Hailey's On It! is an American animated science fiction action television series created by Devin Bunje and Nick Stanton and produced by Disney Television Animation that aired on Disney Channel from June 8, 2023, to May 18, 2024.
In the series, a 14-year-old girl from the Hawaiian diaspora is informed by a time-traveling scientist that she is destined to save the entire planet by reversing global warming. To accomplish this, she has to complete a series of tasks and to overcome her fears. Meanwhile, time-traveling robots are trying to prevent her from ever accomplishing her goals.
On October 2, 2024, it was reported that the series was cancelled after one season.
Set in Oceanside, California, the series centers on Hailey Banks, a 14-year-old girl who is averse to taking risks. Her life gets turned upside down during her New Year's celebration when she is visited by a scientist from the future, who reveals that completing a long list of tasks she created is crucial for initiating a series of events that will lead to her inventing a device that will be used to save the entire planet by reversing global warming.
Now, Hailey must overcome her fears, complete impossible and impractical tasks, and face her feelings toward her best friend, Scott Denoga. However, some of her accomplishments will be threatened by Chaos Bots, small robots from the future sent by a mysterious villain who wants to prevent her from finishing her list and saving the world.
Additionally, Auliûi Cravalho "guest stars" as Kelci Fyre, a pop star who looks and sounds like Hailey.
A few months after its premiere, Hailey's On It! joined the Chibi Tiny Tales series.
Part of the Broken Karaoke series that was started by Big City Greens.
As part of a promotional campaign, Disney Channel began airing the Disney Theme Song Takeover, wherein supporting characters from different shows performed the theme song to the series they were in.
A shorts series centered on Hailey, Scott, and Beta going on a road trip in the Professor's car to visit the clown museum. The shorts are a loose follow up to a similar series from Big City Greens.
The earliest concept for Hailey's On It! was conceived when Devin Bunje and Nick Stanton came up with a scenario of a girl failing to pay attention to a time-traveling messenger. The duo grew interested in the characters and slowly began to develop what would eventually grow into the series. The series was initially pitched under the title I Will NOT Kiss Scott Federman.
On November 18, 2021, Disney Branded Television announced that Hailey's On It! had been greenlit for a 20-episode first season. Meredith Roberts, a Disney Television Animation executive described the series as the first animated series by Bunje and Stanton, and called it a "fast-paced comedy" with "grounded stories" and "heart" which made it a "perfect fit" for Disney. The series was described as aimed at kids aged 6âÂÂ14 and their families. On June 15, 2022, Disney Branded Television revealed that Hailey's On It! would be receiving 10 additional episodes, bringing the total from 20 episodes to a 30 episode count for the first season.
It was also announced that Howy Parkins would be a co-executive producer, alongside Bunje and Stanton, and supervising director. Reporting also confirmed Wade Wisinski as the show's producer, Karen Graci as the show's story editor, and Lee Ann Dufour as the series art director. In December 2022, the Daily Sundial reported that artist Jaison Wilson, who has worked on The Princess and the Frog, Milo Murphy's Law, Candace Against the Universe, and Amphibia, would be working on the series. On April 28, the show's first trailer was released, and a press release noted that the show's guest cast includes Brian Jordan Alvarez, Blake Anderson, Mick Foley, Jo Koy, Jack McBrayer, Bebe Neuwirth, Chris Parnell, Tim Robinson, Natasha Rothwell, Brandon Mychal Smith, Martin Starr, and Al Yankovic. The same day, it was announced that Cat Harman-Mitchell and Leslie Park would be series directors.
Writers for the series include Mary Gulino and Kevin Yee. Karen Graci serves as story editor. Bunje and Stanton said the use of animation gave them greater creative freedom than their live-action works. Due to the constant changes made to the show's story during development, the writers purposefully avoided having the content on Hailey's list to be fully defined, instead wanting the content to be conceived as they developed the story for each episode in order to allow greater creative freedom and flexibility.
The character of Beta was created because the writers wanted a way to "organize and prioritize list items" without always relying on the list itself, with the idea of a technologically advanced smartphone being conceived due to the dynamic such character could have with Hailey. Beta was originally meant to be a minor character, but his role was expanded after the writers enjoyed Gary Anthony Williams' performance and further developed him.
In October 2024, it was reported that the series would not be returning for a second season.
The series features K-pop, rock, pop-rock, electronic dance, and musical theater tracks. A digital soundtrack with six original songs was released on June 9 by Walt Disney Records. Matthew Tishler and Andrew Underberg are songwriters/composers for the series.
The series premiered simultaneously on Disney Channel and Disney XD on June 8, 2023, and then on Disney+ the following day. Several "Theme Song Takeover," "Broken Karaoke" and "Chibi Tiny Tales" shorts featuring characters from the series began airing in July. The series has a TV-Y7 parental guideline.
On September 27, 2024, the series was removed from Disney+.
The series was received well by critics. Rob Schwarz of Along Main Street said that Hailey's On It! is an effective show for families with children of nearly any age. Schwarz noted that their own childrenâÂÂranging from three to eleven years oldâÂÂeach found something enjoyable in the show, appreciating Hailey's character for its empowering message, enjoying the series' humor and pranks, and finding the comedic AI phone sidekick, Beta, particularly entertaining. Schwarz concluded that Hailey's On It! demonstrates how children can overcome their fears, rely on their friends, and embrace new challenges. Matthew Aguilar of ComicBook.com described Hailey's On It! as a "delightful new comedy adventure series."
Tessa Smith of Mama's Geeky rated Hailey's On It! four out of five and said that the show is filled with fun and humor, describing scenarios as relatable, saying HaileyâÂÂs experiences can resonate with viewers. Smith praised the series' ability to connect with its audience by addressing the pressures of meeting expectations, even if they seem trivial. They also highlighted that HaileyâÂÂs On It! succeeds because it offers humor and situations that appeal to both children and adults. Smith stated that the animation, though familiar in style to other Disney series, is characterized for its quality. Ashley Moulton of Common Sense Media gave Hailey's On It! a grade of four out of five stars, praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, citing friendship and courage, while complimenting the educational value, writing, "Teen girl role model shines in funny action-adventure."
The series won Outstanding Kids & Family Programming or Film - Animated at the 2024 GLAAD Media Awards.
Following the show's premiere, DisneyNOW released updates for the games Bubble Burst and Color Splash related to the show.