Nick Reveals New Multicultural-Focused Programming Slate

Home , Brian Robbins, Santiago of the Seas, The Casagrandes

02.14.2019

With upcoming shows such as The Casagrandes, an animated spinoff of The Loud House featuring a multigenerational Mexican-American family, and the return of the sketch comedy series All That, Nickelodeon revealed a new content slate focused on appealing to kids through a multicultural lens.

The new direction is based on the network's research showing kids today represent the most diverse generation yet, with Hispanics as the fastest growing segment. The demographic also cites shared experiences with their parents and family as their top priority, and is used to viewing content across multiple platforms.

With that in mind, Nick's new programming aims to bring in talent from other formats, such as YouTube, and is geared toward kids and adults watching TV together.

"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," Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins said in a statement. "We have a new creative team in place and a renewed energy that we're harnessing to bring the buzz back to Nick."

For instance, n The Casagrandes, 11-year-old Ronnie Anne of The Loud House moves to the city with her older brother Bobby and her mom, where they will now live with big, loving and chaotic multi-generational Mexican-American family.

Meanwhile, the interactive animated series Santiago of the Seas, to premiere in 2020, follows the adventures of eight-year-old Santiago Montes, a brave and kind-hearted pirate, and features Spanish-language and Latino-Caribbean culture.

The return of All That will also feature a whole new set of kids alongside members of the original cast, with Kenan Thompson serving as an executive producer. It's set to debut this summer.

And later this year, Nickelodeon is bringing back a reimagined version of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, with host and executive producer John Cena, in an effort to tap into family viewing time.

The show will follow the original premise where adults answer questions taken directly from elementary school curriculum. New game elements will include a "cheat" option, additional ways contestants can enlist the help of their grade-school classmates, and a "final exam," where contestants must answer a question from each grade in a race against the clock.

As Nickelodeon also explores other content platforms, it turned to the 7-year-old YouTube star of Ryan ToysReview for its live-action preschool series Ryan's Mystery Playdate. The show follows Ryan, his parents and animated friends Gus the Gummy Gator and Combo Panda as they work together to tackle imaginative, physical challenges and unbox puzzles to reveal the identity of his mystery playdate.

"Ryan is a kid who happens to be one of YouTube's towering giants, with millions of followers who are going to love seeing him and his family on Nickelodeon in a totally new and fun way," Robbins said.

Also on the preschool side, Nickelodeon partnered with Studiocanal for a Paddington animated series, where Ben Whishaw will reprise his role as the voice of the adventurous bear from the feature film franchise, based on the books by Michael Bond.

Set for 2020, it will be produced by David Heyman (Harry Potter franchise, Gravity, Paddington 1 and 2), Karen Davidsen and Simon Quinn, with co-producer Rob Silva and executive producer Rosie Alison (Paddington 1 and 2).

Speaking of movies, Nickelodeon will celebrate the 20th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants with the 2020 theatrical release of It's a Wonderful Sponge, from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players' and Nickelodeon Movies. Plans are also in place for the one-hour special SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout on July 12, along with spinoffs projects with the show's core characters.

Dora the Explorer will also hit theaters in August.

"Everything we're making will have different formats, for all platforms," said Robbins, "so we can travel the audience back and forth from one to the other, while being home base for all the shows, the biggest franchises, the characters and talent they love."