"Hannah Montana"

Last Friday, I checked out the new Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana” starring Flatwoods, KY native Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter, Miley. And judging from the ratings, I wasn’t the only one as “Hannah” put up the network’s best series numbers ever in total households, kids 6-11 and preteens 9-14.

Miley plays Miley Stewart, a preteen trying to adjust to her new Malibu school, after moving from Tennessee. Miley, however, has a big secret. She’s also Hannah Montana, today’s hottest preteen pop star (She keeps it a secret because she’s afraid if she tells anyone that they will treat her differently.). Billy Ray is her dad, Robby, who is also her manager. She has an older brother, Jackson, and two friends, Lilly, who of course, is a HUGE Hannah Montana fan and Oliver, who is so big of a fan he calls Hannah his future wife.

In last week’s premiere, Miley was forced to admit to Lilly, her best friend, that she is Hannah Montana which put a strain on their friendship. But because this is the Disney Channel, they patched everything up by the end and even managed to show up the snobby girls in school.

It’s clear that Disney is hoping that Miley is the new Hilary Duff and I have to say it’s possible. “Hannah” reminds me a lot of “Lizzie McGuire.” You could see Miley getting better as the episode went on and she’s got some pretty catchy songs that should be good sellers. But in my opinion, the real star of the show is Billy Ray himself. It looks like the man most famous for doing “Achy Breaky Heart” is about to become famous for doing something else—being a father. His Robby is the perfect mix between a cool hip dad and Danny Tanner from “Full House.” Billy Ray has found a real niche here and I hope that the show finds more to do with him. I’m thinking that it shouldn’t be too long before this single dad is dating.

You can catch “Hannah Montana” every Friday at 7 p.m. on the Disney Channel.