Blue’s Clues Reboot Among Nick’s 2018-19 Highlights

Nickelodeon has unveiled a slew of plans for the 2018-19 season—including a Blue’s Clues remake—with more than 800 brand-new episodes of new and returning series marking a 20 percent increase on last year.

The 20-episode Blue’s Clues reboot will feature a refreshed look—including all-new production and animation—with casting for a new live-action host kicking off this month. The show sees the titular animated puppy invite viewers to help her solve puzzles of the day. Production will begin this summer.

The original Blue’s Clues, which debuted in 1996, was created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler and Angela C. Santomero. It is currently available on NOGGIN, with short-form content offered on the Nick Jr. app and NickJr.com.

“With Blue’s Clues, Nickelodeon launched what became TV’s first generation of interactivity for preschoolers and set the bar for quality, curriculum-driven shows we have made since,” said Cyma Zarghami, the president of Nickelodeon Group. “The new, modern version of Blue’s Clues will capture all the original’s creativity and visual identity for a whole new audience ready for its fun adventures and expertly designed problem-solving curriculum.”

Nick’s largest content slate ever also includes a development deal for Los Casagrandes, a companion show to The Loud House; Pony, a new animated comedy developed by Nickelodeon International in the U.K.; a new game show called Keep It Spotless, exec produced by WWE’s John Cena; a sophomore season of Lip Sync Battle Shorties, led by Nick Cannon and JoJo Siwa; a reimagining of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; and Musical Dares, a new short-form series from Cannon and the first project by Viacom Digital Studios for Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel.

During the season, the network will debut such returning hits as PAW Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Shimmer and Shine, Nella the Princess Knight, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, Henry Danger, The Thundermans and Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. It has also greenlit the animated preschool shows Abby Hatcher, Fuzzly Catcher, Butterbean’s Café, Fashion Ally (working title) and The Swashbuckling Adventures of Capitán Calavera (working title).

Additional programming highlights include the Rocky’s Modern Life: Static Cling and Invader Zim specials, as well as the 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards, Kids’ Choice Sports and HALO Awards, among others.

Meanwhile, Nickelodeon revealed a new partnership with IMAX to bring SlimeZone, its first multi-player, social virtual-reality experience, to select IMAX VR centers around the world this month. The channel is also introducing a new AR mode for its Sky Whale mobile gaming app. In addition, it has created and launched a new brand campaign, That’s Me, which showcases kids’ drive to be honest and authentic individuals celebrating differences and diversity.

“With our share growing and content pipeline in overdrive, we are reinventing ourselves to best serve the new and next generation of audiences on new and next-generation platforms,” added Zarghami. “Kids are both our anchor and North Star, and that bond with the audience allows us to connect to them everywhere.”