The showrunner behind the Phineas and Ferb revival has revealed a time jump headed for the new season of the hit series.
After four successful seasons and 129 episodes, 2015 saw the end of Disney's beloved Phineas and Ferb series.
The fan-favorite Disney Channel show follows the insane exploits of two enterprising brothers as they try to make all 104 days of summer vacation count.
This meant that no matter what happened, how many years went by, or just how old voice actors got, the series only ever encompassed a single summer for the titular siblings (a trend that was assumed to continue heading into the new revival season).
A Time Jump Coming for Phineas and Ferb
According to Phineas and Ferb showrunners Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Dan Povenmire, a substantial time jump is on the way for the hit Disney Channel original series' revival.
While speaking at New York Comic Con, Povenmire explained that when the show picks up, it will "probably be the following summer" after the initial four-season run (via The Pop Insider):
“It’ll probably be the following summer. It’s basically the same show as before, we’ve got a lot of the same staff."
Marsh added "We realized we hadn’t run out of ideas yet," teasing why the pair wanted to revisit the beloved show:
“We realized we hadn’t run out of ideas yet. Somebody called and said, ‘Want to make more?’ and we’re like yeah. We’ve always said ‘Yeah sure, we’ll do that,.’”
As for why and how the series got a second look from Disney, Povenmire cited "the [show begin] in the top five on Disney+ since they [launched]:"
“I think it came about because the show’s been in the top five on Disney+ since they started. I think with the pandemic, a lot of people went back to that for a comfort show and I think that really pushed the numbers up and they were like, ‘We should do more of this show.’”
Is a Time Jump a Good Idea for Phineas and Ferb?
While some may scratch their heads at the idea of a time jump coming to the Phineas and Ferb revival, for longtime fans it is going to make total sense.
One of the biggest points of criticism from the animated series' first four seasons was the evident vocal changes in the series' cast as the show went on.
Despite not changing actors, characters like Phineas started to sound a little different as the young voice actors started to age up.
This broke the immersion a bit of the entire series taking place over on mind-blowing summer vacation. Now that it has almost been eight years since the last episode aired on Disney Channel, a time jump was only logical.
This gives the creators an excuse for why some of the cast may sound a bit different headed into the revival season, and given the series' propensity for meta-jokes and fourth-wall-breaking humor, it will almost surely be addressed in a rib-tickling manner at some point in early on in the new episodes.
And seeing as the last episode of the show's initial run technically took place on the very last day of summer (titled "Last Day of Summer), it would make sense for the revival to pick up at the beginning of the next one.
Now, for fans, it is just a matter of waiting for the hit series to return. And given it is currently recording, they may not have to wait all that long.
Phineas and Ferb has no official release date for its return, but according to Dan Povenmire, it is expected to come in "2024 sometime" (via TikTok).
