Summary
- Olivia Rodrigo and Jake Paul rose to fame through the Disney show
Bizaardvark
. - The series focused on young content creators but struggled to resonate with viewers.
- Despite launching two megastars,
Bizaardvark
remains relatively obscure in pop culture.
Olivia Rodrigo and Jake Paul are two of the biggest names in media today, though they couldn’t be more different. One is an actress and music superstar, while the other is an ever-controversial YouTuber turned pro boxer. We’ll let you guess which is which. While they’re polar opposites today, both Rodrigo and Paul initially rose to mainstream fame as part of Disney Channel’s sitcom Bizaardvark in the mid-2010s.
Rodrigo and Paul played “Vuugle” stars, a parody of Google and YouTube, and hung out in the Vuugle Studios with other online stars. The show was your fairly by-the-numbers Disney kidcom, and it doesn’t seem to particularly stand out in viewers’ minds today. However, it was the stepping stone for both Rodrigo and Paul to go on to achieve the superstardom they have today. Rodrigo remained on the series for its entire run, but Paul obviously couldn’t keep up his “Disney kid” image offscreen and was let go midway through the show. With two emerging megastars in its cast, why isn’t this show talked about more often? Let’s look at everything about Bizaardvark, how it launched Rodrigo and Paul into superstardom, and why it might remain obscure today.
Bizaardvark Took a Look at Young Content Creators
Bizaardvark first premiered on Disney Channel in 2016, running for three seasons until 2019. Rodrigo starred as Paige Olvera alongside Madison Hu as Frankie Wong, the two best friends who operate the titular “Bizaardvark” online channel. In the pilot episode, their channel hits 10,000 subscribers, and they are invited to the Vuugle studios to hang with other content creators. At the studios, the two meet several other “Vuuglers,” including Paul’s Dirk Mann, who hosts a channel where he takes random dare requests. Yeah, sounds like Jake Paul. Many episodes center on Paige and Frankie’s attempts to create content, which typically goes wrong in some way.
Related
11 Child Stars Whose Hollywood Success Continued into Adulthood
Here are 11 actors who found fame at a young age and continued to thrive in Hollywood well into their adult years.
Several real-life YouTube figures guest star throughout the series, such as JiffPom, Grumpy Cat, JoJo Siwa, Lilly Singh, and Annie LeBlanc. Paul’s Dirk also has a brother named Kirk, who is, of course, played by Logan Paul. In the third season, the setting moves to the Vuugle House in Malibu Beach, where several creators all live together making content. The show eventually ends with the Vuugle House being sold, forcing everyone to move away. Paige and Frankie are offered a TV show, and the rest of the group makes plans to stay together in some way.
Jake Paul and Olivia Rodrigo’s Post-Bizaardvark Fame
Rodrigo remained on the series for the entire run. However, Paul was only a cast member through the first half of Season 2. In July 2017, Disney Channel and Paul announced they had mutually decided to part ways, though The Hollywood Reporter and New York Magazine confirmed he was fired. 2017 was before the peak of the Paul brothers’ craziness, but they were already making headlines for the wrong reasons. There was no official reason given for Paul’s exit from the series. However, the firing came shortly after a period of complaints from neighbors regarding loud parties and antics at a Hollywood home that he rented. Paul’s Dirk continued to appear on Bizaardvark through the first half of 2018, after which his character disappeared without explanation. It was later mentioned in Season 3 that Dirk had quit Vuugle. It’s ironic since Paul’s rising YouTube career directly led to his exit.
Related
How Ryan Reynolds Got His Start as a Nickelodeon Kid
Most audiences forgot the lead actor behind Deadpool started on an obscure Nickelodeon drama in the early ’90s.
Technically, Bizaardvark wasn’t Jake Paul’s official debut. He started on Vine (remember that?) in 2013, which led to landing his mainstream exposure on Disney Channel. His controversial star power only grew after leaving his child star roots behind, with an increased focus on music in the following years. In one of the strangest former child star paths, Paul began boxing professionally in 2020. He’s mostly known today for his fighting and pay-per-view boxing matches, with a feature film debut as a boxer in the works. He’s even set to face Mike Tyson himself in November.
Olivia Rodrigo followed a more conventional post-Disney Channel path. After Bizaardvark wrapped, she landed the lead role of Nini Salazar-Roberts on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. That show saw the beginnings of her music career, which was launched into the stratosphere when her debut single, “Drivers License,” exploded in January 2021. Rodrigo’s since pivoted away from acting, releasing two albums as a genuine pop music superstar. For anyone wondering, Rodrigo and Paul have not seen each other since he left Bizaardvark. However, in a 2021 LA Times interview, Rodrigo revealed that the last thing Paul said to her was, “You’re gonna sell out stadiums one day, kid.” Who had Jake Paul, of all people, predicting the future on their Bingo cards?
Why Isn’t Bizaardvark More Well Known?
This series launched not one but two of the biggest names in pop culture today. So why is it still relatively obscure? Look at Miley Cyrus’ roots in Hannah Montana. That show is arguably the biggest kid sitcom of all time. But to be blunt, fans just didn’t seem to like Bizaardvark. It sits at just a 4.1 out of 10 rating on IMDb. Reviewers have noted how that show is your typical Disney kidcom, trying a bit too hard to be relevant to the youths of today. Paige and Frankie’s online content creation was highlighted as a cheap imitation of Carly and Sam’s web series on Nickelodeon’s iCarly.
Bizaardvark didn’t keep up with the times, relying on older ideas of how viral fame worked. Even in 2016, 10,000 subscribers was not a high number. While there are several YouTube squads, there’s not one location that all content creators are invited to after they hit a certain subscriber threshold. Bizaardvark wasn’t going for an authentic YouTube-esque experience but rather a network executive’s idea of what kids think YouTube is. If anyone remembers Bizaardvark today, it’s likely not for the show itself. Instead, it’s because it introduced Olivia Rodrigo and Jake Paul to the world, for better or worse. Bizaardvark is streaming on Disney+.
