Top 10 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets About The Suite Life
#10: A Show Twenty Years in the Making
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No, we’re not saying it took the Disney Channel twenty years to get “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” off the ground. Heck, most sitcoms can produce and air an episode in a fraction of the time. Rather, the initial conceit for the series originated long before the pilot episode debuted in 2005. Back in the mid-1980s, “Suite Life” creators Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan worked on another sitcom by the name of “Silver Spoons,” and it was during that time that the notion of two rambunctious boys living in a swanky hotel first laid seed in their brains. Taking into account the shared themes of classism and fractured family dynamics, we can see how the creative drive for one series led to the other.
#9: Brenda Song Turned Down Harvard for the Show
While the character of London Tipton is depicted as rather ditzy, the actress who portrays her, Brenda Song, is anything but. When she was just fifteen years old, she was accepted to arguably the most prestigious college in North America: Harvard. However, around the same time, she also booked her role on “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and had to make a major decision. While many parents wouldn’t, her father encouraged her to turn down school and follow her dreams, claiming that if she already knew what she wanted to do with her life, then she might as well do it. Fortunately for Song, she’d get her education later on at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a major in psychology in 2009.
#8: The Pilot for a Spin-Off About Arwin Was Filmed
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There were a lot of memorable characters inhabiting the Tipton Hotel, but none were so sneakily endearing as Arwin Hawkhauser. It’s no secret that “The Suite Life on Deck” quickly set sail after the original show wrapped, but what many don’t know is that we also nearly got a spinoff series centering around everyone’s favorite hotel engineer. Whereas “On Deck” was ordered straight to series, the tentatively titled “Arwin!” - later renamed “Housebroken” - only got so far as the pilot. It would have followed Arwin as he moved in with his sister to help raise her kids, with eventual “Wizards of Waverly Place” star Selena Gomez also appearing. Disney ultimately passed on the project, unfortunately leaving “Housebroken” to our imaginations.
#7: Cole Sprouse & Alyson Stoner Briefly Dated
As longtime fans of the show will know, Alyson Stoner had one of the more memorable roles as the twins’ tomboy-ish friend Max. Though there’s a whole episode devoted to Max’s sorta-relationship with Dylan Sprouse’s Zack, it was the other Sprouse sibling that the actress was dating during filming. Of course, she and Cole were both only eleven-years-old at the time, so take the word “relationship” with a grain of salt, but it’s cute nonetheless to think that two of our favorite “Suite Life” alumni like-liked each other. That said, Stoner did report that he broke up with her on her birthday, claiming “it’s not going to work out.” Preteen relationship aside, that’s harsh.
#6: Janice & Jessica Were Picked Out of the Audience
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Speaking of “Suite Life” girlfriends, the people behind the first series would be remiss not to include some female, twin counterparts to wring out some hilarious prepubescent dating awkwardness. These characters came in the forms of Jancie and Jessica, played by British actresses Camilla “Milly” and Rebecca “Becky” Rosso. However, their inclusion wasn’t as premeditated as you’d think. In fact, they’d had zero acting experience prior to landing the roles, and were only discovered because they attended a taping of a “Suite Life of Zack & Cody” episode and were picked out from the audience by an executive producer. When they were asked to audition, the Rossos quickly took acting lessons and soon found themselves appearing in a total of seven episodes. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
#5: Selena Gomez Had Her First Kiss On-Camera
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Okay, one more entry about onscreen girlfriends and then we’re done. Prior to filming the Arwin pilot, Selena Gomez guest-starred as Gwen, a girl whom Cody briefly dates. Yet when they’re cast in the school production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Gwen has to kiss Zack instead. This leads to Gwen liking Zack, who likes someone else, and before we know it the debacle mirrors the play. Funnily enough, Gomez was a huge fan of the show and had a crush on Cole Sprouse and was dismayed to learn that her first kiss was to be with the other twin, just like her character. So it’s a case of art imitating life, imitating art, imitating life. Do we have that right?
#4: The Twins Lobbied for a Fourth Season of “On Deck”
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When the Sprouses came of age, the plan was always for them to further their education. However, they wanted to leave something behind so the crew could stay employed while they were gone. They thus pitched an idea whereby the Martin twins returned to the Tipton Hotel and mentor a young boy living there, who would become the lead in later seasons. The Disney Channel declined, only to counter a year later with a concept that would shift the setting to Miami and costar - you guessed it - Selena Gomez. With the offer lacking the producer credits the Sprouses were bargaining for, they too declined, leaving the prospect of a reunion series in our hopes and dreams.
#3: “Zack & Cody”’s First Season Was Aired Out of Order
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When it comes to sitcoms whose plots are breezy and have minimal consequence for later episodes, things like continuity aren’t incredibly high on a showrunner’s list of priorities. This will lead to certain episodes being aired before others, should a schedule accommodate for such a change. While some shows can’t get away with this - ahem, “Firefly” - others are more subtle, like season one of “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” However, there’s one telltale sign ardent fans can spot to note the inconsistencies. Namely, Kim Rhodes’ hair. Sometimes she’s blonde, sometimes she’s a brunette, sometimes she’s in between, and on and on it goes. If we just so happen to be wrong, then Carey Martin must get her hair dyed a lot.
#2: Brenda Song & Ashley Tisdale Almost Switched Roles
No, we don’t mean they got cast in their respective roles and almost switched. Rather, during the audition phase, it was initially Tisdale reading for the London Tipton part and Song reading for the Maddie character. Thanks to the keen eye of producers, they realized both were perfect for the other’s part, and the rest as they say is history. Thankfully, however, we got a glimpse into what easily could have been in the episode “The Suite Smell of Excess,” where a trip to a parallel universe previews just such casting. Seeing as London Tipton was originally conceived to be a parody of real-life hotel heiress Paris Hilton, Ashley Tisdale would have been a dead ringer for that portrayal.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Ashley Tisdale Is a Natural Brunette
Best Known as a Blonde, She Dyed Her Hair Specifically for the Series
Chris Brown’s Episode Was Taken Off the Air
Disney Canned It Following His 2009 Charges of Assault Against Then-Girlfriend Rihanna
Maddie’s Name Was Originally “Lena”
We Can’t Imagine Her Name Being Anything Other Than “Maddie Fitzpatrick”
#1: It Was Almost Called “The Suite Life of Dylan & Cole”
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There have been loads of Disney Channel stars playing characters named after them, from Raven-Symoné playing Raven Baxter to Miley Cyrus playing Miley Stewart. But did you know that Dylan and Cole Sprouse nearly followed this trend? Yep, once the two were cast, the creators were quick to name the characters after them. Though many claim Dylan and Cole are similarly reflective of Zack and Cody, respectively, the producers apparently thought differently: story progression prompted them to distance the actors from the characters by changing the names. While not a huge detail, “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” rolls off the tongue so much better, don’t you think?
