Nick Lines Up Animation, Live-Action, Preschool Programming

NEW YORK: At its upfront presentation in New York City, Nickelodeon unveiled a slate of new animated properties, live-action series and preschool programming, along with showcasing a sneak peek of the brand-new CG-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Nick plans to introduce 450 episodes of new animated programming over the next three years, with some 200 episodes set to launch for Saturday mornings in 2012. This represents the largest amount of animation production in the network’s history. The lineup features returning hits, including SpongeBob SquarePants, The Penguins of Madagascar, Fanboy and Chum Chum and T.U.F.F. Puppy, along with new series such as The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra—a spinoff of Avatar: The Last Airbender; Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness—Nick’s latest partnership with DreamWorks Animation; a new CG series, Robot & Monster; and the Italian import Winx Club. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Nickelodeon will premiere a new CG-animated version of the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

In the way of live-action fare, Nick will produce more than 100 new episodes of its hit live-action series, led by a new original prime-time movie event, iParty with Victorious, bringing together the casts of iCarly and Victorious. New episodes are set for iCarly, Victorious, Big Time Rush, True Jackson VP, House of Anubis, Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, Brain Surge and The Troop. The season will also feature new episodes of the soon-to-launch series Supah Ninjas and Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures.

Preschool continues to play a key role in the network’s lineup, with 125 new episodes on order. This includes additional installments of Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi and The Fresh Beat Band, as well as new episodes of Dora the Explorer. New seasons of Yo Gabba Gabba!, Max & Ruby and Olivia are part of the roster as well. Additionally, 26 episodes of the brand-new animated preschool series The Tales of Peter Rabbit are slated for 2012 on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.