The character Jessie Prescott will be engaged and have a wedding by the time Jessie Season 3 comes to a close this fall of 2014.
In a related report by The Inquisitr , parents were outraged when Disney Channel’s Jessie featured jokes making fun of gluten-free diets . Another group called One Million Moms was upset when the show Good Luck Charlie had Disney’s first lesbian couple , although Miley Cyrus thought the whole thing was “inspiring.”
It seems like Disney is treading new ground for its pre-teen TV shows in multiple ways. This is a completely new story arc for a Disney Channel character since previous ventures always focused on teenage characters like Hannah Montana, whereas real life actress Debby Ryan, who plays as Jessie Prescott, is already 20 years old in real life (her alter ego, humorously, is older at age 22).
Since Jessie is already an adult, Adam Bonnett , Disney Channel executive vice president of original programming, believes they could tackle the subject of weddings and marriage in a manner that’s appropriate to their demographic audience:
“Our audience isn’t dealing with somebody proposing to them, but they are dealing with choices they have to make in their life, and thinking things through, following their heart and wanting to make the right choice.”
The Disney Channel tends to focus on the ages between six to 11, but Jessie has been attracting many in the nine-to 14-year-old bracket among its 2.9 million viewers (Nielsen says that Jessie ranks in the top five for series aimed at pre-teens).
Jessie Season 3 will culminate this fall in a four episode finale that focuses on marriage proposals, weddings, and the like, which almost makes it seem like they’re competing with the movie Frozen for the fastest marriage plans ever in a Disney release. Jessie Prescott’s engagement to 25-year-old Brooks (as played by Pierson Fode) will include picnics in Central Park, movie dates, and will attempt to avoid the messy subjects related to sex.
At the same time, the real life Jessie is dating her boyfriend Josh Dun, although marriage is not on her mind while she’s focused on directing Jessie and writing a music album. She also says that marriage seems to be in the air with her friends:
“In the last year, we have seen close friends, five of them, get engaged, five…. One couple is getting married next month and they are both 20, a year younger than me.”
Debby Ryan also says Jessie Season 3 will attempt to showcase to pre-teens what real life decisions are all about:
“Your principal character is deciding whether or not she should start her life with a man. It’s not about the dress, it’s not about the wedding. It’s about the marriage. That’s something we lose sight of when we’re so young and all we want to do is dress up and play fairy tale.”
What do you think about the Disney Channel’s Jessie TV show?