Nick Unveils Program-Packed Plans for 2018-19 Season

Reimagining of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and a new take on ‘Blue’s Clues’ highlight the network’s animation slate. 

Nick announced 'Los Casagrandes' as a companion to its hit 'The Loud House.'

NEW YORK -- Nickelodeon detailed its plans the 2018-2019 season, announcing more than 800 brand-new episodes of new and returning series -- a 20 percent increase over last year.

Among the networks’ plans: a reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; a remake of the preschool entertainment landmark, Blue’s Clues; moves into areas of emerging tech, with original VR and AR experiences; and location-based experiences, like this summer’s family musical festival, Nickelodeon SlimeFest.

Nick revives 'Blue's Clues' for 2018.

Details were unveiled during the network’s annual upfront presentation, held at New York City’s Palace Theatre, home of the critically acclaimed SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.

“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,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon Group. “Kids are both our anchor and North Star, and that bond with the audience allows us to connect to them everywhere.”

During the presentation, Zarghami previewed the network’s upcoming content slate which includes: a development deal for Los Casagrandes, a brand-new companion series for animated hit The Loud House;  and Pony, a new animated comedy series developed by Nickelodeon International in the UK.

Nickelodeon also reviewed plans to continue expanding its footprint through innovative new partnerships and technologies. Nick announced a new partnership with IMAX to bring to SlimeZone -- its first multi-player, social VR experience -- to select IMAX VR Centres globally this month. Plus, Nick is unveiling a brand-new AR mode for its Sky Whale mobile gaming app, which averages 2 million active monthly users and has garnered nearly 30 million downloads.

In the preschool category, the network will premiere this season more than 300 new episodes of returning hit shows, including PAW PatrolBlaze and the Monster MachinesShimmer and Shine, and Nella the Princess Knight

Nickelodeon has also greenlit the following new series:

  • Abby Hatcher, Fuzzly Catcher (26 episodes) –This animated preschool series centers on Abby and her new friends the Fuzzlies, who are amazing and quirky creatures that live in her family’s hotel.  Together with her best Fuzzly friend Bozzly, Abby goes on wild adventures to fix Fuzzly mishaps and help them in any way she can.  Produced by Spin Master Entertainment (PAW Patrol), Abby Hatcher Fuzzly Catcher features a social-emotional curriculum highlighting empathy, compassion and problem-solving skills.
  • Blue’s Clues (20 episodes) – This remake of the groundbreaking curriculum-driven, interactive series Blue’s Clues will bring back beloved puppy Blue for an all-new generation of preschoolers. The new series will be produced with a brand-new, live-action host and CG animation. Blue’s Clues was created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler and Angela C. Santomero.
  • Butterbean’s Café (40 episodes) — This animated series centers on a fairy named Butterbean and her adventures running the neighborhood café with her friends. Butterbean’s Cafe features creative cooking, and a social-emotional curriculum that highlights entrepreneurial and leadership skills. Created by Jonny Belt and Robert Scull (Bubble Guppies), the series will premiere later this year.
  • Fashion Ally (working title, 40 episodes) – This animated series follows a little girl, Ally, in the high fashion world as she makes everything around her a bit brighter, bolder and more brilliant, one design fix at a time. Fashion Ally is created by Paula Rosenthal and produced by Slivergate Media (Sunny DayPeter Rabbit).
  • The Swashbuckling Adventures of Capitán Calavera (working title, 20 episodes) – This animated action-adventure series follows 8-year-old Robi Montes, a brave and kind-hearted pirate, as he embarks on daring rescues, searches for treasures and keeps the high seas safe from villains like the nefarious pirate Bonnie Bones in a fantastical Caribbean world. The interactive series is created by Niki Lopez, Leslie Valdes and Valerie Walsh Valdes (Dora the Explorer), and infused with a Spanish-language and culture curriculum.

The network will air more than 200 episodes of returning animated hits like SpongeBob SquarePants and The Loud House this season, and has announced the following new shows:

  • Los Casagrandes (working title) – A companion to the animated hit The Loud House, this series in development follows Lincoln Loud’s friend Ronnie Anne and his brother Bobby Santiago as they adjust to their new life in the city, where they now live with their big, loving and chaotic multi-generational family, the Casagrandes.
  • 'Pony' is one of the new animated series on Nick's slate for 2018-19.

    Pony, an original 2D-animated buddy comedy that follows the life of an average girl, Annie, her (almost) average family and what happens when an excitable, unpredictable, loveable and talking pony comes to live with them in their city apartment. Pony is the first animated series to be greenlit for the U.S. from Nickelodeon International.

  • Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (26-episodes) – This new re-imagined 2D-animated series follows the band of brothers as they discover new powers and encounter a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City. Along for the adventure is the Turtles’ most trusted ally, April O’Neil, a street savvy native New Yorker and Splinter, father figure and sensei to the Turtles. The series debuts later this year.

Nick's 'Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' is a new take on the classic franchise.

Additionally, Nickelodeon’s pipeline is rounded out with TV movies and tentpoles, including Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling and Invader Zim specials.  

Source: Nickelodeon

Thomas J. McLean's picture

Tom McLean has been writing for years about animation from a secret base in Los Angeles.