Hannah Montana was produced by It's a Laugh Productions in association with Poryes's production company, and premiered on Disney Channel on March 24, 2006.
The Walt Disney Company commissioned the series after the success of Disney Channel's previous music-based franchises, such as the made-for-television film High School Musical (2006). Overarching themes include a focus on family and friendships as well as the importance of music and discovering one's identity. Miley has strong relationships with her brother Jackson ( Jason Earles) and father Robby Ray ( Billy Ray Cyrus), as well as her best friends Lilly Truscott ( Emily Osment) and Oliver Oken ( Mitchel Musso), who become aware of her secret. Episodes deal with Miley's everyday struggles to cope with the social and personal issues of adolescence while maintaining the added complexities of her secret identity, which she sustains by wearing a blonde wig. The series centers on Miley Stewart ( Miley Cyrus), a teenage girl living a double life as famous pop singer Hannah Montana, an alter ego she adopted so she could maintain her anonymity and live a normal life as a typical teenager. Hannah Montana is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March 2006 and January 2011.