thumb|Series' title card

Ready or Not is a Canadian teen drama television series that aired on the Showtime Movie Channel (April 3, 1993 – 1997) and later on The Disney Channel (April 4, 1996 – 2000) and Global Television Network for five seasons and 65 episodes between 1993 and 1997 in both Canada and the United States.

The show centred on two adolescent girls and their friendship and coming-of-age, addressing difficult topics like divorce, racism, consent, and body image. In June 2021, it was announced the show is in preliminary development for a reboot series.

Premise

The program follows two teenage girls in the suburbs of Toronto, best friends Amanda Zimm and Elizabeth "Busy" Ramone, throughout life's struggles as well as showcasing the different households they grew up in. Amanda is a Jewish Canadian only child raised by liberal former hippie parents including a mother that was into New Age philosophy and often tried to incorporate it into her parenting. Busy, in contrast, is from a more conservative and traditional Italian Canadian Catholic household with three older brothers. Busy and Amanda's personalities and interests are opposites; while Busy is a tomboy who drums and loves sports, Amanda is a girly girl who is boy crazy and dreams of being a model or actress. The series' five year run begins with the girls in grade 6 and ends with them graduating grade 9.

Cast

Principals

  • Laura Bertram as Amanda Zimm
  • Lani Billard as Elizabeth "Busy" <!-- "Maria Teresa Carlita".--> Ramone
  • Gail Kerbel as Phyllis Zimm
  • John Lefebvre as Leonard Zimm
  • Diana Reis as Lucy Ramone
  • Gerry Mendicino as Sam Ramone
  • Joseph Griffin as Manuel "Manny" Ramone
  • Fab Filippo as Dominick "Dom" Ramone (main, seasons 1–3; guest, season 5)
  • Noah Plener as Francis "Frankie" Ramone

Recurring

  • Benjamin Plener as Michael "Monkey Ears"
  • Amy Smith as Chrissy Frazer (seasons 1 & 2)
  • Jesse Nilsson as Justin (season 1)
  • Matthew Moore as Emory (seasons 1 & 2)
  • Omari Moore as Troy Edwards (seasons 1 & 2)
  • Keram Malicki-Sanchez as "The Lizard", aka. "The Liz" (seasons 1, 3 & 4)
  • Keith White as Petrocelli (seasons 1, 3 & 4)
  • Karl Pruner as Stephen Bennett (seasons 4 & 5)
  • Ross Hull as Danny Masters (seasons 2–3)
  • Amos Crawley as Bernie Sagittarius "Sag" Chearney (seasons 3 & 4)
  • Ryan Gosling as Matt Kalinsky (season 4)
  • Jason Deline as Ernie Lipnit (season 4)
  • Tamara Podemski as Carla (seasons 4 & 5)
  • Kari Matchett as Sheila Ramone (seasons 4 & 5)
  • Daniel Enright as Milan (season 5)

Development

In 1988, Alyse Rosenberg wrote a pilot for a show based on her own experience of wearing a bra to school for the first time, saying, "I wrote the series so kids wouldn’t feel so alone. Adolescence is such an incredible period of life. It makes or breaks the sense of self".

At the time of Ready or Not<nowiki/>'s original run, there were few shows that showed a realistic portrayal of adolescence. Speaking about the lack of programming for teens and pre-teens, Rosenberg said, “Television has a huge effect on teens, especially on girls, who can be made to feel completely inadequate. We are trying to offer alternative ways to navigate the rocky road of adolescence, without being cutesy". bullying, and peer pressure, “and for not shying away from conversations about sex or the societal expectations associated with it.”

It has been compared to My So-Called Life, another 1990s TV show that dealt with similar topics. In 1996, Ready or Not won a Gemini Award for best youth series.

  • In the Czech Republic, the show was dubbed into Czech as "Připraveny nebo ne" and aired in the late 1990s.