Nick Jr. Begins Production on Season Two of Acclaimed Live-Action Preschool Music Series Yo Gabba Gabba!, Produced by the Magic Store and W!LDBRAIN, Beginning Monday, May 12

Download image

A F NICKELODEON SHINS ON YO GABBA GABBA! NICKELODEON SHINS ON YO GABBA GABBA! The Shins guest star in Nick Jr's Yo Gabba Gabba Premiering Friday, May 23 at 11:30 a.m. (PRNewsFoto/Nickelodeon)[MM] NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 04/28/2008

    NEW YORK, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Nick Jr. will commence production on
 the second season of the hit live-action preschool music series Yo Gabba
 Gabba!, created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz and produced by The
 Magic Store and W!LDBRAIN. Production on 20 new half-hour episodes of the
 series will kick off Monday, May 12, in Los Angeles with the second season
 scheduled to premiere on Nick Jr. in fall 2008. Yo Gabba Gabba!, which
 premiered in August 2007, is the number-one program on all of commercial
 television among kids 2-5 in its time period (11:30 am, ET/PT), and
 currently reaches 21 million P2+ viewers (Nielsen Cume 1Q08). In addition,
 the series has generated 25 million video streams on Nickjr.com since July,
 2007 (Omniture July '07 - April '08).
 
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080428/NYM079 )
 
     Musical guests The Shins will perform an original Yo Gabba Gabba! song
 in a brand-new episode premiering Friday, May 23, at 11:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on
 Nick Jr. In the episode, titled "Imagine," The Shins perform "It's OK, Try
 Again," and the Gabba gang discovers how to use their imaginations, cheer
 up a friend, and learn about the different muscles in the body. Mark
 Mothersbaugh (Devo) is featured in his recurring "Mark's Magic Pictures"
 segment and additional songs in the new episode include "Pretend," "Tell
 the Truth," "Balloons" and "Body Parts."
 
     "Yo Gabba Gabba! delivers meaningful preschool lessons through fresh,
 fun entertainment to those already gaga for Gabba and future fans waiting
 to discover its magic," said Brown Johnson, President, Animation,
 Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "Millions of preschoolers and their
 families have been beat-boxing, singing and dancing along to the infectious
 lyrics and high-energy soundtrack on the show, and we have a lot of
 surprises in store for season two."
 
     "W!LDBRAIN is thrilled to be working with Nickelodeon again to bring
 enthusiastic fans another season of Yo Gabba Gabba!," said Charles Rivkin,
 W!LDBRAIN president and CEO. "Yo Gabba Gabba! has a proven track record for
 generating an audience across all platforms. As we approach production for
 season two, we look forward to building on the success that made Yo Gabba
 Gabba! one of the breakout hits of the year."
 
     Through an original beat-driven soundtrack and innovative retro style,
 Yo Gabba Gabba! highlights simple lessons in the lives of preschoolers,
 like sharing and healthy eating. The series' unique magazine format
 features original animation, vibrant walk-around puppets, real kids,
 diverse music genres, and celebrity and musical guest appearances in every
 episode.
 
     In the first season, Yo Gabba Gabba! features a recurring role by Hip
 Hop legend Biz Markie in a "Biz's Beat of the Day" segment teaching
 preschoolers how to beat-box, and a recurring role by singer, illustrator
 and composer Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) in a "Mark's Magic Pictures" drawing
 segment. Additional guest stars include, Elijah Wood, Tony Hawk, Laila Ali,
 Sean Kingston, The Shins, Sugarland, Mya, Rahzel, Nikki Flores, Hector
 Jimenez, The Aquabats, Smoosh, The Aggrolites and Cornelius.
 
     Yo Gabba Gabba!, executive produced by Charles Rivkin and Jon Berrett,
 stars host DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson) who brings to life four friendly
 monsters and a robot in a colorful land of music and laughter. The series
 highlights simple life lessons for preschoolers, through original song in
 short thematically linked segments, featuring animation, walk-around
 puppets and real kids. Yo Gabba Gabba! features an eclectic mix of music
 genres for preschoolers including, Pop, 80s, Electronic, New Wave, British
 Invasion, Hip Hop and more. Each episode culminates with an original music
 remix that summarizes the lessons learned. The characters are: Muno the red
 cyclops, Foofa the pink flower bubble, Brobee the little green one, Toodee
 the blue cat-dragon and Plex the robot, who are all ready to sing, play and
 dance along with the viewers as soon as they hear the magic words, "Yo
 Gabba Gabba!" They physically engage preschoolers with interactive play and
 encourage them to get up and dance to the music. Yo Gabba Gabba! also
 features pretend-along games that teach shapes and colors, ask questions
 and teach new dance steps while keeping preschoolers laughing throughout
 the episode.
 
     The Magic Store was founded in 2005 by Christian Jacobs and Scott
 Schultz, the 30-something dads, musicians and creators of the hit series Yo
 Gabba Gabba!, which was initially produced independently in two half-hour
 episodes. After creating an online viral frenzy with the trailer, the show
 ultimately found a home on Nick Jr. The Magic Store's mission is to produce
 ground-breaking, fresh, wholesome and fun entertainment properties that
 parents can enjoy along with their kids.
 
     Founded in 1994, W!LDBRAIN (www.wildbrain.com) is an award-winning
 entertainment company that develops and produces unique and compelling
 content across the media spectrum. Powered by its distinctive pool of
 talented animators and directors renowned for blending traditional
 animation methods with state-of-the-art computer graphics, the studio and
 its creative team have consistently won top industry awards. In film,
 W!LDBRAIN has garnered numerous awards including an Annie for its computer
 graphics short film Hubert's Brain and currently has a number of film
 projects in development. In television, the studio has produced an
 exceptional slate of original work including the hit series Yo Gabba
 Gabba!, airing weekdays on Nick Jr., Nickelodeon's award-winning
 programming block for preschoolers and Higglytown Heroes, the top-rated and
 critically acclaimed animated series airing daily on the Disney Channel. As
 one of the nation's foremost producers of animated commercials, W!LDBRAIN
 has won Clios, Addys, BDA Awards and Annies for their commercial work,
 reinvigorating classic brands and developing cutting-edge spots for leading
 companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Honda, Kraft and Nike.
 Additionally, W!LDBRAIN creates and distributes collectible merchandise
 through its subsidiary Kidrobot, planet Earth's premier creator and
 retailer of limited edition toys, clothing, mini-figures, artwork and
 books.
 
     Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on
 Nickelodeon weekdays from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely
 dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents'
 Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial
 free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows
 created just for them.
 
     Nickelodeon, now in its 29th 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 United States and around the world, plus consumer
 products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films.
 Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 96 million
 households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more
 than 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters
 and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:   VIA, VIA.B).
 
 
 

SOURCE Nickelodeon