September 23, 2021 (2021-09-23) – March 20, 2024 (2024-03-20)
That Girl Lay Lay is an American comedy television series created by David A. Arnold that aired on Nickelodeon from September 23, 2021 to March 20, 2024. The series stars That Girl Lay Lay, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, Tiffany Daniels, Thomas Hobson, Peyton Perrine III, Caleb Brown, and Elijah M. Cooper.
Premise
Struggling to make her mark at school and needing a best friend to talk to, Sadie wishes that Lay Lay, an artificially intelligent avatar from a personal affirmation app, were real and could help teach her how to stand out. When her wish comes true and Lay Lay is magically brought to life, they navigate life as teenagers and discover who they truly are, all while trying to keep Lay Lay's identity hidden.
Cast
Main
That Girl Lay Lay as Lay Lay, an artificially intelligent phone avatar that comes to life in the form of a human teen girl with special abilities
Gabrielle Nevaeh Green as Sadie, a girl who owned the phone avatar version of Lay Lay until it came to life
Caleb Brown as Jeremy (season 1), Sadie and Lay Lay's classmate
Elijah M. Cooper as Cobo (season 2)
Recurring
Andrea Barber as Principal Willingham, the principal of East Packer High School
Kensington Tallman as Tiffany, the most popular girl in school
Ishmel Sahid as Woody, the owner of Boombox Burger
Anna-Grace Arnold as Gigi, an emo girl who only listens to herself
Sean Phillip Glasgow as Lugnut
Archer Vattano as Scoot, Marky's best friend
Graydon Yosowitz as Graydon Waydon
Production
On March 18, 2021, That Girl Lay Lay was ordered to series by Nickelodeon for 13 episodes, set to star Alaya High, who is otherwise known as Lay Lay. The series was created by David A. Arnold, who also serves as showrunner, and is produced by Will Packer Productions. Production for the series began in summer 2021. David A. Arnold, Will Packer, Carolyn Newman, John Beck, and Ron Hart serve as executive producers.[1][2] On July 2, 2021, it was announced that Gabrielle Nevaeh Green as Sadie, Peyton Perrine III as Marky, Tiffany Daniels as Trish, Thomas Hobson as Bryce, and Caleb Brown as Jeremy all joined the main cast.[3] On August 26, 2021, it was announced that the series would premiere on September 23, 2021.[4]
On January 28, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on July 14, 2022.[5][6]
On March 19, 2024, it was announced that the series would end after two seasons. The finale aired March 20, 2024.[7]
Sadie Alexander, a teenage girl, makes a wish that her hype-girl avatar, Lay Lay, would come to life. When she falls asleep, Lay Lay magically transforms into an actual human, so Sadie has to keep her a secret, passing her off as an exchange student from Houston, or else people will grow suspicious. Lay Lay convinces Sadie that she could stand out by running for class president against Tiffany, the popular girl in school.
Guest stars: Andrea Barber, Kensington Tallman, Emma Winnick, Christine Rodriguez
After Lay Lay insults Trish's dinner, she and Sadie have to clean the dishes. Sadie then teaches Lay Lay about little white lies, such as the family praising "Trish's Dishes" when in reality they don't like them. Lay Lay takes the white lie up to extreme when she says that Trish's Dishes should be made everyday, which prompts Sadie and Lay Lay to make their own dinner, with disastrous results. Meanwhile, Marky and Bryce tries to make money from selling burger mugs to Woody (Ishmel Sahid).
Lay Lay decides to join the auto club so she could make a stylish ride, but Sadie, who feels she will mess it up, joins as well. When Lugnut (Sean Philip Glasgow) insults them by saying building cars is only for boys, which gets them to try to build their own ride to counter Lugnut. Meanwhile, Marky and Jeremy notice Trish's new invention and want to promote it.
Guest stars: Andrea Barber, Kensington Tallman, Emma Winnick, Sean Philip Glasgow, Josh Banday
Absent: Tiffany Daniels as Trish, Thomas Hobson as Bryce
When the Alexanders attend their monthly visit to Church, Lay Lay has a whiff of Bryce's special ice cream without permission, and starts to suffer severe overheating. Sadie must convince Lay Lay to tell the truth should her glitch stop. Meanwhile, Marky pretends to be sick to get out of going to Church so he can watch a new movie.
Guest stars: Ishmel Sahid, David A. Arnold, Lonyé Perrine, Roz Ryan
When Sadie does not get the part she wanted in the play and Lay Lay's prank on the director goes wrong, Principal Willingham demands she sees Lay Lay's parents otherwise she will get expelled. Knowing Lay Lay is not from Houston, Sadie decides to disguise herself as her grandmother Fae Fae; despite the difficulties, the conference goes well and Lay Lay is off the hook. The episode ends on a cliffhanger when Marky overhears Sadie talking about Lay Lay's true identity.
The first season is available to stream on Netflix as of January 21, 2022.[45][46] The series was added to Paramount+ on February 2, 2023. However, it was removed on March 28, 2024.[47][48] The second season was added to Netflix on February 23, 2023.[49]
Reception
Ratings
Viewership and ratings per season of That Girl Lay Lay
