Nickelodeon Embarks on New Direction with Its Biggest, Most Wide-Ranging Content Slate Ever

NEW SHOWS ARE “ALL THAT” AND MUCH MORE


Nick’s Iconic All That Sketch-Comedy Series to Return with
New Cast of Kids Alongside Original Cast Members; Kenan Thompson Set to
Executive Produce


School’s Back in Session with Reimagined Are You Smarter Than A 5th
Grader from MGM Television, Hosted and Executive Produced by
John Cena


Brand-New Unboxing Adventure Series, Ryan’s Mystery Playdate,
Stars YouTube Sensation Ryan of Ryan ToysReview


America’s Most Musical Family (Working Title) Seeks to
Crown Best Family Act Through Nationwide Search and Competition


Multigenerational Animated Comedy Series The Casagrandes
Bows This Fall


Simon Fuller and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder to Produce
Music-Based Series Featuring New, Original Songs in Every Episode


Nick Developing Spin-Off Projects for SpongeBob SquarePants’
Characters for First Time Ever


New Shows Also Include Two New Titles Produced by The Intellectual
Property Corporation, and the Acquisition of Paddington
(Working Title) and LEGO® CITY


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for art


BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nickelodeon
is unveiling a new content slate created for today’s kids who are
multicultural, family-focused, and in control of their entertainment
choices across platforms. With a foundation of supercharging its
globally powerful original franchises like SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles and PAW Patrol, and welcoming new,
acquired properties into its ecosystem, Nickelodeon’s new slate
represents a renewing of its commitment to serve all kids, through a
multicultural lens; bringing in talent kids love from other platforms
and formats; and opening up its demo to capture kid and parent
co-viewing, to satisfy this generation’s demand for shared family time.


The slate, announced today by Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins, was
put into development in October at the beginning of Robbins’ tenure and
will begin to debut on Nick’s platforms this summer.


“We have a laser focus on who kids are today, and what they want, so we
are making a wider variety of shows and series for them, and we’re
working with brand-new kinds of talent and producers,” said Robbins. “We
have a new creative team in place and a renewed energy that we’re
harnessing to bring the buzz back to Nick.”


Nick’s new direction was developed against the network’s defining
research insights into today’s kids, who: are the most diverse
generation ever, with the fastest growing segment being Hispanics; who
cite shared experiences with their parents and family as their top
priority; and who are in near-total control of their entertainment
choices, enabled by any one of the 12 connected devices found in today’s
average household.


Added Robbins: “Kids today are their own programmers, so we have been
working very fast to transfer our expertise as television content makers
to all the new places and platforms kids are going to,” said Robbins.
“Our vision for a new Nickelodeon is to fill up every screen, of every
size, to make an impact on as many consumers as we can and to be at the
forefront of conversation for today’s kids and families.”


Highlights of the new slate include: the return of Nick’s iconic All
That sketch-comedy series, showcasing a whole new set of kids
alongside members of the original cast, with Kenan Thompson serving as
an executive producer; a reimagined version of Are You Smarter
Than A 5th Grader, hosted
by John Cena; an all-new unboxing adventure series starring Ryan
of Ryan ToysReview, titled Ryan’s Mystery Playdate; America’s
Most Musical Family (working title), a nationwide search and
competition to crown the next big family musical act; The
Casagrandes, the animated spinoff from The Loud House,
featuring a multigenerational Mexican-American family; an untitled
scripted music-based series set in a boarding school for the
performing arts, produced by Simon Fuller and OneRepublic’s
Ryan Tedder, and featuring original songs and performances in every
episode; and ideas in development to spin off the characters from SpongeBob
SquarePants into their own stand-alone series, specials and
feature-length movies.


Robbins continued: “Everything we’re making will have different formats,
for all platforms, so we can travel the audience back and forth from one
to the other, while being home base for all the shows, the biggest
franchises, the characters and talent they love.”


Details of Nickelodeon’s New Content Slate:


Today’s kids represent the most diverse generation ever. Joining Nick’s
diverse programming slate is content to super-serve Hispanic viewers,
including:


The Casagrandes – Premiering in October, this companion
to the animated hit The Loud House follows 11-year-old
Ronnie Anne after she moves to the city with her older brother Bobby
and her mom, where they now live with their big, loving and chaotic
multigenerational Mexican-American family, the Casagrandes.


Santiago of the Seas (formerly The Swashbuckling
Adventures of Capitán Calavera) – This interactive animated
series follows the adventures of 8-year-old Santiago Montes, a brave
and kind-hearted pirate, and features a Spanish-language and
Latino-Caribbean culture curriculum.


The Dora the Explorer Theatrical Release – Paramount
Pictures, Paramount Players and Nickelodeon Movies present in
association with Walden Media the Dora the Explorer live-action
movie, opening in theatres this August. Having spent most of her life
exploring the jungle with her parents, nothing could prepare Dora
(Isabela Moner) for her most dangerous adventure ever–high school.
Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her
best friend, a monkey), Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), a mysterious jungle
inhabitant (Eugenio Derbez), and a ragtag group of teens on a
live-action adventure to save her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Peña)
and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.


Nickelodeon is working with talent kids love from other platforms, while
also creating content featuring their favorite formats and genres.


Ryan’s Mystery Playdate – Created and produced by
pocket.watch, this brand-new live-action preschool series follows
YouTube superstar Ryan, of Ryan ToysReview, his parents and animated
friends Gus the Gummy Gator and Combo Panda as they work together to
tackle a series of imaginative, physical challenges and unbox puzzles
to reveal the identity of his mystery playdate.


Simon Fuller/Ryan Tedder-Produced Untitled Project – A scripted
music series set in a boarding performing arts high school, with
original music in every episode. A nationwide search will be conducted
to cast the show. Simon Fuller is a legendary, multi-hyphenate
creator, producer and manager behind iconic franchises such as the
global Idol phenomenon and Spice Girls. Grammy Award-winning
Ryan Tedder is the frontman of OneRepublic and writer behind countless
hit songs from artists ranging from Beyoncé and Adele, to Camila
Cabello, Ed Sheeran and Kelly Clarkson, among others.


Nick’s insights reveal that family time is the most important passion
point for kids and parents today, with their top priority being to spend
time together and look for opportunities through shared experiences.
Today’s families state that watching TV together is their favorite
activity, corresponding to the current 10-year high in co-viewing, where
44% of kids’ viewing is with an adult. To capture co-viewing
opportunities, Nick is producing shows with built-in appeal to every
family member, including:


Are You Smarter Than A 5th
Grader – The iconic family game show will return with
all-new episodes hosted by John Cena, who will also serve as an
executive producer. Mark Burnett, Chairman of Worldwide Television,
MGM (Survivor, The Voice) and Barry Poznick, President,
Unscripted Television, MGM (Beat Shazam, The World’s Best) will
return as executive producers of the reboot, which places kids
squarely in the center of the action. The series is slated to premiere
this year.


The Substitute – In this new hidden camera prank
show, celebrities are transformed by a team of special effects artists
to go undercover as substitute teachers to surprise a class of
unsuspecting students. A $25,000 donation will be made to each school. The
Substitute is produced by The Intellectual Property Corporation,
and Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman (Undercover Boss), with Mike
Harney serving as showrunner.


America’s Most Musical Family (working title) –
This brand-new competition series, produced by The Intellectual
Property Corporation, and Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman (So You
Think You Can Dance), follows the nationwide search for the most
talented family in America.


Are You Afraid of the Dark? – The beloved anthology
series will return this October as a brand-new miniseries and follow
new members of the Midnight Society as they gather around a campfire
in the woods to share scary stories. The miniseries will coincide with
the upcoming Are You Afraid of the Dark? theatrical movie from
Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players’ and Nickelodeon Movies, in
theaters October 2019.


All That – Pop-culture phenomenon All That
is returning for a new generation of kids. The new weekly
sketch-comedy series will showcase an all-new cast of kids, with cast
members through the years making special appearances during the
season. Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live) and Kevin Kay
(All That, SpongeBob SquarePants, Lip Sync Battle, Lip Sync Battle
Shorties, Yellowstone) will executive produce, with comedian
Jermaine Fowler (Super Donuts, Sorry to Bother You) serving as
consulting producer on the series slated to premiere this summer.


Nickelodeon is home to some of the biggest franchises kids love, and the
network is taking steps to increase these properties’ reach and grow
their footprint, as well as welcome in new franchises, to ensure Nick is
the top destination for everything kids want:


SpongeBob SquarePants – Nick is commemorating the 20th
anniversary with the “Best Year Ever,” a tribute that includes an
original one-hour special, “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,”
premiering Friday, July 12. Additionally, plans are in place to expand
the SpongeBob SquarePants universe with spinoffs focused on the
core characters into formats such as new series, specials and
feature-length movies. The anniversary will culminate with the May 22,
2020 release of the new SpongeBob theatrical, It’s A
Wonderful Sponge, from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players’ and
Nickelodeon Movies.


Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Season
two of the 2D-animated series will premiere this fall, and follow the
Turtles as they continue to hone their ninja skills, uncover new,
powerful weapons and encounter a world beneath the streets of New York
City. The franchise is also being expanded with an original,
feature-length animated movie being produced by Nickelodeon Studios
for Netflix.


Blue’s Clues & You! – This remake of the
groundbreaking, curriculum-driven interactive series Blue’s Clues
brings back beloved puppy Blue for an all-new generation of
preschoolers. Premiering in November, the series features all-new CG
animation, updates to favorite characters and stars Broadway actor
Joshua Dela Cruz as the new live-action host.


Paddington (working title) – Actor Ben Whishaw (Paddington
1 & 2) will reprise his role as the beloved voice of the title
character in the new CG-animated series, which follows a younger
Paddington and his adventures in London with the Brown family and
their friends. Paddington is a Heyday Films and STUDIOCANAL
production in association with Copyrights, helmed by Adam Shaw of Blue
Zoo (Go Jetters, Digby Dragon, Miffy, Q Pootle 5), and
developed for television and written by Jon Foster and James
Lamont (The Amazing World of Gumball, Cuckoo, Paddington 1 & 2).
The series will be produced by multi-award-winning David Heyman
(producer of all eight Harry Potter films, Gravity,
Paddington 1 & 2), Karen Davidsen (formerly with Disney and
HIT Entertainment) and Simon Quinn (Isle of Dogs, Fantastic Mr. Fox).
Paddington is executive produced by Rosie Alison (Boy in the
Striped Pyjamas, Paddington 1 & 2) and co-produced by
Rob Silva.


LEGO® CITY – The all-new high-stakes
CG-animated comedy, created and produced by LEGO Group, depicts the
funny, smart, and dynamic slices of life within the sprawling and
diverse LEGO CITY community. Set to debut this year, the series
follows the intertwining paths of the city’s everyday heroes as they
work together to stop a mysterious master criminal who begins to wreak
havoc on their town.


Nickelodeon, now in its 39th year, is the number-one
entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by
putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes
television programming and production in the United States and around
the world, plus consumer products, digital, recreation, books and
feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more
than 90 million households and has been the number-one-rated kids’ basic
cable network for 22 consecutive years. For more information or artwork,
visit
Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks
of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).


Contacts

Press Contacts:Ariana Urbont(310) 752-8079Ariana.Urbont@nick.com

Maggie Wang(212) 846-6381Maggie.Wang@nick.com

Thamar Romero(212) 846-7491Thamar.Romero@nick.com