K9.5 (TV series)

K9.5 is an American animated comedy series created by D.A. Nichols that aired on Disney Channel and local syndication on November 14, 1997 as a pilot, and then as a regular series from September 18, 1998 to February 28, 2003. The series is based on the video game series of the same name created by Lightspan.

The series began as a spec script written by Liz Herrick and Margy Hillman for a 6th game in the K9.5 series. A colleague at Sony Pictures persuaded them to write it for a pilot episode for a television series. Later, D.A. Nichols and writing partners Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser became interested in the script and agreed to rewrite the pilot.

Overview
K9.5 premiered on September 18, 1998 on Disney Channel, as well as on ABC as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning. It also aired on Disney's One Too on UPN from 2000 until 2002. After the series ended its initial run on February 28, 2003, five "The Best of..." episode were produced from March 28, 2003 to May 16, 2003.

Reruns of the series continued to air on Disney Channel until June 2010, and on sister channel Toon Disney until January 2008.

Synopsis
The series follows the daily life of the five core members of K9.5, piano player Ella, rhythm guitarist Gershwyn, drummer Maxine, lead guitarist Riff, and bassist Theo

The show's theme song, "We Are the Dogs", was first used in the first game, Live in Airedale. It was composed by Donald Alan Siegal, written by Liz Herrick and Margy Hillman, and performed by the show's cast.

Voice Cast
See List of K9.5 characters.

Main

 * Tracey Moore as Ella
 * Scott Menville as Gershwyn
 * Alyson Court as Maxine
 * Nicholas Guest as Riff
 * Scott McNeil as Theo

Additional Voices

 * Carlos Alazraqui
 * Jack Angel
 * Kathleen Barr
 * Bob Bergen
 * Rodger Bumpass
 * Corey Burton
 * Lara Cody
 * Townsend Coleman
 * Brian Cummings
 * Jim Cummings
 * Jennifer Darling
 * Paul Dobson
 * Sheena Easton
 * Paul Eiding
 * Michael Gough
 * Janyse Jaud
 * Terry Klassen
 * Sherry Lynn
 * Danny Mann
 * Bryn McAuley
 * Chuck McCann
 * Edie McClurg
 * Maggie Blue O'Hara
 * Nicole Oliver
 * Jan Rabson
 * Peter Renaday
 * Kelly Sheridan
 * Samuel Vincent
 * Cathy Weseluck
 * Chiara Zanni

Production
The original idea for a K9.5 television series was written by Liz Herrick and Margy Hillman as a spec script for a 6th game in the K9.5 series. Building on their idea, Herrick and Hillman wrote the script, but never submitted the script to Lightspan after a colleague at Sony Pictures suggested they write it as a TV pilot.

NT Animation later bought Herrick and Hillman's treatment and hired them to write the original draft. After the script was finished, both NT Animation and Sony Pictures submitted the script to directors, including writing partners Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser. Both writers were willing to make it into a television series, although they rewrote the script to comply with their standards. Shortly after, a team of nine writers were formed for the series, consisting of Herrick, Hillman, Nichols, Ruby, Lesser, Theresa Pettengill, Dan DiStefano, Libby Hinson, Dev Ross, and Mark Zaslove, along with story editors Joe Fallon, Keith Kaczorek, and Christy Stratton. Episode directors for the series included Charles E. Bastien, Yvette Kaplan, Larry Jacobs, Sean V. Jeffrey, and Arna Selznick.

Most of the animation for the series was done in-house at NT Animation, and outsourced over to Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, Plus One Animation and Yeson Entertainment in South Korea, and Toon City Animation in the Philippines.

Home media
Several DVD releases of the series were released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment prior to 2004)

DVD boxsets
Sony Pictures Home Enetertainment has released K9.5 on DVD. They have released all 5 seasons in Region 1.

The Complete Series DVD was released on September 16, 2017.