Disney Releases Teaser for Filmed-In-Chicago Series ‘Saturdays,’ Sets March 24 Premiere

The Disney Channel filmed its latest family-friendly franchise in Chicago last year, and the premiere is here! Disney has released a teaser trailer for the upcoming series, Saturdays, which is debuting on the Disney Channel on Friday, March 24th. Saturdays, premiering at 9:00 p.m. EDT/PDT with two back-to-back episodes weekly, follows teen Paris Johnson and her roller-skate crew, We-B-Girlz, on their journey to becoming “Goldens” – the top skaters in Chicago.

Filming in Chicago began last May and ran through mid-September, with an order for 15 half-hour episodes. Click here for SCREEN’s coverage of the Chicago production.

Saturdays is a single-cam, coming-of-age comedy that only takes place on the best day of the week… Saturday! The series revolves around 14-year-old Paris Johnson and her best friends Simone and Ari, who hone their roller-skating skills on the cool parquet floor of Saturdays, a local skating rink in Chicago. Together they form the We-B-Girlz skate crew and are determined to show and prove they have the hottest skate routines on the planet.

Here it is, your first look at Saturdays, enjoy!

The series stars Danielle Jalade (Yes Day) as Paris Johnson, Daria Johns (Nappily Ever After) as Simone Samson, Golden Brooks (Girlfriends) as Deb Johnson, Omar Gooding (Barbershop, which also famously filmed in Chicago) as Cal Johnson, Jermaine Harris (The Map of Tiny Perfect Things) as London Johnson, Peyton Basnight (Sudden Sisters) as Ari, Tim Johnson Jr. (Ballers) as Derek “D-Rok.”

Saturdays is created and executive produced by Norman Vance Jr., who also serves as showrunner. Additional executive producers are Marsai Martin, Josh Martin, Carol Martin and Nicole Dow for Genius Entertainment.

Get to Know Marsai Martin and Norman Vance Jr.

18-year-old Texas native Executive Producer Marsai Martin is best known for portraying “Diane Johnson” on black-ish, a role which has earned her seven NAACP Image Awards. Martin starred in and executive produced the 2019 feature film Little. Genius Entertainment, founded by Martin alongside Joshua and Carol Martin, creates stories meant to inspire, illuminate, and celebrate the diverse experiences of girls and people of color.

Veteran TV and film writer Norman Vance Jr.’s credits include Moesha and Girlfriends. He wrote and produced several films including Roll Bounce, Beauty Shop and Pride. He most recently served as Co-Executive Producer on Our Kind Of People and as a Supervising Producer on the series American Soul, Swagger and Queen Sugar.

Be sure to check back here at SCREEN Magazine as this exciting new series nears its premiere. You can also click right here to subscribe to our weekly email newsletter.