissioned by 3Zero2 in cooperation with The Walt Disney Company Italy. The series premiered on 4 June 2018, on Disney Channel in the United Kingdom.[2] In April 2018, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on 18 February 2019.[3] The show's third and final season premiered on 17 February 2020, also in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
| Penny on M.A.R.S. | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Beatrice Valsecchi |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Claudio Norza |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Giordano Cremona, Federico Mercuri, Marco Sissa and Colin Paul Buffet |
| Opening theme | We are the M.A.R.S |
| Country of origin | Italy |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Nadia Grippiolo, Lucio Wilson |
| Producer | Piero Crispino |
| Production locations | Milan, Italy |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney Channel (Italy) Rai Gulp Disney+ (Italy) |
| Release | 7 May 2018 – 3 July 2020 |
| Related | |
| Alex & Co. (2015 - 2017) | |
Plot
editPenny passes the auditions to enter the M.A.R.S. high school, one of the most exclusive performing arts schools in the world. The M.A.R.S. has strict rules and is very competitive, and Penny and her schoolmates have to pass a daily test. Penny has enrolled with a fake name to hide her identity as the daughter of Bakìa, a popular singer of the time, to acquire esteem in her own right separate from her mother's. Bakìa had previously enrolled her daughter in a boarding school in Switzerland so that she could have a "normal" childhood and not hinder her career.
The only one at the M.A.R.S. who knows her real identity is Camilla, Penny's best friend. Sharing a sister-like relationship until they fall for the same boy, Penny will also have to solve the mystery of who her father is.
Episodes
editCast
editMain
edit| Character | Actor | Seasons | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Penny Mendez | Olivia-Mai Barrett | Protagonist | |||
| Camilla Young | Shannon Gaskin | Main Co-Protagonist | |||
| Sebastian Storm | Finlay MacMillan | Protagonist | Co-Protagonist | ||
| Sofia Hu | Olivia Chan | Co-Protagonist | |||
| Nick Weber | Damien Walsh | Co-Protagonist | Recurring | ||
| Mike Weber[n 1] | Co-Protagonist | ||||
| Luke Walsh | Co-Protagonist | Co-Protagonist | |||
| Aleksandr "Sasha" Lukin | Ryan Dean | Co-Antagonist | Co-Protagonist | ||
| Lucy Carpenter | Jessica Alexander | Antagonist | |||
| Tom Lauder | Jack Christou | Co-Antagonist | Co-Protagonist | ||
| Pete Swanson | Giacomo Vigo | Co-Protagonist | |||
| Rob Walker | Keenan Munn-Francis | Protagonist | |||
| Vicky Bernhard | Kira Malou | Co-Protagonist | |||
| Martha Patel | Amani Lia | Antagonist | |||
Recurring
edit| Character | Actor | Seasons | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Freddy Wolf | Ben Richards | Recurring | |||
| Bakìa | Merissa Porter | Recurring | |||
| Debbie Cornish | Hanna Hefner | Recurring | |||
| Raul Storm | Joseph Rye | Recurring | |||
| Mitch Storm | Charlie Gardner | Recurring | |||
| Bruce Gold | Michael Rodgers | Recurring | |||
| Roberto Piccolo | William Kenning | Recurring | |||
| Sean McDougal | Alton Terry / Yonv Joseph[n 2] | Recurring | |||
| Ella Johnson | Nathalie Rapti Gomez | Recurring | |||
| Tosca Bauer | Melanie Gray | Recurring | |||
| Arianna Rossi | Arianna Di Claudio | Guest | |||
| Mrs. Grady | Giorgia Massetti | Guest | |||
| Lisa Cunningham | Katie McGovern | Guest | |||
| Andrew Young | Douglas Dean | Guest | |||
| Mr. Carpenter | Andrea Scarduzio | Guest | |||
| Mrs. Carpenter | Cecilia Gragnani | Guest | |||
| Head physician | Mauro Cipriani | Guest | |||
| Mr. Maki | Yoon Coon Cometti | Guest | |||
| Dave Marshal | Leonardo Ferrari | Guest | |||
| Adrian Glaser | Andrea Beruatto | Guest | |||
| Simo Ferrari | Asya Rotella | Guest | |||
| Mr. Richter | Timothy Martin | Guest | |||
Production
editIn April 2017, it was announced that The Walt Disney Company Italy planned to produce an English language spin-off from the successful series Alex & Co.[4] The start of shooting for the 17-part first season was planned for Autumn 2017. Penny on M.A.R.S. was produced in English instead of Italian because it was believed that the series could be sold better internationally. The characters Penny, Camilla, Bakìa and Freddy Wolf from Penny on M.A.R.S. had performances in the special episodes (the last episodes) of Alex & Co., in which the spin-off series was introduced. On 29 June 2017, the spin-off series after the last episode of Alex & Co. was officially announced in a teaser, thereby also announcing the title Penny on M.A.R.S..[5]
The first table read for the first season was on 20 September 2017.[6] Shooting for the first season began on 28 September 2017, and ended on 15 December 2017.[7] The shooting took place in Milan and the surrounding area.[8] The backdrop of the Music Arts Reiner School (short M.A.R.S.) is the building of the design department of the Bovisa's headquarters of the Polytechnic University of Milan.
Soundtrack
editThe first album from the series was released on 4 May 2016, in Italy. It contains the following list of songs:[9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Are the M.A.R.S." (Olivia-Mai Barrett & Ryan Dean) |
| 3:00 |
| 2. | "Rain and Shine" (Olivia-Mai Barrett & Shannon Gaskin) |
| 3:14 |
| 3. | "Nobody's Perfect" (Merissa Porter) | Gaetano Cappa | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Never Doubt I Love" (Olivia-Mai Barrett & Finlay MacMillan) |
| 3:40 |
| 5. | "So Sure" (Olivia-Mai Barrett & Finlay MacMillan) |
| 3:24 |
| 6. | "Rain and Shine - Ci sarò, ci sarai" (Federica Carta & Olivia-Mai Barrett) |
| 3:14 |
References
edit- ^ "Disney Channel - Penny on M.A.R.S. - Una nuova serie". YouTube (in Italian). Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Penny on M.A.R.S. starts in the UK". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Penny on M.A.R.S. - la conferenza stampa della nuova serie Disney" (in Italian). 10 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Arriva Nella, principessa cavaliere che non aspetta il principe azzurro" (in Italian). 8 April 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Penny on M.A.R.S. promo". YouTube. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ ""First Penny on MARS read through"". 20 September 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Filming information by MotoreCinema". Facebook (in Italian). 29 September 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "CASTING PER NUOVA SERIE TV DISNEY "PENNY ON MARS"" (in Italian). 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ "Penny On M.A.R.S. (Musica dalla serie TV)". iTunes Store. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.