What kind of monster would I be if this wasn’t on the list? If you’re not familiar, then let me introduce you to Zac & Cody (a.k.a. Dylan and Cole Spouse) – two twins living in the Tipton Hotel, and pretty much causing chaos every day, alongside Ashely Tisdale’s character Maddie, and Brenda Song as London. It’s got one of the best theme tunes out of all the classic Disney Channel shows, and even gave us a spin-off show; The Suite Life on Deck (which is actually good), as well as The Suite Life Movie.
2. The Wizards of Waverly Place:
Everything is not what it seems… when we’re all stuck in quarantine. ‘Wizards’ stars David Henrie, Selena Gomez and Jake T. Austin as the Russo siblings, who unlike the other Russo brothers, just happen to be wizards in training. If you can get past the very *ahem* sketchy 2007 graphics and CGI, then it’s brilliant. There’s a film to keep you occupied, as well as a special 60-minute long episode. If that hasn’t convinced you: there’s an episode where their uncle turns into Shakira. Because, y’know, Disney magic.
3. Hannah Montana:
Miley Cyrus has, err, gone through a lot of 'phases' since the good old days of the blonde-wig. But this has to be one of the best ones, right? There’s something both absurd and heart-warming that no-one recognised that the only thing letting her have 'The Best of Both Worlds' was a wig, and I’ve missed how the show was meta enough to make fun of itself. She also crops up in a cross-over episode between Suite Life, That’s So Raven (another amazing show); That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana (s4, ep11).
4. And then there is, what has become the holy grail of crossover episodes. Yes; Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana is a trilogy of crossover episodes, one part for each show – and the Disney nerd inside me still loves it. It’s just as chaotic as you’d expect, but of course, they still managed to pull it off.
But why, for heaven’s sake, when we have a third season of Killing Eve coming THIS MONTH am I re-watching the shows I saw as a kid? I guess there’s such a comforting feeling of nostalgia from these shows, that we need now more than ever. Whilst I might not necessarily want to remember that I was determined to grow my hair out to look like Hannah Montana, I’ve got a lot of happy memories and feelings attached to these programmes, however daft that may sound.