Nickelodeon Plots SpongeBob Spin-Offs, Revives All That & More

Nickelodeon has revealed its new content slate, which includes a revival of the sketch comedy All That, a reimagined Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, spin-off projects for SpongeBob SquarePants’ characters and more.

Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins said: “We have a laser focus on who kids are today, and what they want, so we are making a wider variety of shows and series for them, and we’re working with brand-new kinds of talent and producers. We have a new creative team in place and a renewed energy that we’re harnessing to bring the buzz back to Nick.”

He added: “Nick’s new direction was developed against the network’s defining research insights into today’s kids, who: are the most diverse generation ever, with the fastest growing segment being Hispanics; who cite shared experiences with their parents and family as their top priority; and who are in near-total control of their entertainment choices, enabled by any one of the 12 connected devices found in today’s average household.

“Kids today are their own programmers, so we have been working very fast to transfer our expertise as television content makers to all the new places and platforms kids are going to,” said Robbins. “Our vision for a new Nickelodeon is to fill up every screen, of every size, to make an impact on as many consumers as we can and to be at the forefront of conversation for today’s kids and families.”

Highlights of the new slate include the return of Nick’s sketch-comedy series All That, showcasing a new set of kids alongside members of the original cast, with Kenan Thompson serving as an executive producer. The game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader is being reimagined with John Cena as host. There’s an all-new unboxing adventure series starring Ryan of Ryan ToysReview, titled Ryan’s Mystery Playdate. America’s Most Musical Family (working title) will be a nationwide search and competition to crown the next big family musical act. Simon Fuller and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder have an untitled scripted music-based series set in a boarding school for the performing arts and featuring original songs and performances in every episode.

The network has lined up The Casagrandes, an animated spin-off from The Loud House, featuring a multigenerational Mexican-American family. There’s also Santiago of the Seas (formerly The Swashbuckling Adventures of Capitán Calavera), an interactive animated series that follows the adventures of 8-year-old Santiago Montes, a brave and kindhearted pirate. The show features a Spanish-language and Latino-Caribbean culture curriculum.

Nick also revealed that ideas are in development to spin off the characters from SpongeBob SquarePants into their own stand-alone series, specials and feature-length movies.

Ben Whishaw (Paddington 1 and 2) will reprise his role as the beloved voice of Paddington in a new CG-animated series, which follows a younger Paddington and his adventures in London with the Brown family and their friends.

LEGO City is a CG-animated comedy, created and produced by LEGO Group, that depicts the slices of life within the sprawling and diverse LEGO City community.

The Substitute is a hidden-camera prank show, in which celebrities are transformed by a team of special effects artists to go undercover as substitute teachers to surprise a class of unsuspecting students.

Further highlights include a remake of the curriculum-driven interactive series Blue’s Clues that brings back beloved puppy Blue for an all-new generation of preschoolers. The 2D-animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles heads into season two this fall.