50 Fun Facts About Alexa and Katie

What illness is Alexa Mendoza being treated for in Alexa & Katie?

She is an ambitious basketball player who hates the pity her illness brings. Spencer, whom she meets in season three, has Hodgkin lymphoma.

What does Katie do to support Alexa before they start high school?

Both girls start freshman year bald, which is what makes them feel like outsiders at a time when fitting in seems to matter most.

Who plays Alexa Mendoza?

She was born in Milwaukee and had played superhero Skylar Storm on Disney XD's Mighty Med and Lab Rats: Elite Force.

Which Paramount+ western did Isabel May star in after Alexa & Katie, playing Elsa Dutton?

She also narrates its sequel 1923 as Elsa. She was born in November 2000, making her 17 when the sitcom premiered.

Which 1990s teen icon plays Alexa's mother, Lori Mendoza?

She was Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell and Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210. Lori is strong-willed and competitive, and Nurse Chad is scared of her.

What is Dave Mendoza's job, which he loves to mention?

Eddie Shin plays him. He struggles when Alexa shaves her head but comes round, and he shares his wife's competitive streak.

What does Alexa's older brother Lucas want to become?

He is often played as dimwitted and conceited but wants to help others the way Alexa's doctors helped her. In season two he fronts his own band anyway.

Emery Kelly, who plays Lucas, was a member of which boy band formed on The X Factor USA?

Simon Cowell put him together with Ricky Garcia and Jon Klaasen in 2013. Garcia and Liam Attridge later played Lucas's bandmates on the show.

What is Katie's mother Jennifer studying to do while working?

She is divorced and single, which is why the Coopers are less well off than the Mendozas. Alan Ritchson, later Reacher, guest-stars as her ex-husband Robbie.

What is the name of the dog that Katie's little brother Jack adopts?

Jack, played by Finn Carr, loves candy and video games but understands Alexa's situation better than most adults.

Which Thundermans star plays Dylan, Lucas's brainy best friend who tutors and then dates Alexa?

He was Max Thunderman on Nickelodeon from 2013 to 2018. Dylan is a main cast member only in season two.

To which school dance does Dylan invite Alexa, after which they start dating?

They break up in season two when he cannot say what will happen once he leaves for college, and settle on being friends.

Why does Alexa break up with Dylan in season two?

Jack Griffo returned as a recurring character in season three after being a series regular in season two.

Who is Alexa's self-absorbed rival on the girls' basketball team?

Kerri Medders plays her. She turns unexpectedly kind after learning about Alexa's illness and dates Lucas in season two.

Which of Alexa and Katie's friends joins the school cheerleading team in season two and has two mothers?

Merit Leighton plays her as the more naive of the pair; Reagan, played by Iman Benson, is the sensible but self-centred one.

Which running gag is attached to Reagan?

Iman Benson plays her. Another running gag is Nathan, a student in the school play whose existence is constantly ignored.

Who gives Katie her first kiss?

He is her awkward friend from the school play, played by Nathaniel J. Potvin. Their feelings are only acknowledged directly in the season two finale.

What is the name of the coffee shop where Katie works as a barista?

Its manager Barry, played by the creator's relative Scott Wordham, is relentlessly pessimistic. Aiden later works there too.

In what town is Alexa & Katie set?

Wired coffee shop is described as a local business there. The show was shot as a multi-camera sitcom in front of a studio audience style.

Why does Alexa enjoy befriending new student Cody?

His locker sits between Alexa's and Katie's, and he is also the school mascot. Jordan Austin Smith plays him in seasons two and three.

Which George Lopez star plays Dr. Corts, Alexa's therapist in season three?

She played Angie Lopez on the ABC sitcom and Selena's mother in the 1997 film. Katie also sees Dr. Corts for anxiety.

Where does Alexa meet Spencer, the boy she eventually dates in season three?

He has Hodgkin lymphoma. Gunner Burkhardt plays him, and Alexa initially has no romantic feelings for him at all.

Where does Aiden, Katie's season-three love interest, work when they first meet?

He starts as a stress-free annoyance to Katie and later joins her behind the counter at Wired. Barrett Carnahan plays him.

What is the job of Joe Perry, the man Jennifer starts dating in season three?

Brady Smith plays him. He shares his name, but nothing else, with the Aerosmith guitarist.

Which Reacher star plays Robbie, Katie and Jack's father, in season one?

He was Aquaman on Smallville and Hawk on Titans before Reacher. He plays Jennifer's ex-husband.

Which friend from Alexa's treatment is implied to be recovering when she turns up at Alexa's sweet sixteen?

Nadja Alaya plays her. Vanessa is the school-play rival who lost the lead role to Katie and stays passive-aggressive about it.

Which basketball player initially assumes Britney is the student with cancer?

Both girls are season-one guest characters played by Tess Aubert and Megan Truong. Coach Winters later puts Alexa on junior varsity when she tries out.

What is the running gag about Ms. Rogers, the drama teacher in season one?

Katie Walder plays her, leading the school play in which Katie wins the lead over Vanessa.

Which of Alexa's doctors clears her to play basketball in season two thanks to her improved health?

Gregg Daniel plays him. Coach Winters then disappoints Alexa by putting her on junior varsity.

Alexa & Katie holds what distinction in Netflix's history?

Multi-camera means it was shot on a stage with several cameras like a classic network sitcom, rather than single-camera like most streaming comedies.

Who created Alexa & Katie?

Carlson was showrunner for season one before Wordham took over. Scott Wordham plays Barry, the coffee-shop manager.

On what date did Alexa & Katie premiere on Netflix?

Netflix renewed it for a second season on April 9, less than three weeks later.

How quickly after its premiere did Netflix renew Alexa & Katie for season two?

The renewal on April 9, 2018 came with a change of showrunner, creator Heather Wordham replacing Matthew Carlson.

How many episodes made up the third and final season, which was split into two parts?

Each half had eight episodes and followed the girls through their final years of high school. Part one arrived on December 30, 2019.

When was the final batch of Alexa & Katie episodes released?

That made four release 'parts' across roughly 27 months. The show ends with the girls finishing high school.

For which award was Alexa & Katie nominated in 2018?

It was also recognised at the 12th Television Academy Honors in 2019 for programmes that address social issues.

Which award did Alexa & Katie win in 2021, a year after it ended?

The blimp came at the 2021 Nickelodeon ceremony, even though the show had wrapped the previous summer.

Which Disney XD superhero did the actress who plays Alexa portray before this show?

She played the character on Mighty Med from 2013 and again on Lab Rats: Elite Force. She is of Filipino descent on her mother's side.

Which two members of Emery Kelly's real-life boy band appear as members of Lucas's band on the show?

They play Cameron and Steve, two dimwitted friends who follow Lucas around mirroring his style.

In which month of 2017 were the actors playing Alexa's parents and older brother cast?

Griffo, Medders and Leighton were added as classmates two months later, in August 2017. The series had been ordered early that year.

In which play does Katie win the lead role in season one?

Because the school thinks Katie is the one with cancer, she worries the part is pity casting, so Alexa reveals the truth to give her a fair chance.

Whose house do the girls accidentally teepee in the pilot while aiming for Gwenny's?

The prank earns a three-day suspension, which turns out to be exactly what Alexa wanted as her hair began falling out from chemo.

What item reveals to Katie why Alexa wanted to get in trouble in the first episode?

Katie finds Alexa's hair inside the borrowed cap, confronts her, and then shaves her own head so her friend never has to face anything alone.

How much does the wig Katie wants cost in the episode 'Wigs'?

Unable to afford it, Katie has to return the wig until her mother's paycheck arrives, and the girls start school in cheap brightly coloured ones instead.

Why is Lucas kicked out of college at the start of season three?

Back home, Lucas is inspired by Alexa's doctors to try pre-med, only to quit when a report card full of Bs is judged not good enough.

What does Dave promise to build Lori for their 20th wedding anniversary?

The project drags on all season and Alexa accidentally smashes it during a driving lesson; Spencer later confesses his feelings to her inside it.

Which form of cancer does Spencer, Alexa's season-three boyfriend, have?

Spencer explains the difference to Jack over dinner; he later joins his college basketball team and frets about being known as 'Cancer Guy'.

Which college are Alexa and Katie thrilled to get into near the end of the series?

Despite the joint acceptance, the finale shows the two starting at different schools and reuniting at home for Thanksgiving of freshman year.

Which university does Dylan leave for after season two?

When he returns at Christmas with a college baseball cap as a gift, Alexa realises Spencer has been wearing one to hide his hair loss.

Who served as showrunner of Alexa & Katie?

Carlson ran the show that Heather Wordham created; Cadiff directed the first two episodes and Lancon and Cohen were staff writers.