The show had been set to premiere Sept. 13 on Nick Jr., the ViacomCBS network's preschool channel. After Nickelodeon released a teaser for the show earlier in the week, the show drew criticism on social media for its characters' resemblance to those in Hair Love, the short written and co-directed by Matthew A. Cherry that won the Oscar for best animated short earlier this year.
"Made by Maddie is a show we acquired several years ago from Silvergate Media, a renowned production company we have previously worked with on other series. Since announcing the show's premiere date this week, we have been listening closely to the commentary, criticism and concern coming from both viewers and members of the creative community," Nickelodeon said in a statement.
"In response, and out of respect to all voices in the conversation, we are removing the show from our schedule as we garner further insight into the creative journey of the show. We are grateful to Silvergate Media for all of their work. And we hold Matthew A. Cherry and the wonderful and inspiring Hair Love in the highest regard."
Made by Maddie centers on an 8-year-old Black girl who uses her fashion sense and design skills to solve problems, along with the help of some friends and her parents, Dee and Rashad. Maddie frequently wears a pink headband in her hair, while Dee is depicted with natural hair and Rashad with locs.
The parents in Hair Love also have natural hair and locs, respectively, and the little girl, Zuri, also wears a pink headband. The similarities sparked a wave of criticism on social media, with users accusing Silvergate Media and Nickelodeon of copying Cherry's work. Cherry hasn't spoken on the matter but did retweet or reply to several posts calling out the resemblance.
Silvergate Media (Peter Rabbit, Sunny Day, Octonauts) maintains it has been working on the show (formerly called Fashion Ally) since before Cherry began a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 to fund Hair Love.
"Silvergate Media has been working on the series for the last five years and throughout the production has taken steps to ensure a diverse production team and an appropriate voice cast lending their expertise and talent," CEO Waheed Alli said. "As creators ourselves, we have the utmost respect and admiration for Matthew A. Cherry and Hair Love, and our hope is that when people watch our show, they will see it is its own story with its own adventures."
As evidence, Silvergate on Thursday, August 3 provided the Chicago Sun-Times with drawings of the characters from 2015 and a “Maddie” script from 2017.
Matthew A. Cherry's Hair Love is about a Black millennial father attempting to style his young daughter's hair. The short debuted in 2017 as a viral Kickstarter campaign, is being developed into its own HBO Max animated series under the new title of Young Love.
Update (9/5) - Alyssa Cheatham, the Brooklyn-based 11-year-old actor who voices the titular character in Made by Maddie, is staying positive about the setback, even though that this isn't the way she wanted things to go: "I just thought, I understand why the show has to be put on hold, but I just want to tell everyone that no matter what, I'm so grateful and so blessed to even have this opportunity, to inspire and make so many people happy," she told News 12.
And while Made By Maddie is on hold for the time being, Cheatham still has something to smile about. In another series, Santiago of the Seas, set to premiere Oct. 9 on Nickelodeon, she voices a Black singing mermaid.
Update (9/6) - Pearl Low, a storyboard artist on Hair Love, has claimed on Twitter that she was offered an opportunity to work on Made by Maddie. Low also claimed that key creative figures on Made by Maddie were aware of Hair Love, saying, “The Director of Made By Maddie was fully aware of Hair Love’s existence. Him & I were at the same animation workshop led by @MatthewACherry talmbout [sic] the making of the movie (which included SHOWING designs). This is art theft & Disregard for Black creators & their art PERIOD.”
Original post:
Share it: @NickJr #MadebyMaddie
BURBANK, Calif.–Aug. 31, 2020–Family, friendship and fashionable fun drive Nickelodeon’s brand-new animated preschool series, Made by Maddie (formerly Fashion Ally), premiering Sunday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. (ET/PT) on the Nick Jr. channel. Created by Paula Rosenthal and produced by Silvergate Media (Sunny Day, Peter Rabbit, The Octonauts, Hilda), the series (22 half-hour episodes) follows 8-year-old Maddie in New York City, as she uses her imagination and design ingenuity to turn every problem into a positive with the perfect fashion fix. Made by Maddie will continue to air regularly Sundays at 11 a.m.(ET/PT) on the Nick Jr. channel.
Throughout the season, Made by Maddie will feature guest voice appearances by: Karamo Brown (Queer Eye); Rhyon Nicole Brown (Empire); Danny Burstein (Broadway’s Moulin Rouge!); David Burtka (Professional Chef); Monét X Change (RuPaul’s Drag Race); Joey Fatone (*NSYNC); Griffin Robert Faulkner (Raising Dion); Nina Garcia (Project Runway); Joy Lynn Jacobs (The Blacklist); Claudia Morcate-Martin (Seneca); Wanya Morris (Boyz II Men); Christine Pedi (Steven Universe); Christiani Pitts (Broadway’s King Kong); Al Roker (TODAY); D’Angelo Russell (Minnesota Timberwolves); Horatio Sanz (Black Monday); and Nico Tortorella (Younger).
Made by Maddie centers on Maddie (Alyssa Cheatham, Santiago of the Seas), a quick-thinking little girl with a big personality and a huge heart, who has a passion for fashion. Maddie finds design inspiration around every corner and her big ideas couldn’t become a reality without the love and support of her aspirational and talented fashion designer mom, Dee (Patina Miller), and her super cool and upbeat musician dad, Rashad (James Monroe Iglehart), along with the assistance of friends and neighbors, including kind, animal-loving best friend, Jada (Sophia Torres), and the twins—rule-following Harper (Amanda Dressel) and fearless Hudson (Ames McNamara)—who are always up for adventure. Maddie’s creative thinking and dazzling designs are a reflection of the bustling, colorful city of New York and its residents. Maddie confidently embraces her own unique style, celebrates individuality, treats everyone with kindness, and encourages others to take risks and be themselves.
In the series premiere, “If the Glue Fits/Mini Me DJ,” Maddie gets her hands stuck to a pair of shoes Dee designed. Once she finally gets the shoes unstuck, she has to come up with a redesign to save the day. Then, Maddie, Dee, and her assistant Dustin design an outfit for DJ Fierce, a famous DJ. They scour the city for the perfect materials, but when a misunderstanding leads to an outfit mix-up, Maddie will have to get creative with a fashion fix.
Following the series premiere of Made by Maddie, NickJr.com and the Nick Jr. App will feature short-form content and full-length episodes. Episodes will also be available on Nick Jr. On Demand and Download-To-Own services.
Production of Made by Maddie for Nickelodeon Animation Studio is overseen by Eryk Casemiro, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Preschool.
About Silvergate Media
Silvergate Media creates and produces world class content built to inspire, entertain and engage audiences of all ages through innovative storytelling. The company was founded by Lord Alli and Viscount Astor in October 2011. Since then, Silvergate has built Octonauts into a global success, produced and delivered Sunny Day and Peter Rabbit for Nickelodeon and Hilda for Netflix. Silvergate is in production on four new properties for partners Netflix, Disney and Nickelodeon, as well as producing a string of new content for its hit series Octonauts and Hilda. Silvergate Media has offices in London and New York and operations in China.
About Nick Jr.
Nick Jr., the 24-hour network from Nickelodeon dedicated to preschoolers and parents, features an extensive slate of hit series, including PAW Patrol, Blue’s Clues & You!, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Peppa Pig, Ryan’s Mystery Playdate, Bubble Guppies, Butterbean’s Café, Team Umizoomi, Abby Hatcher and Shimmer and Shine. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nick Jr. and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC).
From BET:
Nick Jr.’s New Series ‘Made By Maddie’ Focuses On Individuality And Kindness
The show premieres Sept. 13.
Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. channel has added a new animated series to their lineup, which will feature a Black family is at the forefront.
Made by Maddie premieres Sept. 13 and will follow 8-year-old Maddie, voiced by Alyssa Cheatham in her hometown of New York City. The official description describes the show as centering on “a quick-thinking little girl with a big personality and a huge heart, who has a passion for fashion… Maddie confidently embraces her own unique style, celebrates individuality, treats everyone with kindness, and encourages others to take risks and be themselves.”
RELATED: Keke Palmer Will Voice New Character On Disney+ Reboot Of ‘The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’
The show will also include guest appearances by Al Roker, Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris and Monét X from Rupaul’s Drag Race.
Made by Maddie premieres Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. (ET/PT) on the Nick Jr. channel.
Watch a preview [above.]
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More Nick: Nickelodeon to Premiere New Preschool Series 'Santiago of the Seas' on Friday, October 9, at 12:30 p.m. (ET/PT)!
From HelloBeautiful:
‘Made By Maddie’ Tween Actress Alyssa Cheatham: ‘Black Girls Of All Shades Need To See Themselves On TV’
Alyssa Cheatham opened up about finding the silver lining in "Made By Maddie" being pulled from Nick Jr.'s lineup.
You may recognize Alyssa Cheatham as Will Smith’s daughter and co-star in the feature film Collateral Beauty, but this tween is an icon in the making both off and on screen. Since her acting debut at the age of three in Every Secret Thing, the now 11-year-old actress was set to star in one of Nick Jr.’s latest additions, Made By Maddie, as 8-year-old NYC-based fashionista and designer Maddie. However, the show that was projected to air on September 13th, was met controversy as #BlackTwitter pointed out similarities between the Nick Jr. show and Matthew Cherry’s award-winning short, Hair Love. Nickelodeon decided to pull the show from the scheduled lineup and delay the debut.
After working hard on this project for nearly two years, we’d assumed Cheatham would be devastating but her positivity and strong spirit shined bright as she addressed the issues on her parent-monitored social media account.
“I think Black girls of all shades need to see themselves on TV and in movies because when you see yourself in someone else, you believe what you see is possible,” she said to HelloBeautiful exclusively about the importance of diversity for Black girls on television.
I had the pleasure of connecting with the tween vocalist and actress via email on HelloBeautiful’s behalf to talk about inner beauty, staying positive amidst controversy, and Made by Maddie as a necessary representation for young Black girls.
Let’s talk about Made by Maddie. What was the show about and what excited you most about being part of this show?
[Maddie] has a huge heart and she loves her friends. She is smart, spunky, creative, and solves problems through her love of fashion because for her, there’s always a fashion fix. I was really excited when I booked the role of Maddie in Made By Maddie because I was given the opportunity to voice a character that looked like me, my family members, and my friends. Her family looked like people in my family and that’s so needed in the media.
How did you feel about the show being cancelled? What are your thoughts on what people are saying about the show’s similarities to Hair Love?
I actually didn’t find out about the show being cancelled until hours after it was announced on Deadline. My manager found out and told my mom and then my mom told me later that evening. When she initially told me, I did feel disappointed and sad because as an actor, we want our work to be seen by people and I worked so hard for almost two years on this show. My mom immediately said she understood why I was feeling that way but [to] think about the positives. She asked me to make a list of what I gained from the experience of working on Made By Maddie.
After, I felt a lot better and then my mom said, “we need to address the controversy.” That’s when I suggested I make a video of how I felt. I spoke from my heart and I am okay now with everything. I understand why people feel the way they do. I am not in control of what happens since I am just the voice actor and Made By Maddie isn’t my show and I don’t own the network. I just hope things can work out for everyone.
What inspired you to speak out about the controversy on social media and tell your Instagram followers how you feel?
People were tagging me on social media and saying I shouldn’t support the show because if I did, I didn’t support Matthew Cherry. I am 11-years-old and I don’t even know why people thought that was okay. I watched Hair Love, I loved it and I do support Matthew Cherry. I also wanted to share my work and the stories I tell on Made By Maddie. The stories are different, even if the characters do have similarities. Since I don’t know what will happen with the show, I am not focusing on that. I am only going to focus on what’s in my control.
Amidst the controversy and cancellation, how do you remain positive and maintain inner beauty while you’re in the spotlight?
If you walk around having a negative attitude about everything that doesn’t go your way, you will be one miserable person. I know that the show cancellation is bigger than me. Even if no one ever sees the show, it doesn’t take away the fact that I worked really hard, had so much fun, and grew as an artist. I try my best to focus on who I am, how I can be better everyday and just appreciate things for what they are. If I focused on every little thing someone said, good or bad, I would not be happy. I am focusing on doing what makes me happy and with my career, people get a chance to watch how I do that.
In Santiago of the Seas, tell me about your role of Lorelai and why is this role so important to you?
Lorelai is a Black singing mermaid who has the ability to transform into a pirate girl. She is a part of Santiago’s crew and she travels as they go on sea adventures, fight sea villains and solve problems along the way. This role was really important for me because I get to be a Black mermaid on TV. Growing up, I’ve never seen a Black mermaid on TV or in movies. I saw Ariel from The Little Mermaid but she didn’t look like me. It’s important to show diversity in the media because when kids can see it, they can dream it.
What does “diversity and representation” mean to you? How do you demonstrate this to young Black girls your age?
Diversity and representation means showing up for Black and brown kids. We come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. What’s so cool about the characters who get to voice on Santiago of The Seas and Made By Maddie is that the characters are browner than me and I think that’s important. A lot of times, we see shows where there is only one Black girl or boy in the entire cast and most times, they have lighter skin. I am beautiful and I love my skin, but my friends and family members with browner skin are equally beautiful.
How will you continue to be a role model and inspire others?
I don’t consider myself a superstar or anything, but I know I have a platform and I want to use it to help others. I am just doing what I normally do and I am not trying to be someone I am not, for social media. That’s too much pressure. I am sharing my life as it is, even with the mistakes, and hopefully it will inspire others. I have a lot of ideas about stuff I want to create. I know that with hard work, those things will happen. I want to write my own sitcom and star in it and I want to hire people that look like me. We need more people behind the scenes that look like me.
My third song will be out in a few weeks and it’s all about positivity and moving forward, even when the world tells you that you can’t. The song isn’t a response to the Made By Maddie controversy, though. The song was written last year and so it just happens to be a fit for what happened recently. I just want to use all my talents, however I can, to empower and inspire others.
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Originally published: Monday, August 31, 2020 at 15:22 BST.Additional sources: BSCkids, The Hollywood Reporter, Cartoon Brew, Los Angeles Times, Toonado, BSCkids; Update H/T: Special thanks to @TVShowsFan!
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