By Michaela Gordoni
PHINEAS AND FERB creators Jeff “Swampy” Marsh and Dan Povenmire shared why their hit show is making a comeback.
“[The show has] maintained a popularity in reruns for a long time,” Povenmire explained to the Hollywood Reporter this week. “Then with Disney+, people told us over and over again that Phineas is always in the top five things on Disney+. I think it’s a very rewatchable show, which I’m thankful for.”
In 2020, they made CANDACE AGAINST THE UNIVERSE, which did well. Then, Disney called them to ask if they’d do 40 more episodes on the series. They were completely surprised by the offer but thrilled to work on the show again.
Since the show’s debut in August 2007, viewers have watched 12.6 billion hours of the brothers and their pet platypus.
“PHINEAS AND FERB is that rare franchise that connects across generations, engaging kids with its humor and music, while sparking nostalgia and deep fandom among longtime viewers,” Disney Branded Television president Ayo Davis said. “The response to the new season has been incredible, fueling passion, viewership, and a whole new wave of discovery.”
When Povenmire and Marsh brainstormed PHINEAS AND FERB, they knew they wanted to make a show that was family-friendly. They made a point not to have any characters say any mean things and aimed for something that was funny, kind and gentle, Povenmire said.
“I think it made us better writers, and I think it made the show resonate much more, because I think everybody likes everybody in the show,” he explained.
“We didn’t want the friends to be jerks and idiots,” Marsh added. ‘The other thing that that I think was a great decision was making sure that we kept the show smart. We didn’t cut jokes simply because they were too smart for the audience.”
“We said it’s OK to have jokes that are there just for the parents or the aunts and uncles or the grandparents. It should be family viewing, and as long as those aren’t the only jokes, I think we’ll be all right,” he explained.
The writers on the new season include some of the original writers and a mix of young adults who grew up watching the show.
“The room is just full of energy, and they’re pitching just great, wonderful stories. It was like, ‘Oh, how come we never did that? We should definitely do that.’ We’re having a great time,” Povenmire said.
The new season doesn’t have any new regular characters, but viewers will see more of some characters, like news reporter Dink Winkerson, who’s never had a prominent role till now.
Marsh said, “That was fun for me, because it was the second character that I voiced that we really didn’t have big plans for other than kind of delivering information occasionally. All of a sudden, the writers have given these characters this whole other life, which is fun to watch and really great to voice.”
The creators teased that the new season has a couple of slight differences that only the astute fans will notice.
“We changed Phineas — we gave him an extra stripe on his shirt,” Povenmire told The Wrap at the season’s red carpet premiere. Marsh added, “We had to go in and change the models just for that. We also had to upgrade Candace’s phone.”
Season 5 is currently available to stream on Disney+.
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