Paramount+ Expands Kids & Family Programming With New Films & Series From Nickelodeon Studios

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Paramount+ today announced a new slate of exclusive original kids and family programming including new movies and series. The announcement was made by Brian Robbins, chief content officer of movies and kids and family for Paramount+, during the ViacomCBS Investors Event.

Drawn from Nickelodeon’s stable of globally popular franchises, and following the success of Paramount+’s kids and family original series like RUGRATS, KAMP KORAL: SPONGEBOB’S UNDER YEARS and STAR TREK: PRODIGY, this new slate of content produced by Nickelodeon will add further momentum to the service’s popular kids’ content offering.

Additionally, in the wake of the new iCARLY’s success last year, Robbins also reviewed plans to further serve the young adult (13-34) audience with a slate of forthcoming YA original movies and series.

“As we’ve known with Nickelodeon’s long-standing success, the kids and family audience is incredibly loyal, and we see that on Paramount+ as well, with kids and family ranking as one of the strongest genres on the service in terms of both engagement and subscriber acquisition,” said Robbins. “So, as they stay for our shows and look for even more of them, we’re doubling down on giving them what they want by expanding the universes of the characters they love the best.”

“Our kids and family content is not only bringing young audiences to Paramount+. It’s also a key component in retaining our existing subscriber base and expanding their viewership habits,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer, ViacomCBS Streaming. “Paramount+ is a service for the whole household, and we’re now seeing nearly half of our subscribers engaging with kids and family content on the service, a double-digit gain over last year.”

Robbins announced several new franchise-expanding titles for Paramount+, including:

IN ANIMATION:

  • SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: Following the success of KAMP KORAL on Paramount+ and THE PATRICK STAR SHOW on Nickelodeon – the first season of which will soon be available to stream on Paramount+ – a further expansion of the “SpongeBob” universe is coming exclusively to the service, with three brand-new movies based on the show’s original characters, the first dropping in 2023. In addition, a fourth “SpongeBob” release from Nickelodeon Animation is currently in development for theatrical release.
  • TRANSFORMERS: Previously announced UNTITLED ANIMATED TRANSFORMERS film, with Josh Cooley attached to direct, will debut in theaters on July 19, 2024 for Paramount Animation and eOne, Hasbro’s entertainment studio.
  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: A new era of TMNT-mania takes over in 2023 with a new animated take on the Turtles coming to theaters, produced by Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and directed by Jeff Rowe. Nickelodeon Animation will follow that film with a series of exclusive movies for Paramount+ beginning in 2023, each centering on one of the property’s storied villains in never-before-told tales.

IN PRESCHOOL:

  • DORA THE EXPLORER: The preschool return of the groundbreaking Latina heroine in an all-new CG-animated series produced by Nickelodeon Animation, and featuring the beloved characters, plus key modernization to the storytelling, debuts in 2023.
  • BLUE’S BIG CITY ADVENTURE: The now-announced animation/live-action hybrid title to this brand-new “Blue’s Clues & You!” movie from Nickelodeon Animation is set to premiere later this year and follows hosts Josh and Blue as they head to New York City, with the help of Steve and Joe, to audition for a big Broadway musical.

IN LIVE ACTION:

  • DORA THE EXPLORER: In addition to the character’s animated preschool return, now in development from Nickelodeon is the first-ever live-action DORA THE EXPLORER series, inspired by the tone of Paramount Pictures’ 2019 DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD theatrical release, with this new version for Paramount+ targeting the tween demo.

During today’s event, Robbins also underscored the opportunities and anticipation surrounding recently announced titles for Nickelodeon, like a live-action MONSTER HIGH musical movie and animated series in partnership with Mattel; a BABY SHARK feature-length film in development for 2023, co-produced by Nickelodeon Animation and the Pinkfong Company; and a theatrical PAW PATROL movie sequel – a Spin Master Entertainment production in association with Nickelodeon Animation, with distribution by Paramount Pictures – complemented by the first-ever PAW PATROL television series spinoff.

In addition to Paramount+’s new kids and family programming, Robbins remarked during the Investors Event on the service’s opportunity with the substantial and influential YA audience, given the performance of the new, young-adult-focused iCARLY and Awesomeness Studio’s success as producers of top YA franchises.

With additional new movies and series to be announced, Paramount+’s previously announced YA titles coming to the service beginning in 2022 include:

  • FANTASY FOOTBALL: This new original live-action movie for Paramount+ follows 16-year-old Amber Coleman (Marsai Martin, “Black-ish”) who discovers she can control her professional football player dad’s prowess on the field through her video game. The movie will be produced in partnership with Nickelodeon and Awesomeness Films, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company, and Marsai Martin and Joshua Martin’s Genius Entertainment.
  • HONOR SOCIETY: A live-action comedic film that follows Honor (Angourie Rice, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Mare of Easttown”), an ambitious high school senior whose sole focus is getting into Harvard, assuming she can first score the coveted recommendation from her guidance counselor, Mr. Calvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, “Kick-Ass,” “Superbad”). Honor concocts a plan to take down her top three student competitors, until things take a turn when she unexpectedly falls for her biggest competition, Michael (Gaten Matarazzo, “Stranger Things,” “Prank Encounters”). Additional cast members include Armani Jackson (“Chad,” “Palm Trees and Power Lines”) and Amy Keum (“Evil”).
  • HUSH HUSH: A new original live-action film adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novels by Becca Fitzpatrick, HUSH HUSH is a supernatural romance story about the forbidden love between a girl and a fallen angel. Production is slated for 2022 in partnership with BCDF Pictures and Entertainment 360.