Fans can look forward to more installments of SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Back at the Barnyard and The Backyardigans as Nickelodeon green lights 86 all-new episodes of Nicktoon favorites. Announced at the network’s UpFront presentation in New York City, where Saturday Night Live‘s Amy Pohler took the stage to promote her upcoming animated Nickelodeon show, The Mighty B!
Currently in its sixth season, SpongeBob SquarePants has been given another 26-episode order. Seen around the world, the network’s top-rated show is syndicated in 171 markets in 25 languages making it the most widely distributed property in MTV Networks’ history. The series is exec produced by creator Stephen Hillenburg and produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.
Also in its sixth season, The Fairly OddParents was renewed for an additional 20 episodes. Created by Butch Hartman, the show ranks No. 3 in the ratings among animated properties on broadcast and cable television aimed at kids 2-11, outdone only by Nick’s own SpongeBob SquarePants and Back at the Barnyard. The February broadcast of the Fairly OddBaby special hit a ratings high with an average of 8.8 million total viewers. The series is also produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.
The network has committed to at least 20 new installments of its latest hit toon, Back at the Barnyard. Created by the Oscar-nominated writer/director Steve Oedekerk (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) and produced at the Omation Animation Studios in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., the CG-animated series is based on the 2006 theatrical feature film Barnyard. It has been a hit with young viewers, overtaking established Nicktoons as one of the Nick’s top-rated programs.
A co-production of Nick Jr. and Corus Ent.’s Nelvana, the hit preschool series The Backyardigans will see another 20 episodes made for the Nick Jr. block, taking it into its fourth season. Each half-hour episode of the series features a music/dance element with four original songs, and the new slate of adventures will introduce kids to such music genres as Roller Disco, Strauss Waltzes, Wall of Sound, Stax-Volt, Rembetika and Ragtime.
The Mighty B! will premiere on Saturday, April 26 at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT), The new animated comedy stars Amy Poehler as the voice of Bessie Higgenbottom, the world’s most ambitious and lovably unhinged Honeybee troop member. Though she has earned more badges than any Honeybee in history, a few still elude her and she won’t stop until she has every last one. The series is co-created by Poehler, Cynthia True, a recent staff writer for The Fairly OddParents, and Erik Wiese, an Emmy and Annie-nominated storyboard artist and writer who has worked on SpongeBob SquarePants. The show is the subject of Animation Magazine‘s cover story next month!
