Nickelodeon Gives SNL's Poehler Animated Series

From AWN Headline News:

Nickelodeon Gives SNL's Poehler Animated Series

Nickelodeon has greenlit an animated series, MIGHTY B, created by and featuring the voice of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE star Amy Poehler, which will be driving a 2007/2008 animation slate on Nick of 125 new episodes overall. SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and all his pals will be back for a sixth new season, surpassing the 100-episode mark, and that additional episodes have been ordered of two new Nicktoons -- EL TIGRE: THE ADVENTURES OF MANNY RIVERA and TAK AND THE POWER OF JUJU.

"MIGHTY B is a quintessential Nicktoon," said Tom Ascheim, evp/gm, Nickelodeon Television. "It comes from the incredible comedic minds of Amy Poehler, Cynthia True and Erik Wiese, and is a fresh, creator-driven series about a hilarious character Amy created that we think kids are going to really love and connect with. And we are equally thrilled to be making another season of SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS -- a series we hope to never stop making -- as well as adding additional episodes of our upcoming series EL TIGRE and TAK."

Picked up for 20 episodes, MIGHTY B stars Poehler as the voice of Bessie Higgenbottom, the world's most ambitious and lovably unhinged 10-year-old "Honeybee" scout. As a member of the Honeybees, Bessie wears her uniform every single day, leads her troop with zeal and has earned more Bee Badges than any Honeybee in history. With a bunch of badges still eluding her, Bessie's not stopping until she has every last one. The series is co-created by inventive sketch comedian Poehler; True, a recent staff writer for Nickelodeon's THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS and Wiese, the Emmy and Annie-nominated storyboard artist and writer who has worked on SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. MIGHTY B premieres in 2008.

Describing her new series, Poehler said, "Bessie represents the ever-optimistic spaz, who believes she can grow up to be a rock star, actress, politician and brain surgeon all at the same time. And as a person who knows absolutely nothing about animation, I am thrilled to be in such great hands over at Nickelodeon. I can't wait to find out how they make those cool little people move around."

Renewed for a sixth season of 13 new episodes, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS launched in July 1999 and has since emerged as a pop culture phenomenon and one of the most popular series in kids' television history.

EL TIGRE: THE ADVENTURES OF MANNY RIVERA has been picked up for seven more episodes, bringing the order to 20. It is a Mexican folk art-inspired animated comedy with a spaghetti western twist, created by husband/wife team Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua (EL MACHO). EL TIGRE centers on a teenage boy, Manny Rivera (El Tigre, voiced by Alanna Ubach), who must choose to become a great superhero, like his father, Rodolpho, or a feared super-villain like his grandfather (Granpapi, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui). Manny struggles with the daily choice of which super-power he will master because being good is good... but being bad is fun. EL TIGRE will premiere March 2, 2007.

TAK AND THE POWER OF JUJU has been picked up for five episodes, bringing the order to 20. It stars Hal Sparks (CELEBRITY DUETS, TALK SOUP) as the voice of Tak and Patrick Warburton (SEINFELD, THE X'S) as Lok. The visually dynamic CGI animated series will follow Tak as he uses his Juju staff to perform magic and summon the outrageous and colorful Jujus, who always further complicate his plight and turn his world upside down. TAK AND THE POWER OF JUJU will premiere in September 2007.

MIGHTY B, SPOGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, EL TIGRE and TAK AND THE POWER OF JUJU are Nicktoons productions and are produced at the Nicktoons Studios in Burbank, California.

Nickelodeon (www.nick.com), in its 27th 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 company includes television programming and production in the U.S. and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 92 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than 11 consecutive years.

SpongeBob Creative Director Diggs Nickelodeon Deal

From AWN Headline News:

SpongeBob Creative Director Diggs Nick Deal

Former SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS creative director Derek Drymon has inked a series pilot deal with Nickelodeon for the toon, DIGGS TAILWAGGER, reports VARIETY. The outer-space idea centers on a low-ranking pooch trying to raise the ranks aboard the Galactic Rover.

Marjorie Cohn, evp of development and original programming, said, “Diggs is this irresistible Chris Farley-like character — clumsy but well-meaning — that gets into these hysterical predicaments."