2014–15: First year and Bizaardvark
Disney Channel Storytellers was launched in 2014, with applications for the inaugural program opened in April. The program ran from August to January 2015 at Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California.[4][6] The program was run by Marc Warren, a multiple Emmy-nominated writer and producer, who had previously worked on Full House and Disney Channel series such as Even Stevens, That’s So Raven and Jonas.[7] Warren stated he was looking for scripts that were "edgy" and for writers with "a quirky voice".[8] The participants included three teams of two and one individual, chosen after hundreds of submissions. These included a writing team of Lacey Dyer and Julia Layton (Days of Our Lives), duo Kyle Stegina and Josh Lehrman, a partnership of Paul Jafee and Sophie Pustil, and soloist Sara Saedi.[4] Participants were mentored by producers such as Rob Lotterstein, the showrunner of K.C. Undercover.[4]
The first program to be created as a result of Disney Channel Storytellers was Bizaardvark, created by participants Stegina and Lehrman during their tenure.[9] Originally known as Paige and Frankie, a pilot for the series was ordered in May 2015,[10] before being greenlit for a full series order (retitled as Bizaardvark) in October 2015.[9] The series stars Olivia Rodrigo and Madison Hu as Paige and Frankie respectively, two friends who create comedic music videos for their online channel called "Bizaardvark". Warren served as the executive producer for the pilot, while Stegina and Lehrman became co-executive producers for the series, alongside executive producer and showrunner Eric Friedman (Austin & Ally, Crash & Bernstein).[11] The pair explained how they felt there were no Disney series centred around comedic music, and were inspired by contemporary online culture.[12]
Lehrman stated, "the emphasis [of the series] is on embracing your weirdness, and that’s what I’m most excited about."[13] The series premiered in June 2016.[14]
A second team from the inaugural group of writers; Dyer and Layton, joined the writing staff of Disney Channel’s Bunk'd in its first season.[8][15] The pair wrote three episodes.[note 1]