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In this family comedy by creators John D. Beck and Ron Hart, Maddie Rooney (Dove Cameron) is an exceptional student and basketball player who’s finally gaining the popularity she’s always wanted—until her identical twin, Liv (Dove Cameron), comes home from Hollywood after a four-year stint starring on the hit television series Sing It Loud! to be with her sister, parents Karen (Kali Rocha) and Pete (Benjamin King), and younger brothers Joey (Joey Bragg) and Parker (Tenzing Norgay Trainor).
The show’s 80 episodes spanning four seasons from July 2013 to March 2017 take the family from their reunion when the girls were 15 to the year after they’ve graduated high school—through a lot of growing up and growing closer. Watch the fun family comedy Liv and Maddie online, and read on in this Liv and Maddie streaming guide to learn about the cast, special guest stars, the best episodes, how to order Disney Plus to watch every episode, and more.
Here’s how to watch Liv and Maddie streaming online:
How to Stream ‘Liv and Maddie’ – Exclusively on Disney+
Liv and Maddie is one of the classic Disney Channel original shows that will be streaming exclusively on Disney’s new subscription streaming service, Disney+.
You can sign up for a 7-day free trial of Disney+ HERE, which will allow you to stream Liv and Maddie and hundreds of other movies and shows on your computer, phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device. If you extend past the free trial, the service costs $6.99/month. You may also opt for this discount bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99/month.
- 1. Sign up for Disney+ here
- 2. Go to Disneyplus.com or download the Disney+ app on your device
- 3. Log in using your information
- 4. Search for “Liv and Maddie”
- 5. Start streaming
Disney+ also boasts a vast library of Disney-owned movies and series — plus several new original series coming soon. The service includes unlimited downloads so you can watch offline whenever and wherever you want. The list of compatible devices and smart TVs includes Apple iOS devices, Apple TV, Amazon devices, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Chromecast, Roku, PS4, and Xbox One.
‘Liv and Maddie’: Overview
When Was It On TV: 7/2013 to 3/2017
Creators: John D. Beck and Ron Hart
Starring: Dove Cameron, Joey Bragg, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Kali Rocha, Benjamin King
Rating: TV-G
Synopsis: Maddie Rooney is an exceptional student and basketball player who’s finally gaining the popularity she’s always wanted—until her identical twin, Liv, wraps up her hit TV show comes back to high school.
‘Liv and Maddie’ Plot
Maddie Rooney is an exceptional student and basketball player who’s finally gaining the popularity she’s always wanted. Her identical twin Liv, has been in Hollywood for the past four years working on her hit television series, Sing It Loud! Mother Karen is a high school psychologist and father Pete coaches Maddie’s high school basketball team. Brother Joey is an awkward teen just a year younger than the twins, and the baby of the family, Parker, is a mischief-making tween. When Liv comes back to Ridgewood High School in her Wisconsin hometown after wrapping up the last season of her show, the whole family must adjust to her return.
In a move straight out of The Parent Trap (1961), star Dove Cameron plays both identical twins, Liv and Maddie—the former a girly-girl actress and the latter an academic tomboy. The show also features reality TV-like moments when the characters speak directly to the audience about what’s happening in the episode.
The final season takes place in Malibu, California, after the Rooney’s house collapses and most of the family moves in with Karen’s sister while Maddie heads to college in Los Angeles.
How Many Seasons of ‘Liv and Maddie’ Are There?
Liv and Maddie ran for four seasons, from July 2013 to March 2017. Season 1 premiered on July 19, 2013, and ran 21 episodes, ending on July 27, 2014. Season 2 ran from September 21, 2014 through August 23, 2015, with 24 episodes. Just three weeks later, Season 3 kicked off on September 13, 2015, running 20 episodes through June 19, 2016. The fourth and final season, Liv and Maddie: Cali Style launched on September 23, 2016, and wrapped up 15 episodes later on March 24, 2017. All seasons received consistently high viewer ratings on IMDb. Here’s what you need to know about each season:
‘Liv and Maddie’ Season 1
21 Episodes | July 2013 – July 2014
In Season 1, teen TV star Liv Rooney (Dove Cameron) returns home from Hollywood to Wisconsin, where her identical twin Maddie (also Dove Cameron) is establishing herself as an impressive student and basketball player and gaining popularity among her peers. We meet their parents, Karen (Kali Rocha) and Pete (Benjamin King) and their younger brothers Joey (Joey Bragg) and Parker (Tenzing Norgay Trainor). We are also introduced to core friends Lucie (Luana Pires), Willow (Jessica Marie Garcia), Maddie’s love interest Diggie (Ryan McCartan), Artie Smalls (Jimmy Bellinger) and Johnny Nimbus (Kurt Long). The season features special guest stars Larry Miller, Dwight Howard, Laura Marano, Kel Mitchell, Garry Marshall, and Marla Maples and songs “On Top of the World,” “Froyo YOLO” and “Count Me In.”
‘Liv and Maddie’ Season 2
24 Episodes | September 2014 – August 2015
As Season 2 begins, Maddie is recovering from a knee injury and Liv is struggling to balance her life at home in Wisconsin with her continuing acting career. Maddie and Diggie celebrate their anniversary and later break up, Liv tries to set Willow up with Joey and the Rooneys meet neighbor Holden Dippledorf (Jordan Fisher), who Liv nearly kisses. The season features the songs “You, Me and the Beat,” “What a Girl Is,” “True Love,” “Say Hey,” “As Long as I Have You,” and special guest stars Kevin James, Piper Curda, Andy Grammer and Cameron Boyce.
‘Liv and Maddie’ Season 3
20 Episodes | September 2015 – June 2016
Maddie and Diggie decide to part ways so Diggie can pursue his dreams in Australia. Liv lands a role in a new TV show that she can shoot in Wisconsin, and Holden turns up to audition for her love interest before they finally become a couple. Liv’s co-star Josh (Lucas Adams) has a crush on Maddie and she starts to fall for him. By the end of the season, Liv and Maddie are graduating from high school and torn between staying together or pursuing opportunities elsewhere. Thanks to tunnels under the house made by Joey and Parker, Season 3 ends with the Rooneys’ house collapsing and the family moving to California to live with Aunt Dena. Special guest stars include Kristen Bell as herself in an episode where she and Liv challenge the media to ask about more than female celebrities’ clothes, Brandon Crawford, Erik Estrada, and Patty Duke as Grandma Janice.
‘Liv and Maddie’ Season 4: Cali Style
15 Episodes | September 2016 – March 2017
The final season of Liv and Maddie begins as the four Rooney kids and their mom settle into life in California with Aunt Dena and her daughter, Ruby (Lauren Lindsey Donzis). Joey and Parker now vie for popularity at their new school. Liv gets to reprise her starring role from Sing it Loud! in a spin-off, Sing It Louder!!, and Ruby lands the co-starring role, while Maddie works hard to succeed in college. In the last episode, Karen is excited to spend the coming summer together as a family in their newly rebuilt home in Wisconsin before everyone goes their separate ways. But their separate ways come sooner than expected, and the series concludes with an emotional campfire gathering and an acoustic performance of theme song “Better in Stereo” by Dove Cameron. Special guest stars in Season 4 include Jim Breuer, Mitch Rouse, and Laura Bell Bundy.
The Best ‘Liv and Maddie’ Episodes
Liv and Maddie‘s best episodes often feature special guest stars like Cameron Boyce, Kristen Bell, and Patty Duke. Top-rated episodes include “Space-Werewolf-A-Rooney” (Season 1, Episode 21), “Steal-A-Rooney” (Season 1, Episode 4), “Voice-A-Rooney” (Season 4, Episode 14) and “Sing It Live!!!-A-Rooney” (Season 4, Episode 13).
Here’s a list of the best Liv and Maddie episodes:
Season 1, Episode 20: “Song-A-Rooney“
When Liv’s latest music video, “Froyo YOLO” turns out to be little more than an ad to boost frozen yogurt sales, she writes and performs a new song, “Count Me In,” based on poems from Maddie’s journal. The episode was named number one out of the series’ 80 with a rating of 8.53 stars on Episode Ninja.
Season 2, Episode 17: “Prom-A-Rooney”
Cameron Boyce guest stars in this episode as Rooney cousin Craig, whom Karen has recruited to take Maddie to the prom. Things get weird when he arrives and announces himself as the illusionist Krahgg the Insidious. This is one of the best episodes, because…Cameron Boyce.
Season 3, Episode 8: “Ask-Her-More-A-Rooney”
When a media interview turns out to be more about her appearance than her role as a female superhero, Liv finds an ally in her friend Kristen Bell and demands a different conversation. Seventeen said the episode “touches on these more subtle and ingrained forms of sexism that affect us but are harder to see” and that Dove Cameron hoped the “episode will help girls to realize how many subtle forms of sexism still prevail today.”
Season 4, Episode 15: “End-A-Rooney“
In the last episode of the series, Karen is excited to spend the coming summer together as a family in their newly rebuilt home in Wisconsin before everyone goes their separate ways. But their separate ways come sooner than expected, and the series concludes with an emotional campfire gathering and an acoustic performance of theme song “Better in Stereo” by Dove Cameron. Entertainment Weekly said the episode “will definitely get the waterworks flowing.”
‘Liv and Maddie’ Cast
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The Liv and Maddie cast, which includes Tenzing Traino as Parker, Joey Bragg as Joey, Dove Cameron as Liv and Maddie, Kali Rocha as Karen and Benjamin King as Pete.
Liv and Maddie was the first big role for actress Dove Cameron and included a funny and lovable supporting cast. Here are a few of the main players.
Dove Cameron as Liv Rooney / Maddie Rooney
Dove Cameron appears as both Liv and Maddie—identical twin sisters who couldn’t be more different but learn to be best friends. Cameron starred as Mal in Disney’s hit television movies Descendants (2015), Descendants 2 (2017) and Descendants 3 (2019) and in the animated series Descendants: Wicked World (2015-2017). The actress is also known for her role in the TV movie Hairspray Live!
Joey Bragg as Joey Rooney
Joey Rooney is the twins’ awkward brother, just a year younger than Liv and Maddie. Bragg appeared as Joey Rooney on a 2014 episode of the hit Disney series Jessie and is known for his roles in Mark & Russell’s Wild Ride (2015), Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017) and Father of the Year (2018).
Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Parker Rooney
Parker is a mischievous tween and the youngest Rooney child. Trainor appeared as Parker Rooney on the hit Disney series Jessie in 2014. He voiced Buddha in Super Buddies (2013) and Jin in Abominable (2019) and is known for his role in the 2019 short Clueless.
Kali Rocha as Karen Rooney
The mother of Liv, Maddie, Joey and Parker, Karen Rooney is a high school psychologist who later becomes vice-principal. Rocha is known for her roles on the television series Man with a Plan (2016-2019), Sherri (2009), Grey’s Anatomy (2006-2007) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2000-2002) and movies including The Crucible (1996), Meet the Parents (2000), White Oleander (2002), Gods and Generals (2003) and Meet the Fockers (2004).
Benjamin King as Pete Rooney
Pete Rooney is the father of Liv, Maddie, Joey and Parker and coaches Maddie’s high school basketball team. He appears in only 65 of the show’s 80 episodes; he is absent for the fourth and final season, having accepted a job coaching college basketball in Wisconsin as the rest of the family moves to California. King has also acted in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), the television movie Saving Jessica Lynch (2003) and episodes of numerous popular television series. He also appeared in one 1991 episode of Saved by the Bell.
Who Are the Top Guest Stars on ‘Liv and Maddie’?
Liv and Maddie had their share of guest stars during its four-season run, including Disney favorites like Cameron Boyce, Kristen Bell, and Laura Marano. Viewers may also recognize appearances by actor Larry Miller, NBA star Dwight Howard, actress Marla Maples, actor Kel Mitchell, and actor Erik Estrada, among others.
Here’s a list of the most important Liv and Maddie guest stars:
Cameron Boyce as Craig / Krahgg
Craig shows up in the Season 2 episode “Prom-A-Rooney” as the family’s creepy cousin who’s really into magic and calls himself Krahgg the Insidious. Boyce appeared as Carlos in all three Disney Descendants movies (2015, 2017 and 2019) and the animated series (2015-2017). He was beloved in roles in the Disney show Jessie (2011-2015) and as the voice of Jake in Jake and the Never Land Pirates (2012-2015). Boyce died from an epileptic seizure at the age of 20 in 2019, just before the premiere of Descendants 3.
Kristen Bell as Herself
Bell appears in “Ask-Her-More-A-Rooney,” a Season 3 episode considered by some to be one of the series’ most important episodes. In it, Bell and Liv demand reporters ask female celebrities about more than just their clothing. Bell is best known for her award-winning role as Anna in Disney’s Frozen (2013). Her more than two-decade acting career includes the title role in the hit television drama Gossip Girl (2007-2012), the grown-up comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) and Bad Moms (2016), the murder mystery television series Veronica Mars (2004-2019) and its 2014 movie, The Good Place (2016-2020) and Zootopia (2016).
Patty Duke as Grandma Janice
Patty Duke guest-starred as the Rooneys’ grandmother on the Season 3 episode “Grandma-A-Rooney.” Duke played the original dual-role characters of Patty and Cathy Lane in the 1963 to 1966 television series The Patty Duke Show. Her more than 60-year acting career includes 140 movie and television credits.
Kevin James as Mr. Clodfelter
James appears on the Season 2 episode “Cook-A-Rooney” as Maddie’s home economics teacher. James is best known as Doug Heffernan in the television sitcom The King of Queens (1998-2007). He also voiced Frankenstein in the Hotel Transylvania movies (2012, 2015 and 2018). Andy Fickman, who directs the episode, also produced James’ show Kevin Can Wait (2016-2018).
Who Are the Writers & Creators Behind ‘Liv and Maddie’?
John D. Beck and Ron Hart wrote and produced all 80 episodes of Liv and Maddie, along with executive producers Andy Fickman, Heather MacGillvray, Linda Mathious, John Peaslee, Betsy Sullenger, and Sylvia Green and producers Greg Hampson, Julie Tsutsui, Zach Clawson, Laura Lynn, Danielle Hoover, and David Monahan. Top episode writers include Danielle Hoover, David Monahan, David Tolentino, and Sylvia Green.
Beck and Hart worked together to write and produce shows including According to Jim (2002-2009) and Shake It Up (2010-2011). They originally conceived Liv and Maddie as a show called Bits and Pieces with a totally different plotline that followed a blended family. After a pilot episode of Bits and Pieces was produced in 2012, Disney opted to change the concept to feature identical twins instead.
Here are a few of the show’s main creators:
John D. Beck: ‘Liv and Maddie’ Writer and Executive Producer
Beck is an award-winning television writer/producer known for his work on the television series According to Jim (2002-2009), Shake It Up (2010-2011), The Hughleys (1999-2002), Disjointed (2018), Knight Squad (2018) and Fuller House (2018). Beck and Liv and Maddie co-creator Ron Hart first developed the show as Bits and Pieces, a Brady Bunch-type story about a blended family, before changing the concept to feature identical twins.
Ron Hart: ‘Liv and Maddie’ Writer and Executive Producer
Hart co-created Liv and Maddie with John D. Beck, his partner in the television shows The Hughleys (1999-2002), According to Jim (2002-2009), Shake It Up (2010-2011), Disjointed (2018) and Knight Squad (2018). After filming a pilot of Bits and Pieces, a blended-family plot that led to the creation of Liv and Maddie, Beck and Hart worked with Disney to rewrite the show as the story of identical twin sisters.
Danielle Hoover: ‘Liv and Maddie’ Writer
Hoover co-wrote all 80 episodes of Liv and Maddie with co-creators John D. Beck and Ron Hart. She is also known as a writer and producer for the television series Insatiable (2018) and Life in Pieces (2019) and has acted in 13 credits including the television series The Rerun Show (2002) and the TV movies Teenage Alien Avengers (1999), 100 Girls (2000), House of Cards (2001) and Birds of a Feather (2010).
‘Liv and Maddie’ Reviews – What the Critics Said
“Ms. Cameron does a decent job with the mix of down-to-earth and diva, and the premise gives the writers plenty of opportunities,” The New York Times said. Plugged In appreciated “the way this series pushes back at the typical Disney TV cliches of fame-seeking teens” with a character who’s “headed home, not to Hollywood” and wants to be part of her family again. Common Sense Media said “the show glosses over a lot, especially when it comes to teen issues, but that’s what makes it a worry-free pick for kids.” Entertainment Weekly said the series was “made all the more fun because characters occasionally break the fourth wall and talk directly to Disney Channel viewers.”
Where ‘Liv and Maddie’ Ranks in the Television Pantheon
Entertainment Weekly named Live and Maddie number 24 of the 25 Best Disney Channel Original Series of All Time. Reviewers on Ranker count the series as number 19 out of 105 on the list of Best Disney Channel TV Shows, with an overall favorable rating of 65% with more than 11,600 votes.
‘Liv and Maddie’ Trailer
‘Liv and Maddie’ Theme Song
Dove Cameron performs the Liv and Maddie theme song, “Better In Stereo,” written by Paula Winger, Bardur Haberg, Oli Jogvansson, and Molly Kaye. There are multiple versions of the song, including the theme-song version, a promotional music video released in October 2013 and a bittersweet acoustic version recorded by Cameron for the season finale.
‘Liv and Maddie’ Trivia: 5 Fast Facts
1. How Do They Do That, Anyway?
“To make one girl look like two girls it actually takes three girls,” Cameron told TV Insider. Cameron is supported by two body doubles—Emmy Buckner and Shelby Wulfert, credited as Liv 2 and Maddie 2, respectively—as she performs Liv on one side of the screen in front of a stationary camera, then changes makeup, hair, and wardrobe to perform Maddie on the other side. The process is largely the same as it was in the days of The Parent Trap (1961) and The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966), according to creators John D. Beck and Ron Hart.
2. Yes, That Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay Trainor, who plays Parker Rooney, is the grandson of Tenzing Norgay, the famous Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer who was one of the first two climbers, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, known to summit Mount Everest.
3. Cameron Had a Secret About Liv That Even the Producers Didn’t Know
She made Liv a south paw, acting the role as left-handed for the entire series without anyone else noticing. Series creators John D. Beck and Ron Hart were so surprised, they and an editor looked through episodes to confirm what they hadn’t picked up on themselves.
4. The Rooney’s Got Their Last Name From an Executive Producer Who Loves the Steelers
Executive Producer Betsy Sullenger grew up in Pittsburgh, where watching the Steelers play football was family tradition. She pitched Rooney—the name of the family that owns the Steelers—as the last name for the family on Liv and Maddie, and it stuck.
5. Dove Cameron Won a Daytime Emmy and Was Nominated For Five Other Awards for Liv and Maddie
Cameron received the 2018 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s, Preschool Children’s or Educational and Informational Program. She was also nominated for Kids’ Choice Awards in 2016 and 2017 and Teen Choice Awards in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
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