OMGDisney and Nickelodeon TV Shows That Got Canceled Before They Aired: ‘Gibby,’ ‘Madison High’ and More

‘Suite Life of Zack and Cody’ Spinoff: ‘Arwin’

Brian Stepanek, who starred as Arwin (The Tipton’s engineer), was in the works to have his own comedy series. The actor would reprise his role while starring alongside Selena Gomez, who would’ve played his niece, MTV reported in 2016.

Disney didn’t pick up the series and instead, Selena went on to star in Wizards of Waverly Place.

‘ICarly’ Spinoff: ‘Gibby’

Noah Munck reportedly reprised his role as Gibby in an unaired pilot episode for Nickelodeon! The show was set to follow Gibby, who gets a job at a recreational center, where he ends up acting as a mentor to middle school students, according to Movieweb.

‘Keke and Jamal’

Prior to Keke Palmer‘s success in Akeelah and the Bee, the actress was going to star in a Disney comedy based on her life. Keke and Jamal would follow Keke and her dreams of being an entertainer. The show planned to also feature Vanessa Hudgens as the mean girl, Camille.

Keke shared some footage from the series to her Instagram in August 2020 saying, “Omg my big bro @andrejamalkinney pulled this out of the archives. When I first moved to California I was introduced to Ralph Farquhar (one of the creators of The Proud Family, Moesha, The Parker’s etc) he took a chance on me and he landed me this pilot with Disney Channel that didn’t get picked up called Keke & Jamal.”

‘That’s So Raven’ Spinoff: ‘Better Days’

Do you remember when Alyson Stoner guest-starred on season 3 of That’s So Raven? Well, reportedly, the episode was actually treated as a test pilot for a new Disney Channel sitcom titled Better Days.

The show would star Alyson as Ally, a child actress who needs to balance working on a show while also going to high school. Costars included Ally Grant, from Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Jackee Harry of Sister, Sister.

However, the show as ultimately scrapped due to the concept being too similar to Hannah Montana. 

‘Lizzie McGuire’ Spinoff: ‘What’s Stevie Thinking?’

Almost 20 years after Lizzie McGuire’s success, Disney announced plans to reboot the sitcom revolving around Miranda’s little sister Stevie. The series was set to bring back the original cast, including Lalaine as Miranda Sanchez, Hilary Duff as Lizzie, and Adam Lamberg as Gordo.

The show centered about Miranda’s sister as she attempted to help support Wildlife Conservation and help at Australia Zoo with Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin and his friends and family.

‘Bus Life’

Bus Life was set to star Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Stone, Moises Arias, Brandon Mychal Smith and Kayslee Collins in the Disney Channel original.

The series was based on a UK show that took place on a school bus that followed all the fun things that happen to and from school.

Jennifer teased throwback photos from the pilot that never aired on her Instagram in 2023. “#tbt to “Bus Life” the Disney Channel pilot that started my journey with the mouse … See if you can spot some familiar faces … 👀”