“Andi Mack” has always aimed a bit higher than most of Disney Channel’s live-action series, which tend to come and go after a few seasons, as the casts begin to age out of the demo. So the show’s series finale feels like something of an occasion, even if there were few surprises in its various happily ever afters.
The series, which stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as the title character, made headlines in 2017 when it became the first Disney Channel show to feature a teen coming out as gay.
Appropriately, Cyrus (Joshua Rush) and TJ (Luke Mullen) were reunited in the finale, which also wrapped up an on-again, off-again romance involving Andi’s friend Buffy (Sofia Wylie).
But some fans were left wanting more from the show, which had been a touchstone for many.
“I just don’t understand how Bunk’d is still on when only one of the original characters remains but a show like Andi Mack that educates kids on important issues and showcases Disney Channel’s much-needed diversity gets canceled after 3 seasons,” one fan tweeted.
Another added, “I’m so damn confused as to why Andi Mack got canceled… I am so lost rn IDK what to do.”
Felony Charges Change Cast
Stoney Westmoreland, far left, was released from the show.
People have been speculating that the show was canceled due to the felony charges surrounding Andi’s grandfather (played by actor Stoney Westmoreland).
In 2018, Westmoreland was charged with six felony charges … Westmoreland was fired from the show after the news broke, and his removal didn’t hurt ratings.
Andi Mack still remained the top-charting show on Disney Channel, which makes its cancellation hard for most fans.
A Simple Explanation?
Peyton Elizabeth Lee
However, the producers gave other reasons for the abrupt ending.
The show ends its three-season run as Disney Channel’s most-watched series, having clearly raised the network’s ambitions in terms of issue-oriented programming for its audience target of “tweens” — that is, kids age nine to 14.
In announcing the final season’s premiere, series creator Terri Minsky cited its Disney milestones by noting, “We were its first serialized show, its first series centered around an Asian American family, and its first to feature an LGBTQ character who spoke the words ‘I’m gay.'”
In hindsight, “Andi Mack’s” breakthroughs will likely appear relatively modest. Yet as the show’s history makes clear, an image-conscious company like Disney tends to tread cautiously, one step at a time. In that regard, the ending — and the program’s success — can also be viewed as something of a beginning, or as the catchy theme song put it, “Tomorrow starts today.”
ANDI MACK – “We Were Here” (Disney Channel/Fred Hayes) SOFIA WYLIE, LILAN BOWDEN, TRENT GARRETT, PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE, ASHER ANGEL, JOSHUA RUSH
“I didn’t want to end with a cliffhanger. I believe people will miss Andi and her friends and her family… To me, the finale is a way for them to tell our audience, ‘We’ll miss you, too. But you don’t have to worry about us: We’ll be fine.’”
And would anyone be shocked to see Peyton Elizabeth Lee continue her adventures in a Disney+ series? Nope.
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A graduate of Boston and Northeastern universities, John Bishop, became the beat reporter for BostonBruins.com before the B’s 2006-07 hockey season. While with the Bruins, “Bish” traveled North America and Europe to cover the Black & Gold’s every move via laptop, blog, and smartphone. The co-author of two books, Bygone Boston and Full 60 to History: The Inside Story of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, John covered the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010 and the B’s 2011 championship run and banner raising before taking a faculty/communications position at a prep school outside Boston in 2013. He lives with his wife Andrea, and sons Jack, Scott, and Luke, in central Massachusetts.
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