Milo Murphy's Law

Milo Murphy's Law
Genre	Comedy Science fiction
Created by	Dan Povenmire Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
Directed by	Dan Povenmire Robert F. Hughes Bob Bowen
Voices of	"Weird Al" Yankovic Sabrina Carpenter Mekai Curtis
Opening theme	"It's My World (And We're All Living in It)" by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Ending theme	"It's My World (And We're All Living in It)"
Composer	Danny Jacob
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	40 (73 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Dan Povenmire Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
Producer	Robert F. Hughes
Editor	Anne Harting
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	Disney Television Animation
Original release
Network	Disney XD (2016-2019) Disney Channel (2019)
Release	October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03) – May 18, 2019 (2019-05-18)

Milo Murphy's Law is an American animated television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. The series premiered on October 3, 2016 on Disney XD. It revolves around the title character, Milo Murphy, who is a descendant of Edward A. Murphy Jr., the namesake of Murphy's law, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The series takes place in the same universe as Povenmire/Marsh's previous series Phineas and Ferb, with multiple references to the show occurring across season one, culminating in a crossover at the beginning of the second season and continuing throughout with other plot threads from the former series.

Although working on a new show, Povenmire announced that he and Marsh "…would both really love to do more Milo Murphy…I'm willing to do more than one show at a time.", and according to Povenmire, a possible third season hinges on the amount of views it receives on Disney+, leaving it all in the fan's hands. On October 4, 2020, the fourth anniversary of the first episode, a fan movement by the hashtag of #RenewMML, peaked on No. 28 on Twitter's trending page.

In February 2021, "the audience demand for Milo Murphy's Law is 2.5 times the demand of the average TV series...", and it was also ranked as No. 77 of the top 100 series on Disney+. On February 23, Marsh stated that although Disney had apologized to him and Povenmire for promoting the show poorly in the past, "… the show is doing well on Disney+, and that maybe its success will possibly justify a couple of specials".

Characters

Main

• "Weird Al" Yankovic as Milo Murphy, the title character of the series. He has a reputation for having extreme misfortune and causing part of it to others as a result of being descended from the creator of Murphy's Law; nevertheless, he is optimistic and constantly finds ways to overcome it. He carries a backpack with him that always seems to have what he needs for any given situation. It was given to him by his old babysitter, Veronica, who was the only one able to handle Murphy's Law.
• Sabrina Carpenter as Melissa Chase, the long-time best friend of Milo's who likes to hang out with him despite his bad luck. Her father is the local fire chief. She has had a secret fear of rollercoasters, since one nearly fell on her, and has fake front teeth after catching a pop fly.
• Mekai Curtis as Zack Underwood, the new kid to the Tri-State Area who becomes best friends with Milo and sticks by Milo even though he is a jinx. He is on the football team. He was once the lead singer of a boy band called "The Lumberzacks". He is often the straight man of the series.

Supporting

The Murphys' house

• Diedrich Bader as Martin Murphy, Milo's father. Just like his son, he has extreme misfortune. He is a safety inspector, mostly due to the fact that when he's around, safety contingencies are pushed to the limit.
• Pamela Adlon as Brigette Murphy, Milo's mother who is an architect.
• Kate Micucci as Sara Murphy, Milo's older sister and fellow Dr. Zone fan who loves her brother despite his recurring bad luck.
• Dee Bradley Baker as Diogee Ex Machina Murphy, Milo's dog. He regularly follows Milo, who keeps telling him to go home as he is almost always not allowed to be wherever Milo is at the moment. His name is pronounced "D-O-G", as if spelling out the word "dog", and his middle name refers to the fact that he often appears out of nowhere to help Milo out of seemingly hopeless situations.
• Dan Povenmire as Dr. Heinz "Doof" Doofenshmirtz / Professor Time, a formerly-evil-scientist-turned-O.W.C.A. member who Milo encounters while looking for Professor Time, Doof's future self, in the final episode of the first season. After his house gets destroyed through Murphy's Law, Doofenshmirtz is going to live with the Murphy family in a shed in their garden and becomes a supporting character during season two.

Jefferson County Middle School

• Chrissie Fit as Amanda Lopez, a student in Milo's class who is a perfectionist and Milo’s love interest.
• Vincent Martella as Bradley Nicholson, a pessimistic and arrogant student who is jealous of the attention Milo gets. Due to the space-time continuum being altered during "The Phineas and Ferb Effect", his right arm is still part plant.
• Greg Cipes as Mort Schaeffer, a burly-looking and spiritual student in Milo's class. He is Bradley's best friend, but is friends with Milo and his gang, and is the drummer in their band, Just Getting Started.
• Django Marsh as Chad Van Coff, a classmate of Milo's who is convinced that Mr. Drako is a vampire.
• Alyson Stoner as Lydia, a classmate of Milo's as well as Amanda's best friend.
• Michael Culross as Kyle Drako, a middle school teacher with a slight Romanian accent. A recurring gag involves him exhibiting traits resembling a vampire.
• Christian Slater as Elliot Decker, the school crossing guard and self-described "Safety Czar". He makes it his mission to protect the city from Milo, to which he constantly hinders Milo and the gang.
• Mackenzie Phillips as Elizabeth Milder, the principal of Jefferson County Middle School.
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Nolan Mitchell, the football coach of Jefferson County Middle School.
• Sarah Chalke as Mrs. Murawski, the science teacher of Jefferson County Middle School who holds an unhealthy affection for her desk.
• Laraine Newman as Ms. White, another middle school teacher.

Bureau of Time Travel Agents

• Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Vinnie Dakota and Balthazar Cavendish. The pair are time travelers given the assignment to prevent the extinction of the pistachio. They are considered a joke by their fellow time agents because their job is considered inconsequential. Dakota dresses in Disco (1970s) clothing while Cavendish dresses in Victorian era (1870s) formal wear. They initially see Milo as an enemy agent until they learn about Murphy's Law and befriend him in "Missing Milo". Later in the same episode, it is revealed that they were the inspirations for Doctor Zone and the Time Ape. In the second season episode "Snow Way Out", they are revoked from time travel, though in "Picture Day", they are hired by Bob Block as janitors at the Paranormal Investigation Group (P.I.G.).
• Mark Hamill as Mr. Block, Cavendish and Dakota's superior in season 1 and the beginning of season 2.
  • Hamill also voices Bob Block, Mr. Block's great-great-great-grandfather in the present day, who hires Cavendish and Dakota as janitors for P.I.G. in "Snow Way Out".
• Ming-Na Wen and Brett Dalton as Savannah and Brick, colleagues of Dakota and Cavendish. Unlike them, Savannah and Brick resemble traditional secret agents in the vein of James Bond, and drive a time vehicle that resembles a limousine, as opposed to Dakota and Cavendish's, which resembles a Beetle. Their character designs are based on their voice actors, who portrayed secret agents in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym)

• Dee Bradley Baker as Perry the Platypus, aka "Agent P", a platypus agent and pet of the Flynn-Fletcher family. After appearing in the crossover, he becomes a supporting character in the second season.
• Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram, Perry's superior in O.W.C.A. who makes sporadic appearances in the second season.
• Tyler Alexander Mann as Carl, O.W.C.A.'s sole perpetual unpaid intern and Major Monogram's personal assistant who also makes sporadic appearances in the second season.

Octalians

• Joanna Hausmann as Alien Commander, the captain of an extraterrestrial fleet interested in the capture of Milo.
• Odessa Adlon as the Alien Commander's daughter, Orgaluth.
• Brock Powell as Alien Pilot, the Alien Commander's second-in-command.
• John Ross Bowie and Cedric Yarbrough as Loab and Khone, the Alien Commander's "favorite" field agents.
• Al Yankovic, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, and Brock Powell as Beek, Mantel and Dorsal, additional field agents under the Alien Commander.

Others

• Vanessa Williams as Eileen Underwood, Zack's mother who works as a surgeon.
• Phil LaMarr as Marcus Underwood, Zack's father.
• Adrian Pasdar as Richard Chase, Melissa's father who works as a fireman.
• Jemaine Clement as Doctor Zone, the main character of the eponymous show within a show. He is based on the titular character from Doctor Who, as he travels through time. Orton Mahlson, the creator of The Doctor Zone Files is also the original actor who portrayed the character. Mahlson's name is a parody of writer Martin Olson.
• Sophie Winkleman as Time Ape, Dr. Zone's sidekick.
• Scott D. Peterson as Scott, an "Undergrounder" who lives beneath Danville.
• Vincent Martella as Phineas Flynn, an upbeat young boy who Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
• David Errigo, Jr. as Ferb Fletcher, a boy of few words who Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
• Ashley Tisdale as Candace Flynn, Phineas' sister who Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
• Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet Tjinder, an intellectual friend of Phineas and Ferb's who Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
• Bobby Gaylor as Buford van Stomm, a "bully" friend of Phineas and Ferb's who Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
• Alyson Stoner as Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Phineas and Ferb's neighbor who Milo and his friends team up with to stop the Pistachions.
• Recurring Raccoon and Zippy: the World’s Fastest Koala (unvoiced), two running gags introduced in season 2 who cause all sorts of chaos and even have their own jingles.
• Dan Povenmire as Colonel Niblet, Head of a mysterious government agency. After a series of appearances throughout the series, Cavendish and Dakota are mistakenly blamed for destroying one of his facilities and make an enemy out of him.
• Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Lieutenant Tennant, A government lieutenant under Colonel Niblet.
• John Viener as the disembodied head of Norm, Doof's formerly giant robot man. His body was destroyed in the rubble of Doofenshmirtz Formerly-Evil Incorporated.
• Olivia Olson as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, Doof's goth daughter from his failed marriage.
• Mitchell Musso as Jeremy Johnson, Candace Flynn's boyfriend, whom Cavendish and Dakota met at a Slushy Dawg in "Managing Murphy's Law".
• Maulik Pancholy as "Neal From the Comic Shop", Sara's love interest.

Episodes

The show currently comprises two seasons with 20 episodes each. When asked about the odds of a third season in May 2020, Povenmire stated they are still at a low and the odds all hinge on the uptick in views on Disney+ which had yet to happen.

Main article: List of Milo Murphy's Law episodes

Season	Segments	Episodes		Originally released
				First released	Last released	Network
1	36	20		October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03)	December 2, 2017 (2017-12-02)	Disney XD
2	37	20		January 5, 2019 (2019-01-05)	May 18, 2019 (2019-05-18)	Disney Channel

Crossovers

The second season premiere episode was a crossover with the series creators' previous show, Phineas and Ferb. The entire Phineas and Ferb cast reprised their roles for the special, with the exception of Thomas Sangster, the original voice of Ferb, due to schedule conflicts. Ferb was instead voiced by David Errigo, Jr. Following the crossover, the Phineas and Ferb characters Doofenshmirtz, Perry the Platypus, Major Monogram and Carl joined the cast of Milo Murphy's Law in a main and recurring capacity respectively.

Milo Murphy's Law character Trucker Ted appeared in the Disney+ film Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, with Bob Bowen reprising his role. "Weird Al" Yankovic was also slated to return as Milo Murphy in the film, but his scenes were deleted from the final film.

Reception

Common Sense Media rated the show 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "Parents need to know that Milo Murphy's Law is a hilarious animated series from the creators of Phineas and Ferb. It suggests that the fabled Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong will go wrong) is a real condition that afflicts its titular character and puts him through all sorts of unpredictable trials. As a result, there are lots of scary and potentially painful accidents (falling off a cliff, being chased by wolves, getting caught in a subway turnstile), but Milo always approaches them with a can-do attitude that positively influences his friends as well. As for his friends, they prove their worth by sticking with him regardless of what that exposes them to, so there are lots of good messages there".

Common Sense Media rated the crossover episode titled "The Phineas and Ferb Effect" 4 out of 5 stars, stating : "Parents need to know that Milo Murphy's Law: The Phineas and Ferb Effect brings together the characters from Milo Murphy's Law and Phineas and Ferb, all of whom share a hometown in their series. The story blends the best of all three titular characters -- optimistic Milo's severe misfortune (he's the descendant of the man for whom Murphy's Law was named), and Phineas and Ferb's perpetual good luck in their harebrained schemes -- into a crossover special that's geared toward fans of both shows. The story takes off running without introducing either the characters or the setting, so newcomers to the characters' identities and relationships will feel a little lost. Expect a lot of action involving oversized plantlike monsters who don human identities and turn some people into plants themselves, but no real violence. If this is your kids' introduction to any of these characters, know that this fun mix of personalities will encourage them to seek out more of their separate escapades".

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2017	44th Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production	Dan Povenmire and Kyle Menke for "Going the Extra Milo"	Nominated
	44th Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Children’s Animated Program	Dan Povenmire (executive producer), Jeff "Swampy" Marsh (co-executive producer)	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program	Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Kyle Menke, Dan Povenmire	Nominated
2018	45th Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production	Joshua Pruett for "The Island of the Lost Dakotas"	Nominated
2020	47th Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Special Class Animated Program		Nominated

External links

• Milo Murphy's Law at IMDb