Disney has released a PSA featuring Andi Mack. The PSA highlights the show’s commitment to bring awareness to those who are hearing impaired following the addition of actress Millicent Simmonds who recently joined the Disney Channel’s teen drama series.

“Technology can be a great way to stay in touch with family and friends” says actress Peyton Elizabeth Lee in a voiceover who stars in the series. Lee continues: “But when you rely on this is the only way to communicate you could really be missing out. We might all communicate differently but what’s most important is to make the connection. Because when we see each other face-to-face then we can truly be seen and heard.”

Disney has fired an actor who had a recurring role on the Disney Channel series “Andi Mack”. Read the statement below:

“Stoney Westmoreland, an actor working on the series ‘Andi Mack,’ was arrested in Salt Lake City today,” a Disney Channel spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “Given the nature of the charges and our responsibility for the welfare of employed minors, we have released him from his recurring role and he will not be returning to work on the series which wraps production on its third season next week.” 

Westmoreland plays the grandfather on the live-action series. On Friday, according to reports, he was arrested in Utah — where the series films — after attempting to arrange a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old that he met through an online dating app. According to reports citing court documents, Westmoreland asked the minor to engage in oral sex and other sexual acts, and requested that the minor send him nude photos.

According to Salt Lake City’s ABC News 4, Westmoreland faces one count of enticing a minor and four counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor. The actor was taken into custody Friday by members of the Salt Lake City police and the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.

Photo courtesy of Disney Channel

In the next new episodes of Andi Mack, Millicent Simmonds will be recurring on the show as Libby, Jonah’s new girlfriend.

The episodes will focus on how Libby and Andi (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) get along after both of them have dated Jonah (Asher Angel), and a lot on how ASL plays a big part in communication.

While Jonah keeps texting to communicate with Libby, Andi does not and learns some phrases to talk with Libby.

Andi Mack made the decision to not show subtitles to translate and there’s an important reason for that: “We wanted [Millicent’s] dialogue to be like any other dialogue on the show, and we knew that subtitles would defeat the purpose of the message her character portrays,” show creator Terri Minsky told Teen Vogue.

“[Subtitles] would be distracting from the relationships that were taking place and forming,” Millicent Simmonds added. “It’s also more fun for kids to watch it and try to understand the sign language. I think that it could be easily understood by them if they put the pieces together.”

The cast of ‘Andi Mack’ have been so inspired working with  Millicent including Peyton Elizabeth Lee “Millie Simmonds is such a beautiful spirit. She is deaf, but she’s never let that affect anything. It was so beautiful to be able to watch her on set and see how she communicates with people, because everything is through her face. She made me [feel] so inspired by how incredible she is.”

You can watch new episodes of ‘Andi Mack’ Friday’s @ 8pm ET on Disney Channel.

Disney Channel

Disney Channel’s Andi Mack will feature a story arc on gun safety in two upcoming episodes of the critically praised tween series. Disney Channel programmers developed the episodes under the consultancy of the child development experts at The Brady Center and Hollywood, Health & Society (HH&S), a program of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center. The episodes include a public service announcement about gun safety. According to a report from Deadline.

The episodes will air Friday, November 16 and Friday, November 30 at 8 PM ET on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW.

The storyline illustrates peer pressure and a true test of character for Cyrus (Joshua Rush) when T.J. (Luke Mullen) and his group of friends unexpectedly invite Cyrus to join their unsupervised target practice.

Created by executive producer Terri Minsky (Lizzie McGuire), Andi Mack follows Andi (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) as she comes to terms with news that Bex (Lilan Bowden), the girl she thought was her older sister, is actually her mother.

The first episode in the gun safety was written by Phil Baker and directed by Paul Hoen, and the second episode was written by Elena Song and Suzanne Weber and directed by the series executive producer Michelle Manning.

Andi Mack ranks as cable’s top-rated series among kids 6-14. Last year, the critically praised series featured a gay character, a 13-year boy, in Disney Channel’s first depiction of a coming-out journey, a storyline which earned the series a GLAAD Media Award and a Peabody nomination.

Disney Channel

The third season of Disney Channel’s family series “Andi Mack” premiered Monday (Oct 8). In the video below cast members Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Sofia Wylie, Asher Angel, Lilan Bowden and Lauren Tom discuss the diversity of the popular series and how it reflects the real world and how young people see themselves and others.

#PeytonElizabethLee, @WylieSofia, @JoshuaRush, @AsherAngel, @yourfriendLilan & @LaurenTom9000 talk about how #AndiMack reflects the real world via great characters and stories, coinciding with the season three premiere tonight at 8pm ET/PT on #DisneyChannel and #DisneyNOW. pic.twitter.com/AKUYJ9PW9Z

— Disney Channel PR (@DisneyChannelPR) October 8, 2018

Disney Channel

Disney Channel’s groundbreaking family series Andi Mack will premiere it’s third season next month. It was revealed by EW that the new season will begin October 8. Here are details about the premiere episode:

After a tearful goodbye between the title character and her longtime crush Jonah, the season 3 premiere, titled “The Boys Are Back,” finds Andi (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) unsure about her feelings for the Ultimate Frisbee player as she waits for him to return from summer camp. Things become even more complicated on the love front when the young teen finds out who her best friend Buffy is dating. Meanwhile, Andi, Bex, and Celia are thrilled when beloved family members make surprise returns to Shadyside.

Disney Channel’s popular series Andi Mack continues to break barriers as the teen series addressed panic attacks in its latest episode.

During the Friday, February 23rd episode Jonah Beck (played by Asher Angel) experienced a panic attack for the first time following a conversation with Andi where she said that she no longer had feelings for him. What followed was a conversation with a doctor about what panic attacks are the Disney Channel also aired a PSA at the conclusion of the episode.

This is not the first time the Andi Mack series has addressed real-life issues. Since its premiere, the show has put a spotlight on cultural diversity by showcasing different holidays and the hardships of a military family and most notably the first prominent character in a Disney program to come out as gay.

Just days ahead of its midseason finale, Andi Mack has been renewed for a third season at Disney Channel. The teen dramedy’s cast — including leading lady Peyton Elizabeth Lee and co-stars Lilan Bowden, Joshua Rush, Sofia Wylie and Asher Angel – will hit the pause button on Season 2 this Friday (8/7c), before returning with 12 additional episodes (aka Season 2B) beginning in June. Season 3 is slated to bow later this year.

“A series about a girl discovering that her sister is really her mother was new territory for Disney Channel, but [series creator] Terri [Minsky]’s honest, authentic storytelling allowed our audience to connect deeply to these characters and their journeys of self-discovery,” said Disney Channel COO Gary Marsh in a statement. “What she has crafted stands as a high-water benchmark for kids and family storytelling around the world.”

Already considered groundbreaking for its handling of the aforementioned mother twist, the show made history again last fall when Andi’s best friend Cyrus (Joshua Rush) came out as gay. It marked the first time a Disney Channel series had a gay main character.

Disney Channel’s breakout hit Andi Mack has made headlines for a lot of reasons but the groundbreaking family series did something last night that we can’t help but praise.

If you follow the show than you know that the character Buffy (played by Sofia Wylie) mom is in the military. We haven’t yet been introduced to Buffy’s mom until last night’s (Feb 16) emotional episode which saw the Disney Channel pull of one of the best realistic moments in recent history. We all love those viral videos of military homecomings and the network captured the feeling perfectly.