Maddie & Friends

Maddie & Friends
Also known as	M is for Maddie
Genre	Children's television series
Starring	Jenna Wilson Caleb King Mia Yang Frances Zaidi
Created by	Based on the books by Caroline Simpson
Directed by	Steve Hoefer Shelley Jensen James O'Keefe
Writers	Jennifer Hardy Eric Riviera David Riviera Cathi Rosenberg-Turow Molly Boylan Ian Ellis James Cherry Chevapravatdumrong Patrick Meighan Brian Kelley Rob LaZebnik
Opening theme	"Can't Fight the Feeling"
Ending theme	"Can't Fight the Feeling" (instrumental)
Composers	George Gabriel Paul Buckley Tomas Altamirano
Seasons	9
Episodes	215
Country of origin	The United States of America
Running time	11 minutes (segments) Half an hour (full episode)
Production company(s)	Kids' TV Station Simpson's Bakery
Original network	CNBC (2013 - 2019) Universo (2019 - present)
Age	4 - 11
Picture format	January 16, 2013 - March 31, 2022

Maddie & Friends is an American live-action television series produced by the Kids' TV Station based on the "M is for Maddie" book series by Caroline Simpson. The show focuses on Maddie Parkington, an 11-year-old girl, and her friends as they go on adventures and learn lessons in their home of a fictionalized version of San Francisco, California.

The show ran for nine seasons airing from 2013 to 2022, airing on Universo (formerly CNBC). Episodes initially aired in a double bill with a segment featuring real kids in between, but in season 6, short segments were added in between the main story.

Premise

The show stars Maddie Parkington and her friends as they solve problems throughout their daily adventures, teaching kids age-appropriate problem-solving techniques and sometimes delving into serious topics.

Characters

• Maddie Parkington (Jenna Wilson) is the series' protagionist.
• Abbie Parkington (Mia Yang) is Maddie's four-year-old younger sister.
• Big Leo Anderson (Caleb King) is a boy in Maddie's class with a crush on her.
• Emma Fresca (Frances Zaidi) is Maddie's best friend.
• Kate Fresca (Karen Day) is Emma's four-year-old younger sister.
• Tiffany Prell (Tihane Wolfgramm) is the keyboardist and lead singer for Tiffany and the Elephant System.
• Wanda Paris (Denise Octek) is the guitarist for the Elephant System.
• Billy Gurinder (Randy Montoya) is the bassist for the Elephant System.
• Rusty Universe (Elliot Edward) is the drummer for the Elephant System.
• Joey Soroya (Justin Dorris) is the saxophonist for the Elephant System.
• Marco Hong (Jason Beniati) is the trumpeter for the Elephant System.
• Derek Hong (Oscar Starling) is Marco's four-year-old younger brother in Abbie's preschool class.
• Dennis Hamm (Frank Johnson) is a scientist and inventor in Maddie's sixth grade class.
• Laura Yesn (Janice Potter) is Dennis' lab assistant.
• Denise Robin (Scarlett Marshall) is an Apache indian in Abbie's preschool class.
• Adam Wedgeman (David Riviera) is an 8-year-old boy in Abbie's preschool class.
• Vanessa Jones (Charlotte Watson) is a girl in Maddie's sixth grade class obsessed with unicorns.
• Lisa List (Ava Acevedo) is the school janitor who is also in Maddie's sixth grade class.
• Henry McCrae (Roger Claffin) is a patriotic boy in Maddie's sixth grade class.
• Ralph Gosling (Kareem Doe) is a boy in Maddie's sixth grade class.
• Roxanne Gosling (Tanisha Doe) is Ralph's wheelchair-bound younger sister.
• Aaron Betito (Jamie Sibical) is a boy in Abbie's preschool class who eats a lot.
• Pierce Braun (Wes O'Connor) is a boy in Abbie's preschool class.
• Adam McGill (Brian Robinson) is an actor who is sometimes in Abbie's preschool class.
• Nicky and Alex Bartlett (Duron and Sean King) are Maddie and Abbie's Irish cousins.
• Aviva Jayne (Hallee McClennen) is a girl who likes to dance.
• Teddy Peyton (Lucas Torres) is a boy who hails from India.
• Reagan (Jeddah Arnold) is Maddie & Friends' biggest fan, added in the second season.
• Rob (Stephen McNeil) is Reagan's first older brother.
• Jess (Nathan Hill) is Reagan's second older brother.
• Jeff (Norman O'Grady) is Reagan's third older brother.
• Akiala Fish (Navneet Bearclaw) is a Native American in Maddie's sixth grade class.
• John Brown (Wil P. Barnett) is one of Maddie's classmates.
• Jeddah Prell (Nancy Rivas) is Tiffany's 6-year-old younger sister.
• Jack Wedgeman (Joel Davis) is Adam's 17-year-old older brother.
• Elijah Wedgeman (Logan Bishop) is Adam's 12-year-old older brother.
• Xanthe Wedgeman (Kate Kuhlen) is Adam's 6-year-old younger sister.
• Addison Wedgeman (Teagan Coleman) is Adam's 4-year-old younger sister.
• Hannah Wedgeman (Kyle and Kylie Mooney) is Adam's 2-year-old younger sister.
• Mia Chung (Tracy Dalton) is Tiffany and Jeddah's 7-year-old stepsister.
• Caleb Chung (Edward Dalton) is Tiffany and Jeddah's 3-year-old stepbrother.
• George Carole (Adam Childs) is Maddie's temporary boyfriend.
• Flynn Flounder (Charlie Hurst) is an autistic boy who attends Isaac Newton Middle School.
• Logan Legal (Adam Curry) is a 4-year-old boy who lives in San Francisco.
• Alyssa (Kate Bowman) is Aaron's 7-year-old best friend.
• Jim Jones (Nathan Kress) was Reagan's 7-year-old younger brother.
• Pearl is Maddie's pet dog.
• Armando (Nathan Danforth) is Abbie's armadillo boyfriend.
• Lily Parkington (Bobby Duran) is Maddie and Abbie's mother.
• James Parkington (Raymond Morris) is Maddie and Abbie's father.
• Grandma Ginger (Beth Legg) is Maddie and Abbie's grandmother.
• Grandpa Gordon (Dallas Stevenson) is Maddie and Abbie's grandfather.
• Jeannie MacDonald (Emilia Tuttle) is Maddie's sixth grade teacher.
• Amanda Neptune (Lucy Parat) is Abbie's preschool teacher.
• Mr. Campbell (David Wes) is the principal of Isaac Newton Middle School.
• Ms. Drake (Lynn Ross) is the elderly lunch lady at Isaac Newton Middle School.
• Mr. Ferguson (John Silva) is the local librarian.
• Mr. Scoop (Mitchell Stein) runs the Yum Yum cafe.
• Miss Freeman (Irene Fila) is a sixth grade teacher at Isaac Newton Middle School.
• Mr. Grimm (Daniel Johnson) is a sixth grade teacher at Isaac Newton Middle School.
• Marge MacDonald (Annette Abrams) is Mrs. MacDonald's younger sister.
• Kylie (Gracie Zimmer) is a chocolatier and Mrs. MacDonald's wife, added in the sixth season.
• Celine Fresca (Sarah Kiesler) is Emma and Kate's mother.
• Will Hamm (Kevin Hall) is Dennis' father.
• Rachel Hamm (Chrissy Newell) is Dennis' mother.
• Bruce Anderson (Tom Harrison) is Big Leo's father.
• Carrie Anderson (Naomi Cervantes) is Big Leo's mother.
• Devon Universe (Ray Scott) is Rusty's father.
• Penny Universe (Angel Jemmott) is Rusty's mother.
• Naomi Gosling (Amber Gadot) is Ralph and Roxanne's mother
• Taran Gosling (Grant Williams) is Ralph and Roxanne's father.
• Gene Prell (Danny Higgins) is Tiffany and Jeddah's father.
• Lindsey Chung (Hannah Mathewson) is Tiffany and Jeddah's stepmother.
• Reagan Jones (Juliana Donald) is Vanessa's mother.
• Mr. Jones (Alex Cote) is Vanessa's father.
• Annie Jayne (Tabitha St. Germain, in her first live-action role) is Aviva's mother.
• Leroy Jayne (Sean Gilvey) is Aviva's father.
• Reagan's dad (Wayne Lesperance)
• Reagan's mom (Kathleen Barr, in her first live-action role)
• Rachel Wedgeman (Robin McClave) is the Wedgemans' mother.
• Jeff Wedgeman (Brandon Young) is the Wedgemans' father.
• Plex (David Skelly) is a blue polliwog in Maddie's sixth grade class.
• Mrs. Sullivan (Casey Smith) was Maddie's old babysitter.
• Michael (Charlie Atherton) is a sixth grader at Isaac Newton Middle School and a background character.
• Brian (William Yerdon) is a sixth grader at Isaac Newton Middle School and a background character.

Episodes

Season One

• Maddie Parkington Moves Out/The Band That Plays Together
• Maddie Parkington Goes to School/Parkington's Island
• Big Leo's Indian Friend/The Ultimate Cameo
• Maddie Parkington, Pet-sitter/Who's That Girl?
• The Last of Silly Snails/That's a Baby Show!
• The World's Biggest Halloween/The Gang Goes to Playgroup
• Camp Maddie Parkington/Maddie Spells It Out
• Pearl's Tale/The Gang's on TV
• Maddie Does It/Stuck in DC
• Maddie Parkington's Birthday/...Starring Big Leo!
• Life of a Stupid Kid/The Bad Day
• The Maddie Parkington Story/Where, Oh Where is Pearl?
• Bye-Bye, Boo Boo/Out of the Box
• Wedgemans on Tour/Secretly in Love?
• Does It Bite?/Grandpa Gordon's Weekend
• Maddie Writes It Out/The Little Kids Show
• A Hurricane of Events (parts 1 and 2)
• Ready, Steady, Summer/Pearl's Been Sick!
• Back to Preschool/King Plex
• Maddie and Grandma Ginger/Save the Day
• Get Offa My Cloud/Rusty Day
• Abbie's Bad Day/System Stars
• Roxanne's New Neighbor/See You Later, Elevator
• A Winter of Wonder/Dreams
• Under the Umbrella Tree/Adding to the Attic
• Music, Music, Music/The Ship of Chips
• Fair Play/Substitute Teacher Day
• Maddie Parkington in Ireland/Big Leo's Big No-No
• No Abbie Allowed/Cushion Friends
• Abbie Shakes It Up/Happy New Year!

Season Two

• If You Want Blood/No More Mr. Nice Big Leo
• Go to Sleep, Reagan/Doggy Duties
• Call It a Day!/Emma Fresca Clubhouse
• Big Girl on the Big Screen/My Brother Jim
• Rusty's Building Yard/Morning Glory
• Super Size Me/Make Way for Big Leo
• Scribble Science/Firework Night
• Nature/CinderBigLeo
• Lost in New York/No Day Like a Snow Day
• The Big Sleep/Pierce's Day
• Abbie Meets Cuckoo/Color Crazy Emma
• A Camping We Will Go/The Making of Maddie & Friends
• Laura the Scaredy Cat/Vanessa's Unicorn Universe
• Reagan Makes Music/The Elephant in the Room
• We Love You, Grandma Ginger/It's Mine!
• Sing Along Night at the Park/Rock Out!
• Happy Anniversary (parts 1 and 2)
• Denise's Pocket Pouch/Abbie the Shouter
• Nicky and Alex Nuisance/Roxanne Gets Sick
• Abbie Rolls It Up/Sounds Good to Me

Season Three

• Queen Tiffany/Row, Row, Row ... Your Duck?!
• Let's Make Music
• Henry's Great Idea/Moaning Lisa
• Armadillo Love/Everybody Say Cheese!
• A Chip Off the Old Block/Just Toying with Laura
• Vanessa's Gift/Meet Akiala
• Bad to the Bone/The Great Baker Caper
• Wanda in Wonderland/Twinkle Twinkle Emma Star
• Take Your Daughter to Work Day/Mrs. MacDonald Promotes
• Maddie Weighs In/Adam's Back in Town
• Breaking the Fourth Wall/Blackout Business
• Amazing Armando/Pinball Blizzard
• Abbie and the Doll/Big Leo Gets a Pet
• Abbie's Birthday Disaster/Boxing with Rusty
• A Day with Adelaide/Go Back to Bed

Season Four

• All By Myself/Sick Moves
• Trapped in the TV/Abbie is Maddie?!
• Mr. Newton's Fire/Big Leo Loves the Girls
• It's TV Time!/Maddie Mornings
• The Eels on the Bus/Baby MacDonald
• Rusty's in Trouble!/Ralph Gosling, Computer Wizard
• The Lisa Way/Dennis Goes to School
• Emma's Rad Dad/Feel Electric
• What's That Plant?/Maddie Flies a Plane
• Maddie Parkington Meets the Queen/DJ Maddie

Season Five

• Maddie Wears a Uniform/Football Frenzy
• Lord of the Rink/Best Frenemies
• Let's Eat!/Just Readin' a Book
• Maddie Parkington Moves Away/Christmastime is Here!
• The Lousy Week/Rub a Dub Dub, Chocolate in the Tub
• No, No, No!/Let's Dance!
• Grow Up, Abbie Parkington!/Big Leo Moves In
• Let's Go to the Movies/Be a Sister
• Emma's in Charge/Denise's Cousins
• What Would Laura Do?/Pet at the Vet

Season Six

• Mrs. MacDonald Had a Love/Who's S-S-Scared?
• Maddie Parkington's Weekend of Wonder/Abbie Parkington, BE QUIET!
• The New Boy/Operation Abbie
• Dance of the Sugar Plum Vanessa/Hi, I'm Flynn

Season Seven

• Science Camp/Take Me Out to the Football Game
• Maddie's Hiking Day/Bus Fuss
• Maddie Has a Party/The Good Sport

Season Eight

• Pearl's Safari/Emma's Bath Time
• Swan Drake/Special Pizza Delivery
• Lisa, Dancing Queen/Life with Kate and Derek

Season Nine

• The Seventh Elephant/Static
• Breakfast Dinner Time/Roxanne's Dance Lesson
• Great Spring Marathon/Weather or Not
• Day Camp Dropout/Our Lives Now

Specials

• Abbie's Big Musical Movie (2017)
• Maddie Parkington and the Magic Railroad (2018)
• A Maddie Parkington Thanksgiving (2020)
• Maddie Parkington Moves On Up (2021)

Films

• Maddie & Friends: The Movie (2014)
• Maddie & Friends: The Movie 2 (2015)
• Maddie & Friends: The Movie 3 (2016)
• Maddie & Friends: The Movie 4 (2019)

Reception and legacy

A Hollywood Report article from July 2013 praised Maddie & Friends as "highly entertaining, with a variety of interesting characters." A few other sources were more mixed, criticizing the series for being too commercialized.

Retrospective reviews of the show have been more positive, with ScreenRant praising the show for its relatable characters and fascinating storylines noting "The show is very lighthearted, and provides heartwarming family values, especially with the Parkington family." Current.org also noted Maddie & Friends as "arguably the best-written out of the most popular live-action series for children."

Broadcast history

United Kingdom

In the UK, Maddie & Friends aired on Pop TV from 2014 to 2018.

Canada

Maddie & Friends aired on CBC Kids from 2014 to 2019 and later on TVOKids starting in 2020.

Other international airings

In Europe, Maddie & Friends ran on TF1 in France, Super RTL in Germany, Italia 1 in Italy, NPO 3 and Nickelodeon in the Netherlands and Telecinco in Spain. It aired on Nine Network in Australia from 2015 to 2017.

Tropes

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