In Depth

Disney Channel Announces New Series

Disney Channel has big plans for Aug. 17, the night of the world premiere of “High School Musical 2.”

Following “High School Musical 2,” Disney will preview new cartoon “Phineas and Ferb.” The series will return for its regular run in the winter, the channel announced Saturday at the Television Critics Association meeting in Los Angeles.

Following “Phineas and Ferb,” the network will run a new episode of “Hannah Montana” featuring singing group the Jonas Boys.

Before the premiere, Disney plans to stream the “High School Musical 2” soundtrack on Disney.com/DXD and will offer other content related to the movie on a special site disneychannel.com/highschoolmusical2.

Disney also is launching “High School Musical Mobile,” which will provide trivia, polls, clips and games.

The Disney Channel launches a new series of sitcom shorts called “As the Bell Rings” on Aug. 26. The series is the first adapted from an International Disney Channel for use in the U.S.

The 2- to 5-minute shorts, focusing on what students do between high school classes, originated in Italy and is being adapted in five other international markets.

The episodes will air at 8:25 p.m. and 8:55 p.m.

(Editor: Robbins)