SHAUNA PHELAN AND ZACK OLIN NAMED EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS AND CO-HEADS, NICKELODEON AND AWESOMENESS LIVE-ACTION SERIES AND FILMS
First Development Slate Under Duo Unveils Eight New Live-Action Series and Movies Based on Celebrated Books and IP
LOS ANGELES - June 14, 2022 - Nickelodeon's Shauna Phelan and Zack Olin have been elevated to Executive Vice Presidents and Co-Heads, Nickelodeon and Awesomeness Live-Action Series and Film. The news was announced today by Brian Robbins, Paramount President & Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, and Chief Content Officer, Movies and Kids & Family, Paramount+.
Formerly Co-Heads of Live-Action for Nickelodeon and Awesomeness, Phelan and Olin will now oversee all scripted live-action Nickelodeon and Awesomeness series and movie content for Nickelodeon and Paramount+. Led by Robbins, to whom Phelan and Olin report, Nickelodeon and Awesomeness are brands within Paramount Global.
Said Robbins, "Shauna and Zack are behind some of Nickelodeon's biggest hits from iCarly to That Girl Lay Lay and have been entertaining kids and families across all our demos for years. As the demand for content continues to grow for both our audience and for Paramount+, and given the Studios' success as producers of top YA franchises, Shauna and Zack are poised to elevate Awesomeness and Nick's overall output in this space and grow our kids and family and YA audience, who are huge consumers of content."
In tandem with today's announcement, Phelan and Olin announced series and movies from their development slate based on celebrated books spanning kids, family and YA. Their book-driven slate includes: Junie B. Jones, My Weird School, Hot British Boyfriend, The Babysitters Coven, Sloppy Firsts, This Is What Happy Looks Like, and a new live-action series, Majorettes (working title), based on an original BuzzFeed article by Frederick McKindra, "The Rich, Black, Southern Heritage of Hip-Hop Majorettes," is also being developed in partnership with BuzzFeed.
Said Phelan and Olin, "We are thrilled to be in a position to identify and build long-term IP for a global audience that spans platforms, and we're inspired by these exciting book titles for our audience that will complement our owned IP and original development."
These projects mark the first developments to come out of Nickelodeon and Awesomeness' new in-house Literary Affairs department helmed by Eddie Gamarra, Vice President, Literary Affairs, who dually reports into Phelan and Olin.
Following are details of the new IP-driven content slate:
· Junie B. Jones (Random House): Based on the best-selling book series from Barbara Park about titular character Junie B. Jones - a young girl with an abundance of curiosity, an endless amount of opinions and laugh-out-loud antics.
· My Weird School (HarperCollins): The wildly popular My Weird School series by Dan Gutman follows AJ, a boy navigating his school filled with off-kilter teachers and even more bizarre happenings.
· Hot British Boyfriend (HarperTeen): Based on the book by Kristy Boyce, after a horrifying public rejection by her crush, Ellie Nichols crosses the Atlantic in a quest to rebuild her reputation and find self-confidence and love.
· The Babysitters Coven (Delacorte): Based on the book series by Kate Williams, fifteen-year-old Esme Pearl realizes her destiny - on her birthday - to join a coven of witches who must save the world from evil.
· Sloppy Firsts (Wednesday Books): Based on the beloved book series by Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts follows Jessica Darling as she navigates the highs and lows of high school, often resulting in devastatingly embarrassing results. Sloppy Firsts is the first book in the esteemed, New York Times best-selling Jessica Darling series.
· Majorettes (in partnership with BuzzFeed Studios): Based on an original BuzzFeed News article by Frederick McKindra, "The Rich, Black, Southern Heritage of Hip-Hop Majorettes," a coming-of-age series centered on high school majorettes as they navigate friendships and family while maintaining this dance tradition.
· This Is What Happy Looks Like (Little, Brown): Based on best-selling author Jennifer E. Smith's novel, the movie follows a small-town girl who accidentally befriends a celebrity as they navigate first love and their future together.
Current projects led by Phelan and Olin include: iCarly, That Girl Lay Lay, Danger Force, Tyler Perry's Young Dylan, Side Hustle, Warped! and The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder. Phelan and Olin also oversaw production on the 2021 live-action holiday movie, A Loud House Christmas, which was the top entertainment telecast on TV for K6-11 of the year.
Upcoming live-action series and movies under Phelan and Olin's purview include two movie musicals, Monster High The Movie and Snow Day (working title); YA mystery School Spirits; the third season of event series Are You Afraid of the Dark?; the To All The Boys I've Loved Before movie franchise spin-off series XO, Kitty (Netflix); and a live-action series based on the Emmy(R) Award-winning animated series The Loud House.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 43rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon is a part of Paramount's (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment brands.
About Awesomeness
Founded in 2012, Awesomeness is a media company focused on serving the global Gen Z audience through its digital publishing, film and television studio divisions. Awesomeness has become the destination for youth culture, cultivating a loyal audience with award-winning programming on the world's biggest streaming services including Netflix (smash-hit film series "To All The Boys I've Loved Before," Emmy(R) winner "Trinkets") and Hulu (Emmy(R) winner "Zac & Mia", Emmy(R) nominee "Pen15"), along with the company's immensely popular short-form programs on YouTube ("Next Influencer," Twin My Heart," "Noah Beck Tries Things," "My Dream Quinceañera"), that garner hundreds of millions of views. As a leading media brand, Awesomeness' worldwide distribution footprint spans owned, social and premium SVOD platforms. Awesomeness is part of Paramount's (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment brands and headquartered in Los Angeles, with additional offices in New York.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment
Have your say by leaving a comment below! NickALive! welcomes friendly and respectful comments. Please familiarize with the blog's Comment Policy before commenting. All new comments are moderated and won't appear straight away.