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Good Luck Charlie
Goodluck charly logo.svg
Genre Sitcom
Created by
  • Phil Baker
  • Drew Vaupen
Starring
Theme music composer
  • Jeanne Lurie
  • Chen Neeman
  • Aris Archontis
Composer(s) Stephen R. Phillips & Tim P.
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 97 (and 1 film) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Phil Baker
  • Drew Vaupen
  • Dan Staley
Producer(s) Pixie Wespiser
Camera setup
Running time 23–49 minutes
Production company(s) It's a Laugh Productions
Release
Original network Disney Channel
Picture format HDTV 720p
Audio format Dolby Digital
Original release April 4, 2010 (2010-04-04) – February 16, 2014 (2014-02-16)
Chronology
Related shows Best of Luck Nikki

Good Luck Charlie is an American sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from April 4, 2010, to February 16, 2014. The series' creators, Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, not just children. It focuses on the Duncan family of Denver as they adjust to the births of their fourth and fifth children, Charlotte "Charlie" (Mia Talerico) and Toby (Logan Moreau). In each episode, Teddy Duncan (Bridgit Mendler) adds to a video diary that contains advice for Charlie about their family and life as a teenager. Teddy tries to show Charlie what she might go through when she is older for future reference. Each video diary ends with Teddy (or another family member, even Charlie) saying the eponymous phrase, "Good luck, Charlie".

Among other decisions, executives included adult-centric scenes and changed the series title from Oops to Love, Teddy and finally to Good Luck Charlie in order to ensure the series would appeal to all family members. Good Luck Charlie premiered on Disney Channel in the United States on April 4, 2010, in Canada on April 5, 2010, in the United Kingdom and Ireland on May 14, 2010, and in Australia and New Zealand on July 23, 2010. In March 2011, a feature-length Christmas Disney Channel Original Movie based on the series, entitled Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!, began production for a December 2011 premiere.

In June 2013, Disney Channel announced that the series would end its run after four seasons. The finale aired on February 16, 2014, with a one-hour episode.

Premise

Set in Denver, Colorado, the series focuses on the Duncan family, who are still adjusting to the birth of their fourth child, Charlotte "Charlie" Duncan (Mia Talerico). When parents Amy (Leigh-Allyn Baker), a nurse, and Bob (Eric Allan Kramer), an exterminator, return to work, they ask their three older children—PJ (Jason Dolley), Teddy (Bridgit Mendler), and Gabe (Bradley Steven Perry)—to help raise their little sister. At the same time, Teddy, PJ, and Gabe try to deal with school and general social challenges in their lives.

The events in each episode become material for a video diary that Teddy is making for Charlie. Teddy hopes the videos will provide useful advice for Charlie after they have both grown up and Teddy has moved out. At the end of each video, she (and/or other cast members) says, "Good luck, Charlie" or may even say it indirectly such as "Wish them good luck, Charlie." During the movie, Amy reveals to Teddy that she is pregnant with her fifth child, but this story plot is not brought into the series until the third season, during which Amy gives birth to a baby boy, Toby. Each episode ends, after the video diary, with an event that is weird and usually cannot happen in real life.

Characters

Main

Good Luck Charlie cast
The season four cast of Good Luck Charlie (The Duncan family, from left to right), Mia Talerico as Charlie Duncan, Bradley Steven Perry as Gabe Duncan, Bridgit Mendler as Teddy Duncan, Leigh-Allyn Baker as Amy Duncan, Jason Dolley as PJ Duncan, Eric Allan Kramer as Bob Duncan and Logan Moreau as Toby Duncan

Recurring

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 26 April 4, 2010 (2010-04-04) January 30, 2011 (2011-01-30)
2 30 February 20, 2011 (2011-02-20) November 27, 2011 (2011-11-27)
Film December 2, 2011 (2011-12-02)
3 21 May 6, 2012 (2012-05-06) January 20, 2013 (2013-01-20)
4 20 April 28, 2013 (2013-04-28) February 16, 2014 (2014-02-16)

Film

Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! also known as "Good Luck Charlie: The Road Trip Movie" is a 2011 Christmas film based on the series. The film premiered December 2, 2011, on the Disney Channel. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and written by Geoff Rodkey. The Disney Channel Original Movie follows the Duncan family on their road trip to Amy Duncan's parents' house for Christmas.

International adaptation

An Indian adaptation of the show titled Best of Luck Nikki, premiered on Disney Channel India on April 3, 2011. Sheena Bajaj plays Dolly Singh, a character similar to that of Teddy Duncan, Ananya Kolvankar portrays Nikita "Nikki" Singh a character similar to that of Charlie and Gurdeep Kohli portrays Himani Singh, a character similar to that of Amy. The series ran successfully for 4 seasons, 104 episodes and 3 special episodes and ended on April 16, 2016.

A Pakistani adaptation of the show titled Peek-A-Boo Shahwaiz premiered on Play Entertainment from 15 July 2018.

Broadcast

Worldwide the series airs on Disney Channel. In Canada it previewed on April 5, 2010 and premiered on May 14, 2010. In Australia and New Zealand it previewed on May 14, 2010 and premiered on July 23, 2010. In the United Kingdom and Ireland it previewed on the same date and premiered on June 12, 2010. It premiered in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines on August 14, 2010.

Music

Although a soundtrack for the show was not released, several songs were produced for the show.

  • "Hang in There Baby", performed by Bridgit Mendler, was written by Aris Archontis, Jeannie Lurie, and Chen Neeman. The premiere was on Radio Disney on March 26, 2010. It was included in the Walt Disney compilation Make Your Mark: Ultimate Playlist, in 2012
  • "One Step Closer", performed by Shane Harper, is featured in the episode "Battle of the Bands" as the song that Spencer performs in a Battle of the Bands contest that Teddy, Skyler, PJ, and Emmett also compete in. The song can be found on Harper's self-titled album.
  • "I'm Gonna Run to You", performed by Mendler, was and featured in the movie Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!. It was written by Mendler and Jamie Houston and produced by Houston. The song was released as promotional single on November 18, 2011. The official music video premiered on Disney Channel on December 2, 2011. It was directed by Arlene Sanford.
  • "You're Something Beautiful", performed by Mendler, was featured in the 1-hour special episode, "Special Delivery". The song has not been released in any form.
  • "My Song for You", performed by Mendler and Harper, was featured in the Season 3 Christmas episode "A Duncan Christmas". The song included in the Christmas compilation Holiday Playlist, in 2012. "My Song for You" peaked at number two on Billboard Kid Digital Songs and three on Holiday Songs
  • "Your Song", originally by Elton John, was covered by Mendler and Harper to Season 4 episode "Good Bye Charlie". The song has not been released in any form.

Viewership

The series premiered to 4.7 million viewers, making it the highest-rated series premiere for a Disney Channel Original Series since The Suite Life on Deck in 2008, and the week's highest-rated cable program. Maclean's reported that overall, the first season "has been doing about as well as Disney's more successful shows – The Suite Life and so on".

On June 24, 2012, the episode "Special Delivery" became the most watched episode ever of Good Luck Charlie, earning 7.48 million viewers, surpassing the episode "Snow Show (Part 1)" which had 7.24 million viewers as well as the episode "Good Luck Jessie NYC Christmas" that garnered 5.8 million viewers and the series' pilot episode "Study Date" which had 4.68 million viewers.

The most-watched episode of the series was "Special Delivery" with 7.5 million viewers. The least watched episode was "The Unusual Suspects" with 1.9 million viewers.

The most viewed episode in the United Kingdom and Ireland was "Special Delivery" with 602,000 viewers when it aired on October 12, 2012.

Episode featuring a gay couple

On June 20, 2013, Disney Channel announced that Season 4 Episode 19, "Down a Tree", would feature a married gay couple, making Good Luck Charlie the first Disney Channel series to do so. LGBT rights organization GLAAD as well as actresses Miley Cyrus and Evan Rachel Wood expressed their support and lauded Disney for the inclusion of the characters. By contrast, the One Million Moms division of the American Family Association protested and asked Disney not to air the episode. In a statement to TV Guide, a Disney Channel spokesperson stated that the episode was "developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness." Disney aired the episode as planned on January 26, 2014.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Female Breakout Star Bridgit Mendler Nominated
Hollywood Teen TV Awards Teen Pick Actor: Comedy Jason Dolley Nominated
Teen Show Pick: Comedy Good Luck Charlie Nominated
2011 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Supporting Young Actor Bradley Steven Perry Nominated
Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actor Ten and Under Tucker Albrizzi Won
Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress 11–15 Ryan Newman Nominated
British Academy Children's Awards BAFTA Kid's Vote: TV Good Luck Charlie Won
2012 2012 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite TV Show Nominated
Favorite TV Actress Bridgit Mendler Nominated
Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor Bradley Steven Perry Nominated
Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actor 18–21 Booboo Stewart Nominated
British Academy Children's Awards BAFTA Kid's Vote: TV Good Luck Charlie Won
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Children's Program Nominated
2013 Producers Guild of America Award Outstanding Children's Program Nominated
2013 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite TV Show Nominated
Favorite TV Actress Bridgit Mendler Nominated
Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress 14–16 Isabella Palmieri Won
Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress Ten and Under Gianna Gomez Nominated
2014 2014 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite TV Show Good Luck Charlie Nominated
Favorite TV Actress Bridgit Mendler Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: ¡Buena suerte, Charlie! para niños

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