Cynopsis: Kids!
03. 12 .10
UPFRONT 2010: NICKELODEON
New York City Upfront Presentation -
Nickelodeon hosted its star-studded ad sales upfront presentation of its 2010-11 programming schedule yesterday morning in NYC. Cyma Zarghami, President/Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, said the 1Q 2010 is on track to be the network's most-watched quarter for the 30-year-old network, with January being its most-watched month ever, and laid out programming plans for 2010-11. The big and loud morning featured appearances by director/writer/producer M. Night Shyamalan (his Paramount/Nick Movies' The Last Airbender opens July 2), Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly), Victoria Justice (upcoming Victorious) and Jamie Kennedy (voice on the animated series Fanboy and Chum Chum), as well as performances by the stars of the network's Big Time Rush and singer Justin Bieber. For its upcoming season Nickelodeon will launch six new series, most already announced, five new series will debut across its digital networks, TeenNick, Nick Jr. and Nicktoons, most of which were previously announced, and new seasons of 16 returning series.
New series joining Nickelodeon's line-up include:
• House of Anubis (working title) - set to debut fall 2010, the long-form live-action mystery series is a Nick partnership with Studio 100 (Belgium). Originally produced for Nickelodeon Holland, the new series follows eight kids working to solve a mystery at an English boarding school and still do well in school. House of Anubis is produced by Lime Pictures.
• Victorious - a live-action music series from Dan Schneider stars Victoria Justice as a kid making her way at a performing arts school. The show launches Saturday, March 27, immediately following Nickelodeon's Kids Choices Awards 2010.
• Kung Fu Panda: The Series -the network's second project with DreamWorks Animation, is based on the Kung Fu Panda movie. The animated series is executive produced by Cheryl Holliday (King of the Hill, Still Standing, Father of the Pride) and produced at Nickelodeon's Animation Studios.
• Planet Sheen - a spin-off of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, from Steve Oedekerk, Keith Alcorn, and Jim Hope. Produced for Nick by O Entertainment, the series revolves around Sheen Guevera Estevez, the hyper kid from Jimmy Neutron, who crash lands on Zeenu where he must learn to deal with the planet's strange customs and creatures as he tries to figure a way home.
• T.U.F.F. Puppy - the new series from creator/exec producer Butch Hartman, and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios. The show revolves around Dudley puppy - a gung-ho but dimwitted dog that is recruited by a crime fighting organization to protect the town from an evil animal organization.
• Bubble Guppies - an interactive 3D, CGI animated preschool series set in an underwater classroom. Created by Robert Scull and Jonny Belt, the series builds on ideas the way preschoolers think and discover.
Nickelodeon's digital networks new series
• Gigantic - joins the TeenNick line-up, and is the network's second deal collaboration with Reveille. The series takes a fictional look at teens growing up in Hollywood. Gigantic's ensemble cast includes Grace Gummer (Meryl Streep's daughter) and Gia Mantegna (Joe Mantegna's daughter).
• Voltron Panthera Force - premiering on Nicktoons, the series follows a group of five cadets brought together to form Voltron Lion Squad, called Panthera Force. The series is a World Events Production in conjunction with Kick Start Production.
• Dragon Ball Z Kai - joining Nicktoons in May 2010, the series is developed by Funimation Entertainment.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - also for Nicktoons, the series is jointly produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage studios.
• Dino Dan - the new original, mixed CGI animation/live-action preschool series premieres on Nick Jr. channel in fall 2010. The science/adventure series is developed/produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and directed by J.J. Johnson.
New seasons of existing series include:
• Live-action series - iCarly, True Jackson, VP, BrainSurge, Big Time Rush, The Troop, Nick New
• Animated series - SpongeBob SquarePants, The Penguins of Madagascar, The Fairly OddParents, Fanboy and Chum Chum, and for Nick at Nite Glenn Martin, DDS (season two bows Father's Day, June 20, 2010)
• Preschool series - Team Umizoomi, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets, The Backyardigans,
Los Angeles Upfront Presentation
Nickelodeon held its first ever Los Angeles upfront presentation yesterday, during which the network made further additions to its previously announced 2010-11 programming slate. Nickelodeon unveiled plans to premiere three new TV movies, Fred: The Movie, Boy Who Cried Werewolf, and Best Player. The network also revealed its has acquired My Wife and Kids (123 episodes) for Nick at Nite, which will debut the series in fall 2010.
The new TV movies include:
• Fred: The Movie based on the character Fred Figglehorn, which was created by teenager Lucas Cruikshank and featured on the successful Fred Channel on YouTube. Starring Cruikshank as Fred, Jennette McCurdy (iCarly) as Bertha, and Jon Cena (WWE) as Fred's Dad, and UK teen star Pixie Lott as Fred's long-time crush, Judy, the movie follows Fred as he is finally able to make it to Judy's house, only to find that she has moved. Fred sets out on a journey to find Judy and develops a scheme that makes him beyond cool. Fred: The Movie is written by David A. Goodman (Family Guy), directed by Clay Weiner and produced by Varsity Pictures' Brian Robbins and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett and The Collective's Gary Binkow and Evan Weiss.
• Boy Who Cried Werewolf starring Victoria Justice (Victorious, Zoey 101) and Brooke Shields, the movie follows Jordan (Justice), who along with her little brother move to Wolfsberg, Romania, where their dad, who hopes to sell the castle left to them by their Great Uncle. Things in Wolfsberg are odd, particularly the icy caretaker, Madam Varcolac (Shields), who discourages them from selling and then there is the accident in the castle lab that causes Jordan to transform into a werewolf. The movie is written/executive produced by Doug Sloan and Art Brown. Executive Producers also include Lauren Levine and Marjorie Cohn. Directed by Eric Bross, Scott McAboy is producer.
• Best Player starring Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy, both of iCarly, follows 30-something Quincy (Trainor), a Chinese food delivery guy by day and is an online video game master (known as "Q") by night. Quincy is perfectly happy to live in his parents' basement and spend his life being the best multi-player athlete online, until his parents decide to move to Florida. He enters a gaming tournament to win the prize money to buy his parents' house, which as the current champ seems like a done deal, until he encounters "Prodigy" (McCurdy), who threatens to destroy him. The movie is executive produced by Jessica Horowitz, Lauren Levine and Marjorie Cohn. Damon Santostefano directs from Rich Amberg's screenplay, which includes a rewrite from Justin Ware. Scott McAboy serves as Producer. Executive Producers also include Sandy Climan and Christine Foy.
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