Nickelodeon orders more 'Big Time Rush,' adds to musical TV arsenal

Kid TV fans can't seem to get enough of shows with singing and dancing, boy bands and "regular" teens who also happen to be multitalented pop stars.

One of the most successful in the genre, "Big Time Rush," will get a third season on Nickelodeon, the cable channel announced Tuesday. The live-action show will start production in January 2012 on 20 new episodes.

It's no surprise that Nickelodeon renewed the series, created by Scott Fellows ("Ned's Declassified Survival Guide") and produced in partnership with Sony Music. Year to date, it's the top show with kids ages 6 to 11 and the best-rated live-action series with kids 2 to 11 across TV. It averages 3.9 million viewers an episode. (Its series premiere two years ago drew a whopping 6.8 million viewers). It's also a top-10 show in international markets such as Germany, Mexico, Korea, Brazil and Sweden.

"Big Time Rush" follows four friends from Minnesota who move to Los Angeles to launch their music careers. It stars Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena and Logan Henderson. (The band's debut CD -- in real life, not on the show -- has been certified gold.)

The powerhouse kid cable network will air the group's music video, for the single "Worldwide," next month as a precursor to the boy band's U.S. and European tour. The four youngsters are expected to make a second record before year's end.

Kid channels are rife with squeaky clean musical shows, from TV movies "Lemonade Mouth" and the "Camp Rock" franchise starring the Jonas Brothers on Disney Channel to Nickelodeon series "Victorious." Disney, which puts the full force of its corporate synergy behind the projects, created and nurtured forerunners in the genre such as "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical."

Nickelodeon announced earlier this week that it's ordered 20 episodes of the musically inclined "How to Rock," starring Cymphonique Miller as a lead singer in a pop/hip-hop band. The network plans to launch it next year.

RELATED:

Review: 'Big Time Rush'

Is Miranda Cosgrove too cool for school?

2011 Kids Choice Awards

-- T.L. Stanley

Photo: Carlos Pena Jr., left, James Maslow, Logan Henderson and Kendall Schmidt. Credit: Kevin Kolczynski / Getty Images

Is Miranda Cosgrove too cool for school?

Demi Lovato may be leaving her hit TV show, but Miranda Cosgrove is sticking with hers ... for now. 

Though the Nickelodeon sensation has been accepted to New York University and USC, according to the NY Post, the campus tours and syllabi notes will have to wait. Cosgrove, 17, is delaying her freshman year to stay in L.A. and film a fifth -- and maybe final -- season of “iCarly."

"She can’t start in the fall due to her 'iCarly' production schedule but she is really excited to go to college and plans to, she just isn’t sure exactly when she will start," her media rep told ShowTracker.

Why, oh why, Miranda? After all that college talk! Cosgrove previously told Seventeen magazine, “My ultimate dream is to go to the University of Southern California for two years and then New York University for two years.”  

Here we thought cardinal and gold would go perfect with her skin tone.

The actress also reportedly applied to Yale University, UC Berkeley and Brown University, which is where Emma Watson (“Harry Potter”) is a student.

ShowTrackers, do you think this is a smart move? Will it set the wrong example to her young viewers?

-- Yvonne Villarreal

Twitter.com/villarrealy

Photo: Miranda Cosgrove. Credit: Getty Images

2011 Kids' Choice Awards: 5 things we learned

Slime oozed. Armpits farted. And Jack Black hosted. The 24th annual Kids' Choice Awards show was held Saturday night in Los Angeles. It was a kiddie affair that provided lots to mull over (when we weren't shielding our ears from the monsoon of screams). Here's a snapshot:

1) An appearance by Johnny Depp is a huge get for any awards show, sure. And he definitely generated a few shrieks when the scraggly looking actor, who seems to be a regular at the event, accepted the first award of the night for favorite movie actor. But his reception was lukewarm compared with the eardrum-piercing screams that the mostly young crowd unleashed at the mere mention of Big Time Rush. So you can imagine the power of that screaming when the foursome actually performed. Loud. Very, very loud. Who knew a bunch of clean-shaven dudes had more mojo than Mr. Depp? Kids these days.

2) Related to No. 1: We are so darn impressed with the universality of rapper Snoop Dogg. He, of course, is featured in Big Time Rush's song "Boyfriend" and appeared during their performance (he also has appeared on the hit Nickelodeon show). We couldn't help but be in awe as Snoop stood placidly rapping because all we could think about was what was to come from his collaboration with Charlie Sheen, who just happened to kick off his one-man show Saturday night in Detroit. Judging from the reception, Charlie would have benefited from having the Nick stars open for him.

3) The Oscar-hosting brouhaha involving James Franco might have been a moot point had he and actress Anne Hathaway taken the Jack Black approach. Black opened the event by dancing to Black Eyed Peas "I've Got a Feeling" in a flame-patterned jumpsuit. OK. Maybe that would have made things worse for Franco.

4) There are few things more cringe-worthy than someone constantly reminding their Facebook friends about their impending birthday, but here is one of them: Eddie Murphy, whose birthday is Sunday, encouraged thousands of people to sing the birthday song to him. What’s worse? He was the one leading them in the tune. Awkward.

5) We also discovered that (occasional) “Gossip Girl” actress Taylor Momsen is capable of wearing a semi-child-friendly outfit!

RELATED:

Arrival photos from the Kids' Choice Awards

Scenes from the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards

-- Yvonne Villarreal

twitter.com/villarrealy

Photo: Jack Black "performing" with Black Eyed Peas. Credit: Reuters

The Sponge and the Fury: Ira Kaplan on Yo La Tengo's 'Sitcom Theater'

Yo La Tengo, the Hoboken, N.J., rock trio, played the El Rey Theatre last week to end its winter tour, at each stop of which an opening set was determined by a spin of a Wheel of Fortune. Possibilities included songs beginning with the letter S, the Freewheeling Yo La Tengo (a question-and-answer session, with illustrative musical selections acoustically performed), and Sitcom Theater, wherein the band would perform an entire episode of a "classic sitcom." That is the result I hoped for, and got.

This happened just twice on the tour, here and in Chicago, where the group recreated "The Chinese Restaurant" episode of "Seinfeld" (see above), with guitarist Ira Kaplan as Jerry, bassist James McNew as George and drummer Georgia Hubley as Elaine. At the El Rey, it was an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants": "As Seen on TV" (Season 3, Episode 5), in which SpongeBob (McNew), having gotten a taste of celebrity from starring in a commercial for the Krusty Krab, imagines himself a pop star. (Kaplan played Mr. Krabs; Hubley was Squidward; "Colbert Report" writer and "Onion News" reporter Laura Krafft guested as Pearl, with crew members rounding out the cast.) "The people want music," SpongeBob tells Krab, the irony of which was not lost on a few people behind me who called loudly for an end to this experiment. A low hum of chatter crept in from the bar at the back as the reading went on. But most of the room went with it.

In a way, it was just an extension of the band's love of cover songs, whole albums of which they have recorded in various guises. "Sitcom Theater" pushed this penchant for curatorial recycling into a new dimension -- and, as with any good cover, the performance made you appreciate the quality of the original, and not merely by comparison.

I spoke with Kaplan some days after the event.

Gay and lesbian coming-out stories on teen dramas: Now status quo?

"Gossip Girl" has told a gay-teen coming-out story. So has "Glee," "Pretty Little Liars," "90210" and "Degrassi." And out-at-home Calvin on "Greek" had to go through the process all over again with his frat brothers.

"I felt like the world of '90210' was missing the gay characters that it would realistically have," said Rebecca Sinclair, the CW series' showrunner and executive producer, on the writers' decision to show teen character Teddy Montgomery's coming-out process. "If I had created the show, I would definitely have made one of the main characters gay. And honestly, in a genre that depends on the coupling, decoupling and re-coupling of its characters, it behooves us to find the most diverse ways to do that."

Read hers and others thoughts on the matter in my story about gay and lesbian characters in teen dramas.

What do you think? Has the gay character become an essential part of a teen drama? And do you think it's realistic to show the character's coming-out story? Share in the comments section.

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photos, clockwise from top left: Shay Mitchell as Emily in "Pretty Little Liars." Credit: ABC Family.   Argiris Karras as Riley in "Degrassi." Credit: Epitome Pictures. Trevor Donovan as Teddy in "90210." Credit: the CW. Chris Colfer as Kurt in "Glee." Credit: Fox

Nickelodeon's Victoria Justice staying busy on Thanksgiving

She may be 17, but Nickeodeon star Victoria Justice still squeals for her “mommy” when she needs help answering a question.

Ah, youth! 

In trying to recount when she was asked to perform for the legendary Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Justice chirped for her mother’s input. Mom helped (answer: the summertime).  Now, the only thing between Justice and a barrage of colossal inflatable balloons (and a 5 a.m. hair and makeup wake-up call) is anxiousness—especially considering the longtime television event is a household tradition.

“I’m a little nervous,” Justice said. “I’ve gotten a bunch of rehearsal in. Hopefully everything goes as planned.  It’s a big deal.  It’s something that we always have on during Thanksgiving. It’s a family tradition.”

Justice will be performing “Freak the Freak Out,” a new song from an upcoming episode of “Victorious,” airing on Friday. In the one-hour special episode, Jade [Elizabeth Gillies] and Cat [Ariana Grande] lose a karaoke competition because it was rigged; the girls recruit Tori [Justice] to help them get revenge.

“It was super fun,” she said. “I got to wear a prosthetic nose and be really geeky for a section of the episode.”

The music video for “Freak the Freak Out” shows Justice, who is unsurprisingly working on an album, making the rounds in a warehouse/club (an all-ages affair, we're sure) with her co-stars to … freak out; it’s been airing on the network since Saturday.

Take a look…

Fred Figglehorn, folk hero of the tween beat

If you are older than 12, you may not have heard of Lucas Cruikshank, but the cheerful, ambitious 17-year-old from the Midwest is a folk hero of tween culture; his devoted followers a pint-sized answer to Lady Gaga's little monsters.

For the last few years, he has been posting homemade videos to YouTube as his alter ego, an insane (and insanely shrill) 6-year-old named Fred Figglehorn. Via a digitally sped-up voice and a manic persona, Fred repels adults while delighting kids with his high-pitched lunacy. His YouTube channel has nearly 2 million subscribers and his videos have been watched nearly 600 million times in the last five years.

On the strength of his online fan base, Nickelodeon has snapped up Cruikshank and given him his very own multi-camera, multi-actor TV movie, "Fred" (premiering Saturday), as well as a Mork-and-Mindy-esque sitcom called "Marvin, Marvin," scheduled for 2011.

Cruikshank discusses his character and his plans in this profile of the YouTube auteur-turned-Nickelodeon-star.  And while you’re at it, check out this guide to fall kids TV highlights.

— Joy Press

 

Photo: Lucas Cruikshank photographed at the Beverly Hilton on Aug. 6. Credit: Ricardo De Aratanha.

 

RELATED:

 

Fred's Lucas Cruikshank building a tween empire

 

Fall kids' TV preview

 

Fred's YouTube channel is programming for kids by kids

 

'Dora the Explorer' turns the big 1-0!

What do you get the girl who's got the world in the palm of her animated hand for her birthday?

Though she doesn't look a day older than 7, Dora Marquez -- the fearless adventurer who has children hypnotized every morning -- on Aug. 14 will celebrate 10 years of "Dora the Explorer." It’s hard to remember when her big, brown eyes and bowl-style haircut weren't part of America's consciousness. Now the pint-sized Latina character seen in more than 100 countries and has been translated into 30 languages.

Such the overachiever, isn't she?

"It's really surprising to see how many kids love Dora," said 14-year-old Caitlin Sanchez, an aspiring actress and singer from New Jersey who began voicing Dora in the show’s fifth season.

"I knew the show was popular when I first started, but I had no idea it was this huge. I see Dora everywhere -- EVERYWHERE. You can't go outside without seeing a kid with a Dora backpack. It's really cute," Sanchez said.

To learn more about the global superstar, check out the Times' Sunday Calendar cover story ... or get out your TV remote this weekend. To commemorate Dora's decade of influence, Nickelodeon will air the TV movie  "Dora's Big Birthday Adventure," featuring guest stars Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo and Hector Elizondo, on Sunday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It will be followed by a 12-minute documentary-style tribute to the preschool icon.

If you want to keep your kiddies occupied for a bit, have them watch these previews:

-- Yvonne Villarreal

Photo: Dora and her best pal, Boots the monkey. Credit: Nickelodeon

Video credit: Nickelodeon

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Why are Victoria Beckham and Sebastian Bach hanging with 'SpongeBob'?

Grade-schoolers and college slackers aren't the only ones taking trips to Bikini Bottom. Victoria Beckham, Sebastian Bach and John O'Hurley will make cameos in an upcoming episode of Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants," joining a growing list of adult celebrities popping up on the kid-targeted underwater adventure.

Beckham's three young sons are fans, which convinced her to appear (lend her voice, that is) on the long-running animated series.

That's the case with a number of "SpongeBob" guest stars, among them Johnny Depp (who played a Spicoli-like surfer dude named Jack Kahuna Laguna), Amy Poehler and David Hasselhoff. But Ernest Borgnine and David Bowie? Insert head-scratching here.

Ideas for casting famous voices often come from the writers and executive producer, said Sarah Noonan, Nickelodeon's vice president of talent and casting. The creative team sometimes writes with a specific star in mind, and it's her job to go after that celebrity. The easiest sells are the stars with kids who are "SpongeBob" fans.