Miles and miles away from any large body of water — on a massive set located at the Hollywood Center Studios — a group of vacationers are enjoying activities on the deck of an ocean liner. The large stack looms in the background.
This is where the Disney Channel series “The Suite Life on Deck” is filmed.
“The Suite Life with Zack and Cody,” which was launched in 2005, was revamped after two seasons. A shift to the high seas as the setting resulted in the name change.
The name’s different but the show’s the same. The top-rated series on basic cable among kids 6-11 and tweens follows twin brothers Zack and Cody Martin (Dylan and Cole Sprouse), hotel heiress London Tipton (Brenda Song) and new friend Bailey Pickett (Debby Ryan) after they enroll in a semester-at-sea program. The set is the deck of the SS Tipton.
The series airs 8 p.m. Fridays on the Disney Channel. A special episode at 7 p.m. Wednesday is Earth Day-themed: Zack falls for a girl who his pal Woody believes is a mermaid; Cody is upset over the amount of towels the ship’s guests use and organizes his own green initiative.
“Disney really wanted to underline with this show that Zack and Cody are growing up. Obviously, we are. We are getting taller. Our voices are getting deeper. But, because we are basically working with the same cast and crew, it just really feels like the fourth season and not a new show,” says Cole between filming a scene on the massive set and trying to squeeze in a few moments of mandatory school time.
The brothers turn 17 in August. That means they study in the one-room classroom located only a few steps from the stage.
This world is nothing new to the twins. They were infants when they worked on “Grace Under Fire.” They have also appeared on “That ’70s Show,” “That’s So Raven” and “Friends.”
Cole is young, but he’s already a veteran when it comes to show business. The brothers know that the “Suite Life” won’t go on forever. That won’t mean an end to acting.
“The way I look at it is, if my brother and I are having fun doing what we love and with people we really care about, there really is no reason to stop. I have never looked at acting for the fame. I am in it to have fun,” Cole says.
Cole credits his parents with keeping he and his brother so grounded. Part of the secret is the brothers do get some time to relax.
At work, the schedule is hectic. In fact, Cole is being called back to the set to shoot another scene. His on-set tutor reminds him that he still has to put in an hour of classroom work before he can go home.
But away from the set, the brothers just like to hang out with their friends and play video games. Both want to go to college.
Dylan finally has a few moments to talk about growing up.
The brothers no longer are exact replicas. There is so much difference, they play cousins in the upcoming movie “The Kings of Appletown"
From: chelsy
The Suite Life on Deck is a REALLY VERY REALLY VERY GOOD show.Its my favorite show on Disney Channel.My favorite one is Splash and Trash.I like how zack and woody thought the girl from the water was a mermaid.The other part I liked was when Mr. Mosby said Now go put that trash back in the trash room and cody said trash room I got this from under woodys bed and woody said im messy