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Life with Derek
Life with Derek title card
Format	Family Comedy
Created by	Daphne Ballon
Developed by	Daphne Ballon Bernice Vanderlaan
Starring	Ashley Leggat Michael Seater Jordan Todosey Daniel Magder Ariel Waller Joy Tanner John Ralston
Theme music composer	Gary Koftinoff and Ron Proulx Gary Koftinoff
Opening theme	"Livin' Life with Derek", sung by Cheyenne Twiner of Unsensored, performed by Gary Koftinoff
Country of origin	Canada
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	70 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Daphne Ballon Christina Jennings Scott Garvie
Camera setup	Film; Single camera
Running time	approx. 22 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s)	Shaftesbury Films Pope Productions (season 1) Family Channel
Distributor	Disney Channel (USA)
Broadcast
Original channel	Family Disney Channel
Original run	September 18, 2005 – March 25, 2009
Chronology
Followed by	Vacation with Derek (2010 TV movie)
External links
Official website

Life with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family (English) and VRAK.TV (French) in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005 and ran for four seasons ending on March 25, 2009. The series starred Ashley Leggat and Michael Seater as the two oldest children in a stepfamily.

Premise

A divorced man named George Venturi (John Ralston) who had custody of his three children from a previous marriage: sons Derek (Michael Seater) and Edwin (Daniel Magder) and daughter Marti (Ariel Waller), marries a divorced woman named Nora McDonald (Joy Tanner), who has two daughters of her own from a previous marriage: Casey (Ashley Leggat) and Lizzie (Jordan Todosey). Up until that point, Casey was perfectly content with her life. Growing up as the oldest child in a household in Toronto, Ontario with only her mother and sister had suited her well and brought her up as a self-sufficient and independent young woman.

With the addition of a stepfather, stepbrothers, a stepsister, new school, new house and overall a whole new life, Casey struggles to find her place within the new family. One of the primary points is how Casey must live with Derek, her stepbrother who has also held a dominant position in his family, and the rivalry that emerges as they try to assert themselves within their new family.

The family has been revealed in several episodes to live in London, Ontario. Casey was originally upset about having to move to London, Ontario from Toronto, a much bigger city (as shown in the episode "How I Met Your Stepbrother"), for many reasons including Derek, but she eventually got over her own problems and agreed to move there for Nora and George's sake once she saw how much they cared for each other.

Cast of characters

The Venturis

• Michael Seater as Derek Venturi, the oldest child.
• John Ralston as George Venturi, the father of Derek, Edwin and Marti.
• Ariel Waller as Marti Venturi, the youngest of the Venturi children.
• Daniel Magder as Edwin Venturi, Derek's younger brother.

The McDonalds

• Ashley Leggat as Casey MacDonald, the oldest daughter.
• Jordan Todosey as Lizzie MacDonald, Casey's younger sister and her "sidekick"
• Joy Tanner as Nora McDonald, Casey and Lizzie's mother.

The MacDonald-Venturi family (left-to-right), Derek, Marti, George, Edwin, Lizzie, Nora, Casey.

Friends

• Shadia Simmons as Emily Davis, Casey's best friend and next door neighbor who had a crush on Derek. She dated Sheldon Shlepper who moved to Newfoundland. She and Derek went on a date once, but decided it wouldn't work out when Derek admits he only asked her out to bother Casey. However, they began to date again after Derek realized he did like her and asks her to the prom. She often tries to help Casey become more popular at school, helps her fit in and helps her figure out boys along the way. According to Casey, she has a "lighthearted way of dealing with (Casey's) many problems. She started dating Derek in the episode "Surprise".
• Arnold Pinnock as Paul Greebie, Casey's guidance counselor. She constantly goes to him for advice when she gets stressed; however he usually asks questions so that Casey can figure out her problem on her own. She will ask him questions and then immediately answer them herself. His last appearance is in Futuritis.
• Kit Weyman as Sam Richards, Derek's best friend and Casey's first crush since she moved in with the Venturis. After receiving Derek's permission, they begin dating in the episode "Male Code Blue" which Sam broke. After breaking up numerous times, they call it quits in the episode "Middle Manic", but decide to stay friends in the episode "Battle of the Bands" when Casey becomes the lead singer of Derek's band.
• Lauren Collins as Kendra, popular girl, friend of Casey's and Derek's ex after the episode "Misadventures in Babysitting". But she still has a major crush on Derek, and tries to get back together with him in "Just Friends".
• Robbie Amell as Max Miller, the school's quarterback and Casey's boyfriend beginning in "Misadventures in Babysitting". He dated the head cheerleader Amy before asking Casey out. They break up in the episode "Allergy Season". Casey wanted to get back together with him in the episode "Two Kisses, One Party", but he had already moved on.
• Shane Kippel as Ralph Papadapolis, one of Derek's friends and fellow band member. In season 4, Ralph harbors a crush on Casey.
• William Greenblatt as Sheldon Schlepper. He dated Emily. He is currently living in Newfoundland. All of his siblings have once been class president except him.
• Keir Gilchrist as Jamie, Lizzie's best friend who harbors a crush on her.
• Kate Todd as Sally, Derek's co-worker who starts to like him after breaking up with ex-boyfriend, Patrick. They finally begin to date after Casey and Nora interfere and set up a plan. Sally and Derek break up after Sally decides to go to UBC, a university in Vancouver, date again soon afterward, then break up for good when Sally actually goes to Vancouver.
• Joe Dinicol as Truman French, a new boy in school that Casey has recurring dreams about. Casey denies her feelings for him, but in the end, finally agrees to date him. Truman first appeared in "Allergy Season". They agree to go with each other in "No More Games" and they start going out in "Teddy's Back." They break up in the episode "Trumans Last Chance" because Truman is seen kissing Vicki by Casey. Casey was upset, but reunites with Truman at the prom and they reconciled in "Surprise".
• Alex House as Trevor, a "punk" boy who goes to Casey's school. Derek bets Casey she can't get him to ask her out, and Casey takes the bet, soon developing a crush on him. She loses the bet after telling him about it due to Derek interfering and making her feel guilty for lying to him. She then finds out Trevor was only hanging out with her because he had a crush on Emily, but the two stay friends.
• Adam Butcher as Noel Covington, an "artistic" boy who Casey befriends when he auditions for the lead role in a play on a dare, and, surprisingly, gets it, which leads him to co-star with Casey. He develops a crush on her. In the episode "Just Friends", Casey begins hanging out with him to prove to Derek a guy and a girl can be friends, but backfires when Noel thinks Casey asked him out on a date. He returns for his role in the episode "Just Friends" one last time before the end of the series.
• Sarah Gadon/Paula Brancati as Vicki, Casey's cousin from Toronto.

Episodes

Upcoming Film

Life with Derek will have an upcoming movie Vacation with Derek. It was shot at Camp Arowhon in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. During the airing of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, season 2, host Leah Miller announced that season 1 winner, Nico Archambault, would be in the movie, meanwhile the movie will be released Summer 2010.

Production

Filming Locations

The first season of Life With Derek was taped in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. Seasons two through four were taped in Toronto, Ontario.

Awards

• Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series for 2009 Gemini Arward : Winner
• Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series for 2009 Gemini Arward for Michael Seater : Winner
• Awesome Sauce TV Show

Syndication

Life with Derek and another Canadian sitcom, Naturally, Sadie both added to the Disney Channel in the United States in 2005. However in May 2007, Naturally, Sadie was pulled from the channel, but Life with Derek was left on. Though many episodes were originally broadcast on Family in Canada, Disney often advertised the episodes as being new episodes (though they were only first-run broadcasts in the United States). Life with Derek has not aired on the Disney Channel since January 2, 2010 but reruns continue to air on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada.

DVD Releases (United States and Canada)

Season Releases

Volume Releases

Books

A series of Life With Derek books has been released in the U.K., however they have not been released in Canada or the United States.

International release

Country	Network(s)
France	Disney Channel France
	France 2
	France 4
Germany	Disney Channel Germany
	Super RTL
Italy	Disney Channel Italy
Philippines	Nickelodeon
United States	Disney Channel
Ireland	TG4
Portugal	Disney Channel Portugal
Poland	ZigZap
Slovenia	Kanal A
Israel	Disney Channel Israel
Latin America	Disney Channel Latin America
	Canal 5
Netherlands	Z@PP
Brazil	Disney Channel Brazil
Australia	Nickelodeon
Japan	Disney Channel Japan
Canada	Family
	VRAK.TV
Spain	Disney Channel Spain
	Clan TVE
Norway	Disney Channel Scandinavia
Sweden	Disney Channel Scandinavia
Brunei	Disney Channel Asia
Cambodia
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Thailand
Vietnam
Taiwan	Disney Channel Taiwan
New Zealand	Nickelodeon
United Kingdom	Boomerang
	Toonami
India	Disney Channel India
Turkey	JOJO

References

Ref #3.. see 1:30 seconds.

External links

• Official UK Website
• Official Canadian site
• Official United States site
• Life with Derek at the Internet Movie Database
• Life with Derek at TV.com