In light of the ‘Hannah Montana’ 20th Anniversary, we are getting some of the best behind-the-scenes peeks at our beloved childhood show.
Writer Douglas Danger Lieblein has now revealed a major truth about Season 4 that flips the entire storyline. The season 4 we watched was never meant to be stretched the way it was. In fact, Miley’s big reveal was originally supposed to happen right at the beginning, not the end.
The ‘Hannah Montana’ Writers Had a Completely Different Plan for Season 4
On an episode of the ‘Best of Both Our Worlds‘ podcast, Hannah Montana writer Douglas Danger Lieblein shared, “We creatively decided we didn’t have any more stories to tell. And we told the network, ‘Hey, what if we do something different? What if in Episode 1 she takes off the wig?'”.
Related: Top 10 Secrets The ‘Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special’ Revealed
Disney approved the idea, and the writers went ahead and developed the first six to seven episodes. The rest of season 4 was completely focused on what Miley’s life would have been like if everybody knew the secret.
“About two or three weeks before we started shooting that season, the network changed its mind,” Lieblein said.
Why the Big Reveal Was Suddenly Delayed
The writers had to abandon their original plan almost overnight and rethink the entire season’s structure. However, the change happened solely for business reasons.
In case you missed it: ‘Hannah Montana’ Star Faked His Age By 10 Years To Play Miley Cyrus’ Brother And Then Got Caught
Lieblein recalled that the network received a call from the merchandising division. It raised concerns about revealing Miley’s identity too early. “There was an angry phone call from an executive. Because they had just gotten the air schedule, and she was taking the wig off before Halloween. And his concern was, “‘I have a million wigs in a warehouse in China. Who’s going to buy a blonde wig and be Hannah if she takes the wig off?'”
And once that decision was made, the writers had no choice but to stretch and rewrite the storyline across the season. Lieblein admitted, “The fourth season was a mad scramble to get everything we wanted done in a very short amount of time“.
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