Nick Orders More Episodes of Madagascar Comedy Series

UNIVERSAL CITY, January 13: Nickelodeon has greenlit 26 additional episodes of the CG-animated comedy The Penguins of Madagascar, a co-production with DreamWorks Animation.

The deal brings the total order to 52 new episodes for the show, which will debut on Nickelodeon on March 28 at 9:30 p.m., following the 22nd Annual Kids’ Choice Awards. The Penguins of Madagascar will then move to its regular time slot on Saturdays at 10 a.m. beginning April 4.

The Penguins of Madagascar is based on the penguin brothers in DreamWorks Animation’s hit feature films Madagascar and Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa. The series follows the story of a group of penguins that believes it leads an elite strike force with top-tier commando skills from its Central Park Zoo headquarters. Nickelodeon’s recent "sneak peeks" of the new series, which premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, drew an average of 14 million viewers aged 2 and up, including 7.2 million kids 2 to 11.

"Our partnership with DreamWorks Animation has yielded a true gem in The Penguins of Madagascar," said Cyma Zarghami, the president of Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. "We’re excited to be bringing these characters to our audience with the same level of excellence they have come to expect from the hit Madagascar feature films."

—By Kristin Brzoznowski