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indiantelevision.com Team
MUMBAI: US kids broadcaster Nickelodeon at its annual upfront previewed its strategy to serve the new generation of post-millennial kids; introduced a line-up of new animated and live-action comedy series from new creative voices; outlined plans for new content development platforms; and presented a new slate of educational preschool programming.
Among the new animated projects introduced were: ?Sanjay and Craig?, a series about a boy and his best friend--a snake--whose creative team combines two first-generation Nickelodeon creators Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi and Breadwinners, which features two booty-shaking ducks who operate a bread delivery service out of their awesome, jet-fueled rocket van.
Additional new animated projects include the previously announced ?Rabbids? and ?Monsters vs. Aliens?. Nickelodeon is also picking up a third season of its animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which bowed last year.
In live-action, two new family comedy series were announced, including ?The Haunted Hathaways?, created by veteran comedy writer-producer Robert Peacock in his first Nickelodeon show, about a family who moves into a house in New Orleans, LA, only to learn it?s already occupied by a family of ghosts.
Meanwhile ?The Thundermans? comes from Jed Spingarn. This is about the sibling rivalry between twins in a family of superheroes. These series join the previously announced live-action series ?Sam And Cat? and the recently launched Wendell & Vinnie.
A slate of original new educational programs for preschoolers was also introduced, including ?Wallykazam!?--Nickelodeon?s first literacy show for preschoolers that embeds the curriculum into a rich narrative story with the goal of helping and inspiring kids to read.
?Blaze and the Monster Machines? the broadcaster said is the first-ever preschool series that features a curriculum dedicated to all areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. It follows the adventures of an eight year-old boy and his monster truck. Meanwhile ?Dora and Friends? is a spin-off from the original creative team behind ?Dora the Explorer?, which stars the Latina heroine as a 10-year-old who goes on adventures in the big city with a group of new friends.
In addition, Zarghami outlined Nick?s commitment to researching the newest generation of kids, the post-millennials, born between 2005 to present, as well as how the network is reinventing its development process and pipeline and innovating on new platforms.
The presentation also included a look at Nickelodeon?s just-launched Nick App-which now ranks as the number-one title on the Entertainment App list and the number-two title on the Free App list in the iTunes Store, approaching 400K downloads. Also detailed were: a new live afternoon daypart, Nick Studio 10; announcements about new sketch-comedy workshops for live-action development; and a partnership with Brian Robbins? AwesomenessTV online site.
Zarghami said, "We have reorganised our development process in a way that allows us to make content smarter and faster than ever before, tailored specifically for this first generation of post-millennial kids. Our research tells us that for them funny is a badge of honor, and because funny is in Nickelodeon?s core DNA, we believe our position will ensure our success with them."
In a surprise appearance, actor Josh Duhamel took the stage to highlight his role as host of Nickelodeon?s 26th Annual Kids? Choice Awards, which will air 23 March. Duhamel was later joined by Viacom president, CEO Philippe Dauman; and the presentation was capped off with a musical performance by Interscope recording artists OneRepublic, who performed their latest single ?If I Lose Myself?.
