Bunk'd (seasons 1 & 2)

♥	This article is dedicated to Cameron Boyce (May 28, 1999 - July 6, 2019, from a seizure and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy at age 20). May he rest in peace.

Bunk'd (seasons 1 & 2)
🎵"Here we go, we’re leaving the city behind right now. Let’s gather by the campfire light and sing this song. KIKIWAKA!"🎵
Genre: Comedy Running Time: 23 - 25 minutes Country: United States Release Date: July 31, 2015 – May 24, 2017 Network(s): Disney Channel Created by: Pamela Eells O'Connell Distributed by: Disney - ABC Domestic Television Starring: Peyton List Karan Brar Skai Jackson Miranda May Kevin Quinn Nathan Arenas Nina Lu Seasons: 2 Episodes: 42 Previous show: Jessie (2011-2015)

Bunk'd (also known Bunk'd: Learning The Ropes for the last two seasons) is a Disney Channel sitcom that's a spin-off of Jessie, which is also a Disney Channel sitcom. Season 1 consists of 21 episodes and premiered on July 31, 2015 with "Welcome to Camp Kikiwaka" and ended on May 20, 2016 with "Xander Says Goodbye". Season 2 also consists of 21 episodes and premiered on August 23, 2016 with "Griff is in the House!" and ended on May 24, 2017 with "The Great Escape".

Plot

Emma, Ravi, and Zuri Ross leave their glitzy New York penthouse and heading off to a rustic summer camp in Maine, where their parents happened to have met as teenagers. Along with their new friends, Emma, Ravi and Zuri try their best to adapt to their new “home away from home” and settle into their exciting new lives at Camp Kikiwaka.

Why These Seasons Rock

1. These seasons is faithful to its parent series Jessie.
2. Catchy theme song.
   • There are also several episodes (such as Tidal Wave) that show off Kevin Quinn’s awesome guitar and singing skills.
3. The Ross kids being at summer camp is an interesting concept.
4. The Ross kids are still their old selves.
5. The new characters are funny, likable and have unique personalities.
   • Lou is a farmer girl.
   • Tiffany is a child prodigy.
   • Jorge is a goofy boy.
   • Gladys is a cynical camp runner.
   • Hazel is Gladys crazy niece and Emma’s new rival.
   • Xander is Emma’s guitar playing boyfriend.
   • Griff is a former juvenile delinquent with a heart of gold.
6. Awesome set designs that look very realistic.
7. Decent acting.
8. Nice humor that has the same standards as the humor in Jessie.
9. Unlike most modern Disney Channel sitcoms, the laugh track is actually well used and doesn't play at almost every line.
10. Some of the characters from Jessie make guest appearances such as Luke, Bertram and Christina.
    • Even though he’s not the main character, Luke guest stars in the episodes, "Luke's Back" and "Luke Out Below".
      • "Luke Out Below" marks the character's final appearance due to his actor's death on July 6th, 2019. In-story, the character's fate is unknown.
11. The show can also be serious and emotional at time.
    • In "Dog Days of Summer", Lou finds out her dog died and almost leaves camp because of said reason.
    • In "Xander Says Goodbye", Xander's father wants him to leave camp to do football training and Emma doesn't want him to leave.
    • In "Live from Camp Kikiwaka", Emma, Xander, and Lou host a live stream to save the camp from closing down.
12. Xander is a good love interest for Emma.
13. Hazel feuding with Emma as Xander's love interest is very funny.
14. The woodchuck salute is clever.
15. These seasons teaches good morals, such as "real friends are better than online friends", "don't judge a book by its cover" and "work as a team".
16. It is the first Disney Channel series to pass the four-season mark, though the last five seasons we're not well received.

Bad Qualities

1. The series has experienced a massive decline in quality in the last five seasons.
   • In Season 3, Xander, Tiffany, Jorge, Gladys (whose absence is explained), Hazel (though she made a guest appearance in season 4) and Griff (season 2) are removed without any explanation and are replaced with three pointless new characters, Destiny, Matteo and Finn. To make matters worse, said characters from the first two seasons aren't even mentioned, like they never even existed in the first place!
   • Season 4 is even worse, as Emma (although she did guest star in the season 5 premiere), Ravi, and Zuri are removed from the series entirely, more pointless characters are introduced, Ava, Gwen and Noah, from this season and onward, Bunk'd is considered its own separate show rather than being part of the Jessie franchise.
   • Season 5 is no better, if not worse, as Gwen (though she returns in the episode "Crushin' It") is removed without any explanation and another pointless character is introduced, Parker Preston, who is extremely annoying and unlikable (he does get better in seasons 6 and 7 but not that much).
   • The last two seasons removed Ava, Matteo, and Finn (though he made a guest appearance in "Finn It To Win It"), with being replaced with more unnecessary characters Winnie, Jake, and Bill. However, Ava, Matteo, Finn and Gwen return in the series finale "Happy Trails".
2. It's not quite as strong as Jessie, despite its faithfulness to it.
3. Jessie never made a guest appearance.
4. Tries to be hip and current at times, with modern slang like "besties" and "OMG" and the camper's using smartphones.
5. It sometimes teaches bad morals for instance in the episode "The Ones That Got Away", Zuri suggests to Tiffany that they try to win the fishing contest by cheating, thankfully they ended up getting in trouble.
6. Like in Jessie, most of the characters have stereo-typical personalities, such as Emma having the dumb blonde stereotype.
   • Tiffany fits the "Asian stereotype" of being extremely intelligent with an overbearing, "tiger mom".
   • Zuri is often sitting back and making snarky remarks, with little character development compared to her role in Jessie, where she was more dynamic. While initially a fan favorite, was criticized for being too focused on snarky remarks with limited character development in the later seasons.
   • Jorge is portrayed as the dirty, unhygienic Mexican kid, reinforcing negative stereotypes.
   • Xander is the typical guitar-playing love interest who attracts all the girls, lacking depth beyond that role.
   • Meanwhile, Ravi continues being the punchline, often mocked for his cultural differences and awkwardness. Despite providing comic relief, he sometimes came off as one-dimensional and annoying to some viewers.
7. Some unlikable characters such as Gladys, Hazel, Zuri, and Jorge (sometimes).
8. While decent, the acting can be a bit amateurish.
9. The humor can be weak and forced at times (it can be very random and inappropriate for its target audience) for example:
   • Jorge farting in "Welcome to Camp Kikiwaka", the first episode of the show.
   • Lou's line "my belly button could be a hot tub for a gnat" in "Friending with the Enemy".
   • Tiffany's line "don't get your adult diaper in a bunch" in "Can You Hear Me Now?".
10. The episodes ''Camp Kiki-slasher and ''Fog'd In'' can be scary for younger viewers, which got both of those episodes banned in Malaysia, United Kingdom, Brazil, and MENA countries.
11. Some bad episodes, even before season 3.
12. One minor character, Timmy, is portrayed as nothing more than a Butt-Monkey.

Reception

The first two seasons of Bunk'd received mixed to positive reception from Jessie fans. However, fans were disappointed that Luke wasn't made part of the main cast, and that Jessie never made a guest appearance.

Trivia

• The first 3 seasons of the series is a spin-off of Jessie.
• Unlike in Jessie, Luke Ross is not part of the main cast, despite guest starring in two episodes. The reason for this is because Cameron Boyce was busy filming the Disney XD sitcom Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything at the time.
• Unlike most Disney Channel spin-offs, which premiere after the parent series ends, Bunk'd premiered before Jessie ended.
• The series went on a hiatus after its first season's fourth episode aired in August 2015 so that Jessie could air its final five episodes. After the series finale of Jessie aired in October 2015, the series resumed in November 2015 with its first season's fifth episode.
• The series is Nina Lu and Nathan Arenas' first acting jobs.
• Peyton List and Miranda May were both born on April 6. The former in 1998 and the latter in 1996.
• Seasons 1 and 2 both premiered in the summer and ended in the spring. Ironically, they both consist of 21 episodes.
• Kevin Quinn, Nina Lu, Nathan Arenas, Mary Scheer, Tessa Netting and Lincoln Melcher all left the series after Season 2 and were replaced by three new cast members Mallory James Mahoney, Raphael Alejandro and Will Buie Jr.
• Peyton List, Karan Brar and Skai Jackson left the series after Season 3.
• The series was originally going to end after Season 3, but later got renewed for a fourth season that premiered in June 2019 and ended in August 2024 with a seventh season renewal.
• Cameron Boyce passed away on July 6, 2019 from a seizure in his sleep.

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