What's bigger than High School Musical, spunkier than Hannah Montana and more glamtastic than The Cheetah Girls?
Well, nothing yet, but Disney is hoping to at least capitalize on their popularity with its latest foray into the teen-music-adventure genre, the upcoming original series J.O.N.A.S.
The Disney Channel production, featuring sibling rockers the Jonas Brothers, is scheduled to start shooting in early 2008 and premiere later in the year.
According to the house the Mouse built, J.O.N.A.S. will star 19-year-old Kevin, 18-year-old Joseph and 15-year-old Nick Jonas as, well, pretty much themselves, but in addition to their daily rock-superstar duties, they will moonlight as secret agents, the bane of all benign bad guys' existence.
In addition to being their last name, J.O.N.A.S. also stands for Junior Operatives Networking as Spies.
To rev up interest in its latest import, Disney Channel will air the special Jonas Brothers in Concert, featuring the boys performing tunes from their self-titled sophomore album in New York's Gramercy Park, and a TV movie, Camp Rock, is currently filming in Toronto.
In Camp Rock, the Jonas boys play members of the fictional group Connect 3, who serve as celebrity guest counselors at a summer camp for aspiring musicians.
The New Jersey-bred teens are also headed out on the road with Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus' 54-date Best of Both Worlds tour next month.
While Jonas Brothers is currently perched none too shabbily at number 25, after debuting at number 5 on the Billboard 200, the group knows that a little (or better yet, a lot) of Disney exposure can go a long way.
The soundtrack to Hannah Montana, featuring Cyrus as her TV alter ego, debuted in first place and has sold more than 2 million copies. Her second album, the two-disc Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, in which the 14-year-old got to put in some playing time as herself, didn't do too badly, either, going triple platinum.
Meanwhile, the High School Musical soundtrack was the bestselling album of 2006, moving 3.7 million units. The music from HSM2 also dropped at number one and sold about 1.8 million copies in five weeks.
"Kevin, Joe and Nick are the real deal—incredible musicians, phenomenal performers, charismatic stars," said Gary Marsh, president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide. "An act like the Jonas Brothers doesn't come along very often. This is a giant coup for the Disney Channel."
The Jonas Brothers also sing the theme song of Disney Channel's animated series American Dragon: Jake Long and have been in regular rotation on Radio Disney since 2005. Their debut album, It's About Time, came out in August 2006.