TV Review: It's Like "Phineas And Ferb" Never Left in First New Season on Disney Channel Since 2015
Once upon a time, there was a show that was all the rage– sure it was a show that had an audience that skewed substantially older than that of Phineas and Ferb - but I didn’t jump into it until its final season. Apparently, this last season of that show was drastically different, with stories that ruined the entire arc of its characters, endings that weren’t satisfying to devotees, and production teams that even let Starbucks, um, urm, coffee cups get left in the background of some scenes. I had no idea. I had only heard the hype of how good this show is and here I am wondering where that greatness was as my friends and family are staunchly defending the show's prior seasons telling me that I need to go back and watch it all. I had no desire to.
Phineas and Ferb has a similar background for me. I had heard all about it but never got into it. In fact, I didn’t start getting into Disney Television Animation shows and series until the last few years. Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy" Marsh are known to me more for Hamster & Gretel than Phineas and Ferb. And, much like that other show, I have had friends and family adamantly telling me - “No, you need to watch Phineas and Ferb." Similarly, I am now thrown into a revival of that series without more than a 101 background and a few episodes introducing me to this iconic Disney Channel series.
This time around, it is much different from that first show I mentioned. Phineas & Ferb, technically debuting its fifth season, shows why there was such a demand for its return. I fully buy into the hype now and have more of a desire to go back and watch previous episodes than I did with other series. The humor is great, non-stop, and full of heart. Fortunately, I got a bit of a background and can say with a level of authority that running gags from our main characters, IE “Where’s Perry?" etc. are back and fit in naturally and aren’t forced or delivered with a “hey, remember?"-style wink at the audience.
Subtle call backs to the earlier episodes, which stopped being produced back in 2015, can be found but don’t distract from newcomers to the series. In fact, the only real changes (as far as I can tell) from the legacy series is the addition of the word “another" into the theme song, and some references to the prior seasons at the opening of the first episode of the new season, implying that it took a full school year to recap their prior summer vacation.
In the fifth season, we follow the inventive step-brothers as they tackle yet another 104 days of summer. Their sister, Candace is more determined than ever to finally bust her little brothers while their pet platypus, Perry, continues to lead a double life as the suave Agent P, whose sole mission is to thwart Dr. Doofenshmirtz from taking over the Tri-State Area.
Outside of upgrades in the art of animation for the series, as far as this newcomer can tell, these new episodes are more of the same - and that’s a good thing. The humor is still there, fast paced, and delivered in unique and creative ways (an oven repairman bit had me cackling), and it's full of heart where needed. Adding to this, the creative teams have returned, as well as the voice talent from the original episodes. The music is quite catchy, and again, feels like what was there before from my introduction to the show. This is in stark contrast to the music of Hamster & Gretel. While similar in spirit (each episode with a song, applicable styles, etc), knowing that it's from the same creative teams, I was quite apprehensive before diving into the new Phineas and Ferb episodes and was quite surprised. Don’t be shocked if you find me on a boat singing a certain submarine sandwich submarine sea shanty in the future.
In fact, for newcomers like me, the only challenge to viewing new episodes of the series in the Disney Channel/Disney TV Animation lineup is that it is now adjacent to the various series it paved the way for. Phineas and Ferb is the longest running Disney Channel animated series yet, with newer fare like Big City Greens coming up fast, having just passed their 100th episode. Where other series like Big City Greens, or Kiff, StuGo, and others push the comedy to a PG-line that has me questioning if their series is on the right network, Phineas and Ferb stays firmly in the G-rated throws of 2007. Not necessarily a bad thing by any stretch, but might be hard for newcomers who are used to the hijinx and pace of the animated series of 2025. Regardless, nostalgia viewers looking for more from their favorites from a while ago will not be disappointed.
In the end, the revival season of the series has done something hard to accomplish for a newcomer like me to a legacy series like this… it has me wanting to go back and watch the earlier seasons of the show. To learn the ins & outs of each character, their nuances, their quirks. I want to appreciate the call backs, the lines muttered under the breath of a character showing off their deeper persona. I give this new season of Phineas & Ferb 4 out of 5 sticky gecko gloves.
The new season will premiere on Thursday, June 5, at 8 p.m. PDT/EDT on Disney Channel and Disney XD with two episodes, and the first episode will be available the same day on Disney Channel YouTube. The first 10 episodes of the season will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, June 6th.