The Disney Channel (DStv 303) has ordered a new father-daughter comedy series, Sydney to the Max, with Ruth Righi and Ian Reed Kesler that will roll out on the channel from sometime in 2019.
Production has started on Sydney to the Max that revolves around the single dad Max (Ian Reed Kesler) and his primary school daughter Sydney (Ruth Righi) who navigate the challenges of growing up.
The comedy that Disney Channel describes as "heartwarming and sentimental" is interestingly set during two timeframes - decades apart - with flashback scenes to young Max (Jackson Dollinger) and his best friend Leo (Christian J. Simon) as they were during the 1990s.
The challenges and situations that Max and Leo faced decades ago are juxtaposed in the same episodes by the present challenges that confront Sydney and her friend Olive (Ava Kolker).
"VHS camcorders, bleached skater hair and other 1990s-defining 'relics' aside, Sydney and Max come to realize, aided by Sydney’s kicky grandmother Judy (Caroline Rhea), who’s well-versed in Max’s childhood antics, that they have more in common than either realizes," says Disney.
Sydney to the Max was created by Mark Reisman who is also the executive producer with the series that is produced by It's A Laugh Productions.
"With Sydney to the Max Mark Reisman has given us a series full of heart, humor and honesty," says Jonas Agin, Disney Channels vice president for original series, in a statement.
"On one level, it explores the beautifully complex relationship between a girl and her father and a boy and his mother."
"On another level, by existing in two distinct eras, it highlights how the smallest experiences of childhood have the biggest impact on who we become - and how every generation, despite its unique challenges, is filled with the universal truth that kids will always face the same joys, fears and excitement as their parents did."
"We couldn’t be prouder to have this as our next series on Disney Channel."
