Sweet Valley High (TV series)

Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley High is an American comedy-drama television series loosely based on Francine Pascal's book series of the same name. The program starred Brittany Daniel and Cynthia Daniel as the two lead characters and ran from September 5, 1994, to October 14, 1997. The program was produced by Teen Dream Productions, Inc. in association with and distributed by Saban Entertainment in the United States, and its international sister company, Saban International N.V. in the Netherlands.
Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also includes Saban Entertainment.
After three seasons in syndication, the show moved to UPN for its fourth and final season on September 15, 1997. It then aired on The Fox Family Channel in 1998 until it became ABC Family in 2001. The show was also broadcast internationally, outside of the United States on BBC One and Disney Channel in the UK, Disney Channel in Scandinavia, Fox Kids/Jetix in France, Scandinavia, Israel, and Greece, and on Fox Kids and Nickelodeon in Netherlands.

Synopsis

The series revolves around the lives of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, beautiful blonde twins who live in the fictitious Sweet Valley, California, and their gang of friends. Elizabeth is warm, friendly and sincere, while her twin sister Jessica is flirty, mischievous, and irresponsible.

Cast and characters

Brittany Daniel as Jessica "Jess" Wakefield, the outgoing, party loving, fashionable, and wilder Wakefield twin
Cynthia Daniel as Elizabeth "Liz" Wakefield, the quieter, more sensible and down to earth Wakefield twin
Amarilis as Patty Gilbert, Jessica's cheerleader friend
Ryan James Bittle and Jeremy Vincent Garrett as Todd Wilkins, Elizabeth's boyfriend
Brock Burnett and Christopher Jackson as Bruce Patman, Todd and Winston's rival, and enemy of Jessica's
Amy Danles as Enid Rollins, Elizabeth's best friend
Bridget Flanery and Shirlee Elliot as Lila Fowler, Jessica's best friend
Michael Perl as Winston Egbert, Todd's best friend
Harley Rodriguez as Manny Lopez, Todd's and Winston's friend, and early on the right-hand man to Bruce Patman, Enid's eventual boyfriend
John Jocelyn as Reginald "Shred" Patman, Bruce's cousin and Winston's friend
Andrea Savage as Renata Vargas, Brazilian exchange student, Jessica's and Lila's friend, and briefly Todd's girlfriend
Manley Pope as Devon Whitelaw, boyfriend to Elizabeth and Jessica
Tyffany Hayes as Cheryl "Tatyana" Thomas, supermodel friend of Elizabeth, Jessica and Todd

Production

It was announced in June 1994 that twin sisters Brittany Daniel and Cynthia Daniel got cast in the series. Actor Scott Foley was cast and had a supporting role in his acting debut.

Home media

In August 1996, two Sweet Valley High VHS tapes were released by WarnerVision Entertainment and Saban Home Entertainment titled 'Kidnapped' and 'Dangerous Love', which featured exclusive music videos based on the songs featured in the TV series. Although more releases were planned, they never saw the light of day after WEA folded WarnerVision Entertainment into Warner Home Video and ended their agreement with Saban.
On March 8, 2005, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the complete first season of Sweet Valley High on DVD in Region 1. A DVD release of Season two was also planned, with an old promotional trailer being posted online in 2013; however, this release was canceled.

Streaming

All four seasons of the series are streaming on Prime Video, only for US Region as of January 19, 2023. However, it is not available on Disney+ for other countries.

Soundtrack

In 1995, a soundtrack album was released featuring original songs that were in the series along with a longer version of the show's theme song.

Track listing

"Sweet Valley High Theme"
"Lotion"
"Rose Colored Glasses"
"She's Got the Answers"
"Not Myself Today"
"Alive"
"Rest of My Life"
"My Jessica"
"All to Myself"
"Secrets"
"My World"
"On Our Own"
"She Walks in Roses"
"Sweet Valley High Theme"