'Suite Life of Zack and Cody' Behind-the-Scenes Secrets Revealed

There’s no doubt about it, Suite Life of Zack and Cody was one of Disney Channel’s most iconic TV shows! Starring Cole and Dylan Sprouse, the series — and its eventual spinoff Suite Life on Deck — aired on the network from 2005 to 2011. With two shows and more than 10 years between them, the twins were Disney Channel royalty. However, they’re not looking to reprise their roles any time soon.

“We’re totally not averse to working together again,” Dylan told Variety in August 2019 about sharing the screen with his brother. “I don’t think we’ll be working as twins ever again, like cast in a role. But I think we both would be fine working together, whatever that means.”

Cole, for his part, has agreed. But he also made it clear that there are no Suite Life reboots in the works.

“Reboots are a tricky thing, you know? The original shows, when they become successful, sit within this golden little plate of nostalgia, and when you modernize it and go back to it, it has the potential to really disenfranchise the original fan base. So it’s a very, very touchy thing,” the Riverdale star shared on theDrew Barrymore Show in January 2021. “I’m asked all the time if Dylan and I are going to do a Suite Life reboot, and I go, ‘No, absolutely not.’”

While the twins aren’t down, their former costar Brenda Song, who played London Tipton, would love to bring the heiress back to life.

“How could you say no?” she gushed to Elite Daily in November 2019. “It would be fun. It would depend on what it is, but I think it would be so much fun.”

The actress added, “I would love to see what London Tipton is doing in 2019 … There are times when people ask: ‘Where would London be right now?’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t even know.’ Which is actually really kind of fun. I think that would be a fun route to take.”

Despite their differing takes on bringing the the show back, the Suite Life stars are still close in real life and often share photos of their sweet reunions together. They’ve also spilled some tea on what went down on set over the years. Scroll through our gallery to uncover Suite Life behind-the-scenes secrets.

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Ashley’s Role

Ashley Tisdale played Maddie Fitzpatrick in the show, but it turns out, she actually originally auditioned for the role of London Tipton! Plus, did you know that Luke Benward almost starred in The Suite Life on Deck?! He tried out for the role of Moose (Baliey’s boyfriend), but Hutch Dano was ultimately cast as the character.

A Possible Spinoff Series

In 2006, there were talks of a Suite Life spinoff — and we’re not talking about Suite Life On Deck. Dylan and Cole weren’t set to star in it at all, instead, it was going to focus on Arwin, the Tipton Hotel’s resident engineer. It was supposed to follow Arwin after he moved away from the Tipton to live with his sister and help her raise her kids. Selena Gomez was set to star in the show, but it ultimately fell through after Wizards of Waverly Place was picked up at the same time.

Why the Show Ended

The brothers “had a really awesome idea for where the show needed to go,” but it got turned down. “We were 18. If that isn’t old enough to know exactly what the show needs, then … well, I would beg to disagree,” Dylan told Vulture in 2017. “I don’t think [Disney] were willing to work with us, really ever. So we stopped the show.”

Brenda’s Role

It turns out, the actress landed the role right around the same time that she received early acceptance to Harvard University, so she almost turned down the show. But in the end, her dad convinced her to take the role, and the rest is history!

“He said, ‘Here’s the thing. You have an amazing opportunity, if acting is what you want to do… You go to college to figure out what you want to do, but if this is what you want to do, you have an opportunity to do it,'” Brenda told W Magazine in 2019.

Kissing Zac Efron

The High School Musical costars had to kiss when he guest starred in an episode of Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and according to the actress, it was pretty awkward.

“I had to kiss Zac on The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, and it’s the worst because I’m so close to him and he’s like my brother. At the time, he was used to acting on Warner Bros, which is The CW, and we were on Disney Channel, and he tried kissing me with his tongue, and I was like, ‘Get away from me!’ I closed my mouth so fast,” she told Elle in 2019. “I was like, ‘This is Disney Channel! We don’t kiss like that on Disney Channel!’ It’s just weird when you’re so close to somebody. We had already done [High School Musical], I had known him for years before. That is why it was the worst. We are just too close.”

Casting the Russo Twins

For those who forgot, Milly and Becky Rosso starred as Janice and Jessica Ellis — British twins who appeared in seven episodes of the series. But get this — they were actually discovered by the producer after visiting the set as a fan!

“[The executive producer] heard that we were English and we were twins, and she asked us to audition for the show,” Milly told KidzWorld. “So, we took acting lessons for several months and we auditioned to be on one episode, and they liked how we played the characters, so they put us in seven episodes!”