Apple TV+ and Muse Entertainment are putting their best foot forward with their new family series following twelve-year-old amputee Josh Dubin (Logan Marmino) as he integrates into public school after being homeschooled. Best Foot Forward is based on the book Just Don’t Fall, a memoir by Josh Sundquist, an amputee and motivational speaker.

Sundquist is involved with the series as an executive producer and writer. Matt Fleckenstein (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, iCarly) serves as the showrunner and an executive producer. Other executive producers include Joel S. Rice (Single All the Way) and Meghan Mathes Jacobs (A Rose for Christmas).

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The new series is a great step forward in the representation of disabilities on screen. Featuring a child with a prosthetic leg in a leading role gives the chance for other children that are amputees to see themselves and their struggles represented in the media they consume. Let’s go over everything you need to know about Best Foot Forward.

Best Foot Forward: The Plot

     Apple TV+

Josh is ready to transition from homeschooling to public schooling. He wants to explore everything public school has to offer, from chess club, soccer, dances, and more. His mom Maggie (Joy Suprano) is a bit worried about him because once he goes to a public school, everything will change. Her worry isn’t unreasonable either. In the trailer, someone trips Josh in the hallway, and he falls, hard, on the floor. However, Maggie and his dad Gary (Stephen Schneider) eventually agree with Josh, and off to Meadow Vale Middle School he goes.

The new seventh grader doesn’t want to be defined by his prosthetic leg though. He knows it will make him stand out and could be the only thing people see about him. He seems to lean into the home school angle, calling it “a vanilla-scented prison” when some girls ask him what it was like at lunch. He can’t take credit for the phrase though; that goes to his little brother Matthew (Roger Dale Floyd). The trailer shows him fitting in and making new friends pretty well, but what will happen when people notice his prosthetic leg? Will it define him as he feared?

The series will follow Josh as he embraces everything that comes with starting this new chapter. Though he is pretty sure his best friend Kyle (Peyton Jackson) oversold the experience a touch (the pizza from the cafeteria is not nearly as good as it should be), he’s ready to take it all in.

Best Foot Forward: The Cast

Josh is played by Logan Marmino. He is an amputee, adding to the representation the show is bringing to the table. Those with keen ears may recognize Marmino’s voice from Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz. Peyton Jackson is Josh’s best friend, Kyle. Audiences may remember him from the 2018 film Nobody’s Fool or the Showtime series The First Lady.

Additional cast members include Stephen Schneider (Lucifer, Bumblebee) as Josh’s dad Gary, Joy Suprano (Hightown) as his mom Maggie, Roger Dale Floyd (Doctor Sleep, Stranger Things) as his little brother Matthew, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss (Avatar: The Way of Water, The Garcias) as Gabriella, Romy Fay (Home Economics) as Luisa, Liam Kyle (Home Team, The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder) as Eli, Isabella Meneses (The Orville) as Meg, Mia Davila as Mikayla, Waverly Corinne Meier as Amy Park, Bridget Kallal (The Wilds) as Kelly, Brian Stepanek (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, Young Sheldon) as Principal Keifer, Tristan Riggs as Kyle H., Rizwan Manji (Schitt’s Creek, The Magicians) as Mr. Polk, Bella Blanding​​​​​​​ (The Wilds) as Mariana, and Skylar Morgan Jones (The Vampire Diaries, Dynasty) as Deirdre.

Release Date

All ten half-hour episodes will be available to stream on Apple TV+ starting July 22.

Everything Else We Know

Josh Sundquist is known in many realms. Not only is he a best-selling author, he is a motivational speaker, comedian, and Paralympian. His left leg was amputated when he was nine years old after a year of chemotherapy to treat Ewing’s sarcoma. After his doctor “declared [him] cured,” he took up skiing at age sixteen, being named to the 2006 United States Paralympic Ski Team. He’s also competed internationally as a member of the U.S. Amputee Soccer Team.

If you don’t recognize him from a speaking event or old Paralympic videos, you may know Sundquist from his social media presence. He is well-known for his Halloween costumes across the web, dressing up as fan-favorite characters like Baby Groot from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the classic Pixar lamp. He’s also worked with brands like Dairy Queen, where he dressed up as a Blizzard for Miracle Treat Day, and Chase.

Sundquist actually found Marmino through Instagram. It was important to the crew and Sundquist that the actor who played Josh was an amputee as well. Marmino recognizes the role he’ll play not just in the show, but for other kids like him watching in promotional materials provided by Apple TV+.

While you wait for Best Foot Forward to hit screens, check out other family-friendly content coming to Apple TV+ in the coming months.

“There’s not many, if any, television shows that have kids with prosthetics in them,” says Marmino, who also plays baseball in real life (and eventually joins the school soccer team in the show). “It’s a huge opportunity.”