Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus) by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real identity from the public, other than her close friends and family. In 2007, the series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. Season three of the series premiered on November 2, 2008 and will finish up on March 14, 2010. Hannah Montana: The Movie was released in theaters on April 10, 2009. The show has been renewed for the fourth and final season which started production on January 18, 2010 and new episodes have been ordered by Disney. It is expected to premiere in July 2010. Michael Poryes, who is credited as co-creator, also co-created the hit Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven and Cory In The House. The show is produced by It's a Laugh Productions, Inc. and Michael Poryes Productions, in association with Disney Channel Original Productions. It is filmed at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, California. The original idea for this show was based on the That's So Raven episode "Goin' Hollywood", which was supposed to be the pilot episode for a sitcom called Better Days, in which a child star of a popular TV show of the same name was to try her hand at going to a normal school. The episode "New Kid in School" has the basic premise as that aforementioned episode. Former American Juniors finalist Jordan McCoy and pop and R&B singer JoJo (who rejected the role) were considered for the role of Zoe Stewart. Miley Cyrus originally auditioned for the role of the "best friend" Lilly Romero, later changed to Lilly Truscott, but they thought she would be better for the main character, so she tried out for Zoe Stewart/Hannah Montana. Zoe Stewart was later changed to Chloe Stewart, which was eventually changed to Miley when she got the part. The names of Hannah Montana were changed a few times. Three of the previous names were Anna Cabana, Samantha York, and Alexis Texas. In December 2006, Disney announced plans to release Hannah Montana products, including clothing, jewellery, apparel, and dolls, at selected stores. Play Along Toys released the Hannah Montana fashion dolls, singing dolls, Miley Stewart doll, and other merchandise in August 2007. More Hannah dolls were released in November, along with Oliver, Lilly, and later Jake Ryan dolls. They became one of the most popular Christmas toys in 2007. According to the Daily Dispatch, the TV series held a global audience of 200 million viewers in 2008. "If Miley’s viewers were a country, they would be the fifth largest population in the world – just ahead of Brazil." By February 2008, the Hannah Montana franchise had become so important that Disney convened an "80-person, all-platform international meeting to discuss Hannah Montana's future." All Disney business segments were represented at the meeting. On August 23, 2007, Buddy Sheffield sued Disney over Hannah Montana, alleging that he originally came up with the idea for Hannah Montana, but was never compensated by Disney. In the lawsuit, Sheffield claims that he pitched an idea for a TV series with the name of "Rock and Roland" to Disney Channel in 2001 with the plot of a junior high student who lived a secret double life as a rock star. The lawsuit claims that Disney Channel executives at first liked the idea, but passed on the series. Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert is a concert film from Walt Disney Pictures presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The limited release was intended to be for one week, February 1-7, 2008 in the US and Canada with release in other countries later on, but was extended for viewing as long as theaters wanted. Disney announced the concert was filmed in several cities to be theatrically released in the US in February and internationally that month. The film uses 3-D glasses. The opening weekend, February 1–3, 2008, the movie had gross revenue of $29 million. It was the number one movie of the weekend. Opening in only 638 theaters, it set a record of over $42,000 per theater. It set a record for the highest revenue for a 3-D movie for one weekend. Hannah Montana: The Movie is the film adaptation of the American teen sitcom Hannah Montana. Filming began in April 2008, much of it occurring in Columbia, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California, and was completed in July 2008. The film was released on April 10, 2009 in the United States and Canada.