‘Big Hero 6 The Series’ Premiere Event Airs This Weekend on Disney Channel

Big Hero 6 The Series premieres as a weekend event Saturday, June 9, and Sunday, June 10, on Disney Channel, the DisneyNOW TV Everywhere app and Disney Channel VOD platforms.

Variety reports the two-day event features two back-to-back 22-minute episodes each day from 9 to 10 a.m. EDT/PDT, with new episodes to air each Saturday through September.

The animated series continues the adventures of 14-year-old super genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) and superhero-slash-nurse partner Baymax (Scott Adsit) who operate as crimefighters alongside college-aged friends Go Go (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Khary Payton), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriquez) and Fred (Brooks Wheelan).

Hour-long TV movie Baymax Returns, a sequel to 2014 theatrical Walt Disney Animation Studios hit Big Hero 6, premiered in November on Disney Channel and served as set up for the animated series.

"The idea was to re-immerse kids into the movie and show the world in this new 2D version," said executive producer Bob Schooley, who teams again with longtime producing partner Mark McCorkle.

"It captures a few of the key, emotional moments from the end of the movie but gets the audience used to the show's different style. We wanted a story with a little bit of familiarity from the movie but opened it up in a way that introduced you to the new world the show was going to be taking place in."

Schooley and McCorkle previously worked on Disney movie-to-television series translations Aladdin: The Series, Disney's Hercules, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.

The pair, who co-created animated action series Kim Possible for Disney Channel, said their histories made them a natural fit for Big Hero 6 The Series.

"Because we did Kim Possible, which was sort of this combination of action, comedy and heart, this was right in our wheelhouse, so we were an easy sale for this property," Schooley said.

In adapting a movie to series, it helps to "have a really great movie," Schooley said of the 2014 animated blockbuster that earned $657 million and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards.

"If you're starting with something from Walt Disney Feature Animation, you're going to have great characters and all that, so it's up to us to figure out a new way to move forward," McCorkle said.

The main cast are "all new at being superheroes, so that was an area we could explore," he continued. In addition to being a newly minted superhero, Hiro is new to the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.

"Hiro's new at this school, he's a 14-year-old going to college. He's a bit stubborn, a bit reckless and he takes risks," McCorkle said. "Those are all good ingredients for stories."

Marvel legend Stan Lee will return to voice Fred's dad and guest appearances will include celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsey and Alton Brown and Conan's Andy Richter.

Big Hero 6 The Series has already been picked up for a second season ahead of its June 9 debut.