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Disney Channel’s Brand New Series “Saturdays” ‘Makes You Go Back to a Really Calm and Happy State’ (Exclusive)

The highly-anticipated Disney Channel series Saturdays is sure to make every day feel like the weekend!

The single-cam coming-of-age comedy is unlike anything we have ever seen from the network before, and we can’t wait to for the world to catch the show’s exciting two-episode premiere TOMORROW (March 24th) at 9 PM PT/ET on Disney Channel.

Celeb Secrets reporter Melanie Rooten sat down with the stars of Saturdays (Danielle JaladeDaria Johns, Peyton Basnight, Jermaine Harris and Tim Johnson Jr.) and its executive producers (Marsai Martin and Norman Vance Jr.) to learn all about the soon-to-be hit series, as well as get ALL of the behind-the-scenes scoop prior to its release 👀

SATURDAYS – Disney’s “Saturdays” stars Daria Johns as Simone Samson, Danielle Jalade as Paris Johnson, and Peyton Basnight as Ari Stevens. (Disney/Roger Erickson)

Saturdays is centered around a “a big-hearted, fun, lots-of-energy” teen named Paris Johnson (Jalade) and her adventures at a local roller skating rink called Saturdays. Paris and her two best friends, Simone (Johns) and Ari (Basnight), make up the iconic We-B-Girlz skating crew, a trio determined to prove they have the hottest skate routines in Chicago.

According to Danielle Jalade herself, Paris “has a big love for skating. It’s what she eats, breathes, drinks, and she does want to carry on the legacy that her family has set for her at Saturdays,” however, roller skating was not the lead actress’ biggest strength going into the series.

After casually skating for a little bit in Los Angeles, Danielle had to up her roller skating game when she was casted as Paris Johnson. “When I went to Saturdays and we started filming and just practicing beforehand, I really did get to become a pro,” the bubbly teen shared. “I got to learn all the new moves and tricks and the JB style of skating, which is the Chicago style of skating, which is so cool.”

Even though the cast went through extensive skating camps to perfect their craft, “there are [still] so many skate fails,” Daria Johns revealed to us. “All in all, we have footage of them, so it’s super hilarious.”

“There was a few times where it was like, ‘Hey, you know, this calls for this,’ and all of a sudden when we get there it was like, ‘Oh, you can’t do that? Oh, okay,’ so we gotta like improvise and figure out a way to make it work, you know what I mean? So there’s a couple times for that… I won’t say who,” executive producer and showrunner Norman Vance Jr. shared with a cheeky smile.

“SATURDAYS” PREMIERE EVENT – The cast of Disney Channel’s new series “Saturdays” attend the premiere event at The Walt Disney Studios Lot in Burbank, Calif. on Saturday, March 18. The series premieres on Friday, March 24 on Disney Channel. (Disney/PictureGroup)
TIM JOHNSON JR., JERMAINE HARRIS

The We-B-Girlz skating crew is not the only group of besties that makes an appearance at Saturdays, and contrary to popular belief, some don’t even skate!

Jermaine Harris shared with us that “also at the rink is [Paris’] older brother, London Johnson, who I play. He’s the DJ at the rink alongside his best friend, Derek ‘D-Rok’ Troy (Tim Johnson Jr.),” who serves as Saturdays’ official emcee.

Tim Johnson Jr. chimed in, sharing that the duo “get[s] into some crazy things and they want to blow up with their music career” throughout Saturdays, ultimately adding separate plotline to the series that is just as interesting.

On the show, it is clear that London and Derek have impeccable chemistry, and their off-camera bond is just as strong!

“Tim here, I already knew him prior to this for about going on four years now. We met from another show where we played brothers, so getting back into this and just playing best friends in this show felt like second nature,” Jermaine explained to us.

“This is my brother right here, so yeah, it was really fun being able to do these scenes with him and bounce off each other, because we kind of know each other’s timing and comedy and everything like that,” Tim added with a smile.

As a whole, the cast of Saturdays became EXTREMELY close throughout the filming process, and according to Jermaine Harris, “what you see on screen is what the result of hanging out literally a lot off screen as well.”

“We got so close, so fast. It’s wild. From having skate camps together to literally just generally hanging out,” he continued. “I feel like a lot of people will be able to see that progress and also see the love that we all put into this from just generally liking each other.”

Overall, when asked what the executive producers really wanted to capture within Saturdays, Marsai Martin revealed that she wanted to develop a show that “feels nostalgic and kind of just reminds you of probably your childhood or something, to where it makes you go back to a really calm and like a happy state.”

Norman Vance Jr. bounced off this statement and shared with us,”what I wanted to capture was when you finished watching this show that you felt good, and that was really it.”

“I felt like every episode, you know, when we fade the black, you felt good about what you just watched that you wanna watch it again,” and it is clear that the series does EXACTLY that.

Norman continued passionately, “I would like the audience to take away that, you know, it’s okay to laugh, It’s okay to let go and just say, ‘You know what, that was a fun ride.’ It’s okay to turn on the TV and feel like, ‘Hey man, I just watched something that gave me the feels and I enjoyed it.'”

“It’s not about race, it’s not about this, it’s not about that. It’s just really a universal theme of people being people having a good time, getting into a little hijinks, but at the end of the day it was just fun to watch,” he concluded.

Will you be tuning in to Disney Channel TOMORROW at 9 PM PT/ET to catch the exciting two-episode premiere of Saturdays? If so, let us know how excited you are by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.

If you happen to miss it, have no fear… You can stream the two-episode premiere the next day on Disney+, as well as four more episodes of the soon-to-be hit series. With six episodes out to the public, we know that we will be binge-watching Saturdays all weekend long!

Until the two-episode premiere of Saturdays finally airs, be sure to check out our interview with Danielle Jalade, Daria Johns, Peyton Basnight, Jermaine Harris, Tim Johnson Jr., Marsai Martin and Norman Vance Jr. below to get you extra excited for the show. You may even learn some behind-the-scenes secrets 👀

Author

  • Melanie Rooten

    Melanie has been working at Celeb Secrets since May of 2022. Originally from Southern California and currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee, she graduated from Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma in 2023 with a BA in Journalism. During her free time, she loves going to concerts and music festivals, binging her favorite TV shows, spending time with her friends and family and cheering on the Oklahoma Sooners (of course).

Melanie has been working at Celeb Secrets since May of 2022. Originally from Southern California and currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee, she graduated from Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma in 2023…

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