If you're looking for a new show to share with your young ones, you're in luck as Disney Channel's latest series StuGo is currently airing on the network! Join this wild ride of adolescence as these friends band together to solve problems, face obstacles, and—of course—have some serious fun along the way. With its mix of humor, heart, and a ton of energy, StuGo will quickly become a show that’s easy to love for fans of all ages. The show premiered on Jan. 11. New episodes start airing on Feb. 2!
StuGo is centered around six gifted middle schoolers who are invited to an island in the Caribbean. The group discovers that the trip is actually set up by Dr. Lullah, a mad scientist who lives on the island. When the kids realize they are stuck on the island for three months, they have to band together and navigate the island's fantastical and dangerous mutant flora and fauna.
The StuGo cast includes Tania Gunadi as Pliny, Zosia Mamet as Merian, Gabourey Sidibe as Francis, Charlyne Yi as Larry, Zach Reino as Chip Manhands, Deborah Baker Jr. as Sara, Lorraine Toussaint as Dr. Lullah, and Jake Green as Mr. Okay. The show is created by Ryan Gillis, executive produced by Gillis, Chris Prynoski (Pupstruction), Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio (Angry Birds: Mystery Island), Ben Kalina, and Sunil Hall (The Mighty Ones) from both Titmouse, Inc. and Disney Television Animation.
The Parent Watch spoke with Gillis and Hall about StuGo. As the creator, Gillis provides us with a glimpse into how he crafted the on-screen adventures of these dynamic characters alongside Hall. Both act as advocates for the animation team that helps bring the fun-loving characters to life as well. You'll also find out what audiences can expect from this series and what makes it such a special show. Read on to learn more!
The Parent Watch: Ryan, since StuGo was inspired by your childhood, what aspects of your childhood did you want incorporated into the show?
Ryan Gillis: The setting is largely inspired by South Florida and the Caribbean, but specifically, it's all about a study abroad I took once in college where it just the Within the first day, it was an Andros Island, the largest but least populated island, the Bahamas. We were expecting a summer camp, but our tents blew away on the first day. We ended up all sleeping in a big school house, in inflatable pool rafts, and It ended up being really fun. But that was the main source of inspiration for the show.
First of all, that's crazy to hear that. This group of middle schoolers and that aspect of Lessons, too, which I found to resonate with. Sunil, as the co-executive producer who is coming together with Ryan to create this show and develop the storylines, what's that process like?
Sunil Hall: We had worked together on a show called Pickle & Peanut, and that's where I met Ryan, and we just got along really well. I had very similar sensibilities and made each other laugh a lot. And then I left Disney to go work on a different show, on a show I created for DreamWorks. During that time, Ryan was in development on this. About the time my show ended, this show was getting its green light. I wasn't super involved in development. I gave him some notes on the pilot, but he did that mostly on his own with a small team. The timing worked out, and I was able to come on and start working on the first season. It's been a good collaboration.
RG: I was knocking on the door for eight months.
SH: I also love science fiction and nature, and this has all the stuff I love getting into.
Titmouse is the animation studio for this show. When it came to the design and having your hand in that piece of it, what did you both want the animation to look like?
RG: With our art director, Sam Bosma; I've just been a fan of this person for a long, long time. Again, it was the same as Sunil. He was rolling off the show as this thing was going to get an animation test, so I just nabbed him. We talked about how it's inspired by Florida. We wanted it to feel humid. We wanted it to feel like the real deal down there. Not too romanticized, but still really appealing and beautiful. Sam nailed it.
SH: Sam is incredible. Ryan had a lot of interesting inspiration he brought in that we looked at. Initially, the idea was a very simplified production-friendly style. The artist took that and just went nuts on it and added a whole other level that we never really imagined when we envisioned this.
RG: The team was too talented. Just kept getting better and better; Stacking and stacking and stacking.
SH: I'm very impressed with what they've created.
I don't think I've seen this style of animation on a Disney Channel show before. With these episodes and the storylines that have these middle schoolers go on adventures together, who are your favorites?
RG: That's the nice thing about [having] an ensemble. Each kid has their own different little quirks and neuroses, and they all resonate. They're all different parts of the brain so different episodes will hit different experiences. There's one character, Merian, who's the most stressed out. I generally resonate with her.
SH: I love all the characters as well. But Frances, in particular, is fascinating to write about because she's very stoic, but she has incredible inner depths that we pick away at. We see more and more of her character come out throughout the series. So she's just a lot of fun to work with.
With adolescents, you can pick out people that remind you of certain people. When I was watching, I thought certain characters remind me of somebody that I went to school with. It does feel very human and want to give props to the writing. Were there any other specific inspirations for this show other than your own personal experiences?
RG: It's what you're tapping on. That period in adolescence and being that type of kid that is really about their performance in school and what this means for them in their whole life. Placing them in a world where that structure is removed is very interesting to me. These overachieving kids are in this space that is wild and sci-fi. That is another main thing that we are exploring out here.
You heard it here! If you or your family are animation and sci-fi fans, there's no doubt that will enjoy this series! If you aren't caught up on the series, make sure you watch the first full episode on Disney Channel's official YouTube channel below:
StuGo airs episodes weekly on Sundays at 9:00 am ET/PT on Disney Channel. The next new episode to air on Feb. 2 is 'Finders Kelpers; Truck Everlasting' The series will also stream on Disney+ in the spring of 2025.