We previously reported that the spin-off to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, The Suite Life on Deck, opened to record numbers on the Family Channel last October and hasn't looked back since.  It did the same thing when it premiered on the Disney Channel to 5.7 million viewers.  The sequel, which follows brothers Zack and Cody Martin, now both 16 years of age, and hotel heiress London Tipton as they move to their new home The S.S. Tipton, was able to do something initially thought was impossible: outpace Hannah Montana.

In other news, former The Suite Life of Zack and Cody mainstay and High School Musical regular Ashley Tisdale will make a highly anticipated return.  Tisdale, who played Maddie Fitzpatrick on the old series, will reprise her role as London's BFF with a guest spot.  The episode, called “Maddie on Deck,” will see 8-year-old Prince Jeffy of Linchtenstamp fall in love with Maddie and forces her to marry him.  To solve the predicament, Zack challenges the Prince to a joust, with Maddie as the ultimate prize.  The catch: if Maddie refuses the prince's request and Zack loses, she will be imprisoned and S.S. Tipton will not be permitted to leave Lichtenstamp.

Life at sea seems to be sweeter for Dylan and Cole Sprouse.  After starring on the hit Disney show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, the twins have found themselves soaring in yet another series.  This time, it's The Suite Life on Deck, which features the brothers attending school on the S.S. Tipton ship.  At a glance, the boys, now at age 16, seem to have outgrown their tricks and antics during their days on the Tipton Hotel.

"I think Disney wanted us to be more responsible on the show and they felt that putting us on a boat would be the best way to do that," Cole said.

Dylan and Cole Sprouse, stars of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and its spin-off series Suite Life on Deck, is headed to Central Illinois today to meet and greet fans at the Bloomington PrairieThunder hockey game.  The twins are expected to sign autographs at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum outer concourse from 6 pm until 9pm.

The Sprouse Brothers catapulted to fame in 2005 when The Suite Life of Zack and Cody premiered on Disney, with 4 million viewers, making it the most successful premiere for the network that year.  The show, which follows the adventures of trouble-making twins who live at the Tipton Hotel, was nominated for three Emmys, as well as three Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.

Following the successful pilot run of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody spin-off, The Suite Life on Deck, Disney has picked up the tween series for a 13-episode sophomore season.  The sequel series, which is set on a cruise ship with Zack and Cody Martin (Cole and Dylan Sprouse), and London Tipton (Brenda Song) attending a high school-at-sea program, while Mr. Moseby manages the ship, ranks as television's number 2 program among kids 6 to 11 and is number 3 among tweens.  It is also the number 3 scripted series across all basic cable in total viewers.

Dylan and Cole Sprouse practically grew up under the spotlight.  At 8 months old, they appeared in a commercial for toilet paper and on the series Grace Under Fire from 1993 to 1998 playing one character, Patrick Kelly.  As with many identical twin actors, the two have often played the same role, allowing more time for the character to be filmed. They gradually broadened their exposure as they got cast in the film Big Daddy, as Ross' son Ben on Friends and for starring on the Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, where they appear as trouble-making twins who live at the Tipton Hotel.

As a result of the success of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, the Sprouse brothers are now starring in a spin-off show called The Suite Life on Deck while still being heartthrobs to preteens and teen audiences.

Disney's highly anticipated new series The Suite Life on Deck opened to much audience acclaim as it debuted on Astral Media's Family Channel.  It was broadcasted on the network as part of a special Thanksgiving Day marathon, and it attracted record ratings.  The Family Channel aired the first two episodes of the series back-to-back, and the viewers greeted the series with immense excitement.  

Starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse, each episode of the sitcom beat out its previous record set last March 2008.  The ratings followed the successful 2008 broadcast season for Family Channel, which emerged as Canada's number one pay-and-specialty channel in the country.