Has Disney Replaced Miley Cyrus?

Disney has started to say goodbye to the Hannah Montana franchise, but their new series Shake It Up debuted to record numbers on Sunday. With Miley leaving the Disney channel behind, the company thinks they’ve found the next tween superstar in Bella Thorne, the 13-year-old star of Shake It Up.

Bella’s new show debuted with 6.2 million viewers, the channel’s second highest ratings for a series premiere according to TV by the Numbers. Of course many of those viewers were leftovers from the Hannah Montana Forever special, which pulled in an amazing 7.1 million viewers.

The series premiere doubled last year’s total amount of viewers, and with shows like Wizards of Waverly Place, JONAS L.A. and Hannah Montana wrapping up, it seems that Disney is prepping their next flagship show, Shake It Up.

And Disney might have found the perfect new leading starlet in Belle Thorne. With an adorable face and a personality to match, Thorne has the potential to become a huge star. Disney certainly seems to be putting her on the same career track as Miley Cyrus, and her show isn’t much of a departure from the Hannah Montana formula.

Now they just have to try and keep that record audience. Will you be tuning in?