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#67: Disney Continues Sonny With A Chance After Demi Lovato Leaves

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/8/2/AAAG8cAAEoCm.jpg
Apparently, Sonny took the chance with her.

Sonny With A Chance was a Disney Channel sitcom that debuted in 2009. Intended as a vehicle for Camp Rock star Demi Lovato, it starred Lovato as Sonny Munroe, a teenager from Wisconsin who gets her big break when she's given the opportunity to join an All That-style sketch comedy for teenagers called So Random! The show alternated between Sonny's struggles as a fish out of water in Los Angeles and the sketch comedy itself, and even had a few episodes which were just episodes of So Random, showing only the sketches as if the in-universe show existed in our world, a relatively unique concept for a Disney Channel show even if the sketches themselves weren't terribly clever. But behind the scenes, Demi Lovato was struggling with mental health issues (which would later be diagnosed as bipolar syndrome). Rather than delay the upcoming third season of the show, the producers decided instead to spin off So Random! as its own series. Originally intended to be a temporary measure until Lovato's return, it ultimately would be the last season of the show, and while the So Random! segments had never been good (though they had been relatively popular with viewers), without Demi Lovato, they just lacked even the tiny spark that they did in Sunny, as Disney's attempt to move forward and salvage the series as a Disney-fied version of All That fell way, way short, to the point that even diehard Sunny fans began to lament the direction the series had gone. Even bringing in a bunch of guest stars and musical acts just couldn't save the show, and with no sign of Demi Lovato in sight, the plug was ultimately pulled on So Random! by the end of 2012. While keeping the seat warm for their star's return was somewhat laudable, the way the spinoff played out was anything but, and a potential Disney Channel star vehicle that started with a bang ultimately went out with a whimper.