How To Watch ‘Hannah Montana’ In Order
No matter how much time passes (20 years, to be precise), I think everyone who grew up with Hannah Montana will always have a soft corner in their heart for Miley Stewart, aka Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus); her best friends, Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment) and Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso); her brother, Jackson (Jason Earles), and his frenemy-like relationship with his boss, Rico (which frankly deserved its own spin-off show); and her singer-songwriter-manager dad, Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus).
Honestly, as a teenager, the idea of being a normal girl by day and a world-famous pop star by night seemed like the greatest thing ever. What more could you want? It’s literally the best of both worlds. But as an adult, I constantly remind myself that Miley went to school full-time, had teenage problems like crushes and homework, while having “meet the Queen” on her schedule, dealing with an on-again-off-again relationship with a famous actor, or performing for thousands of screaming fans that same night without breaking a sweat. How did she do all that and not lose her mind is anybody’s guess.
If you’re ready to return to Malibu and relive the entire saga where Miley and her friends constantly get into some sort of trouble, then there are three main pieces of Hannah Montana content to watch: the original four-season series, Hannah Montana: The Movie, and Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. Sure, that last one is more a nostalgic trip down memory lane rather than a full blown reboot, but it’s still extremely special and deserves a watch.
The easiest way to watch everything is in release order. This works perfectly well, and each entry can pretty much be enjoyed as its own standalone experience. Nothing wrong with this approach! But if you want your rewatch to feel a bit more connected, then there’s another option that I personally recommend. You’ll watch the first three seasons of the show, watch Hannah Montana: The Movie between two Season 3 episodes (more on this below), and then continue with the rest of the series. Once you’ve finished the series and the movie, save the anniversary special for last. Trust me, that’s how I would do it.
At the heart of everything is, of course, Hannah Montana. The series follows Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), a typical Malibu teenager from Tennessee. But is she really? Miley hides a pretty extraordinary secret: she’s pop sensation Hannah Montana, who she transforms into with the help of a trusty blonde wig. The fun of the show comes from Miley hiding the secret from the people around her, messily juggling those identities, trying to maintain some semblance of an ordinary life, and finally letting most of them into her secret circle (as it were). Add in her dad, brother, best friends, and some really cool guest appearances from renowned stars, and you’ve got the recipe for a classic Disney Channel show filled to the brim with humor and chaos.
And then there are the songs. We cannot talk about Hannah Montana without the music because most of the fun also comes from those foot-tapping, catchy albums. Along with Hannah Montana, if you enjoyed the wider Disney Channel Cinematic Universe, then consider watching the two crossover episodes. “On the Road Again?” from Season 1, which is part of the That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana crossover, and “Super(stitious) Girl” from Season 3, which concluded the Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana crossover. Both crossovers brought in other successful Disney Channel shows like That’s So Raven, Wizards of Waverly Place, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody into the Hannah Montana orbit.
If you adore shows where the lovable characters are the main ingredients, and friendship, music, comedy are the cherries on top of an already wonderful cake, then Hannah Montana should be your immediate next watch (like, right now, after reading this article). The series manages to be hilarious, sentimental, and yet completely ridiculous at times, and we’re all better off for it. What’s funny is that by the end of Season 4, the list of people who know Miley’s secret was much longer than the people who didn’t know. Hey, that’s a teen sitcom for you! If you can’t get enough of family drama-comedies where another protagonist hides a big secret, then Wizards of Waverly Place and K.C. Undercover are on the same wavelength.
Multiple episodes of hijinks later, it makes sense that Miley’s little bubble had to get a bit bigger, and that’s where Hannah Montana: The Movie comes in. Released while the series was in still in full throttle, the film takes Miley to her hometown of Crowley Corners, where she reconnects with her family and her roots, and learns to be herself outside of her popstar persona. Even though the plot is considerably more subdued than the show, don’t skip this one, because at the end of the day it belongs to the same world. It still has the humor, the music, and the larger-than-life moments you signed up for, only with the backdrop of a small Tennessee town.
It wouldn’t be a teen movie if we didn’t have some sort of romance for Miley, and in the movie, this comes in the form of Travis. Their relationship and a sneaky pap who wants to expose Miley’s secret keeps the film interesting. And this is where the chronological viewing order comes into play. If you’re watching in timeline order, put the movie in between Season 3, Episode 12 and Season 3, Episode 13. This order makes the movie feel naturally woven into Miley’s story, especially since Season 4 references some things from the movie. Anyone who wants the familiar Hannah Montana beats with country charm will find Hannah Montana: The Movie to feel like a coming-of-age chapter with a lot of heart. And if you want more such high energy movies with teenage pop stars and killer soundtracks, then Camp Rock or Starstruck will get you in the groove!
As its title suggests, Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special was released two decades after the show first premiered in 2006. We spent four seasons and a movie watching Miley Stewart grow up while trying to keep her secret identity under wraps, and the anniversary special gives fans a special look into what would go on to become a global phenomenon. Miley Cyrus, donning a brand new blonde hairstyle and sparkly scarf to honor Hannah, is joined by some special guests, including her mother Tish Cyrus, her father Billy Ray Cyrus, and Selena Gomez, who played her arch-enemy, Mikayla, on the show.
We get a chance to go through the outfits, the sets, and relive the nostalgia as Miley talks about her memories from the show, who she’d choose today in the infamous Jesse or Jake debate, and reflects on what Hannah means to her. It’s a full-circle moment that was only made better by Miley’s covers of her iconic songs like, “The Climb”, “This Is the Life”, “Best of Both Worlds”, and a new song she wrote for the occasion, “Younger You.” I kid you not, I was teary-eyed throughout the performances. There was something special about watching someone we were introduced to as a teen grow into the best-selling artist she is today, and a huge part of that is thanks to the Hannah Montana era. Though the 20th Anniversary Special didn’t have all the old cast members reunite once again, just seeing some of the familiar pieces (remember the ketchup “hand moisturizer” and the mannequin-leg table?) from the Hannah Montana world was genuinely bittersweet. The 20th Anniversary Special is the perfect final stop on this journey. Sure, we’ve all grown older as well, but we’ll always find our way back home.
