Disney alum admits he and co-star ‘leaned into’ step-sibling romance on screen to boost show’s popularity

See more of our coverage in your search results. “Life With Derek” star Michael Seater admitted he and co-star Ashley Leggat “leaned into” the onscreen step-sibling romance fans wanted on the Disney Channel show. “Here’s the thing. We had an undeniable chemistry that the fans loved,” Seater explained on the Back to the Best podcast. “And then, listen, romance has never been bigger, right?” “We knew that the fans liked it, so we leaned into it without letting the writers or the producers know that we were leaning into it,” Seater confessed. “Life With Derek” stars Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat (pictured in 2010) “leaned into” the onscreen step-sibling romance fans wanted on the Disney Channel show. WireImage “Here’s the thing. We had an undeniable chemistry that the fans loved,” Seater (pictured with Leggat behind the scenes of the sitcom) recently shared. ashleyleggat/Instagram “We’d be like sitting on a couch, they’d be like, ‘Can you maybe separate yourselves a little on the couch?’ But we were like, ‘How many shows have existed on will they, won’t they for so many years?’” The Canadian teen sitcom, which was broadcast on Disney Channel between 2005 and 2009, starred Seater as the titular Derek, a laid-back underachiever who frequently clashed with his uptight stepsister Casey (Leggat) when their two families blended after their parents’ marriage. The actor said that in the early days of the show, he and Leggat were aware that fans were rooting for the unconventional and inappropriate romance through online forums, but producers had zero clue. The two young stars (pictured with the rest of the cast) were very aware that fans of the show wanted the weird pairing through online forums, even though production had no idea. Disney Channel The Disney Channel sitcom aired from 2005 to 2008 and followed step-siblings Derek (Seater) and Casey (Leggat) as they clashed after their parents got married. Disney Channel Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily. Thanks for signing up! However, according to Seater, after four seasons, it wasn’t just the actors who were aware of the covert dynamic being fostered between Derek and Casey. “What’s crazy is like, the very last scene — they were sort of aware of it by the end. But [Jeff Biederman], one of the writers who wrote when [Casey] goes, ‘Derek, you’re the [best] of a brother ever.’ And he goes, ‘Stepbrother.’ Corrects her that it’s stepbrother with a smirk.” “I mean, I know what I’m doing there, but he says he did not mean that to be such an encapsulating moment of that whole thing,” Seater recalled. “So yeah, we knew what we were doing, at least some of us.” Seater and Leggat (pictured on the show) would do subtle things like sitting too close together on the couch to give fans what they wanted. Disney Channel The former co-stars (pictured in 2022) have kept the odd ship alive in the decades since the show ended. ashleyleggat/X Fan love for the forbidden pairing was so strong at one point that the “ship name” Dasey was given to Derek and Casey for the purposes of discussing their “will they, won’t they” romance. Over a decade after the show’s finale, Leggat even endorsed the odd coupling on X in 2020. “I love the yearly nostalgic ‘Life With Derek’ trend that happens. I still go down with this ship. #LifeWithDerek #Dasey,” she wrote alongside a selfie of her and Seater. Community Guidelines Welcome to the Page Six Community! Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas in a safe space. In order to do so, we've created a simple set of rules that will improve your experience. Simply put, keep it civil. Your post will/might be rejected if it contains: Spam Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language and threats of any kind Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author User accounts will/might be blocked if we notice: Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk So, how can you be a power user? Stay on topic and share your passion. Feel free to elaborate to get your point across. 'Like' or 'Dislike' when you are filled with emotions! Protect your community. Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules. Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Don't forget, freedom of speech is not the freedom of reach!