Nickelodeon Adds Friends and Yes, Dear to Nick At Nite's Powerhouse Roster of Modern Comedies

NEW YORK, March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon's Nick at Nite line-up of modern comedies expands to include the complete libraries of beloved series Friends and Yes, Dear.  The 236-episode catalogue of Friends, one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, will join Nick at Nite this September.  Yes, Dear, the 122-episode family comedy that follows two couples with dramatically different parenting styles, stars Mike O'Malley (Glee, GUTS) and bows in 2012.

"Adding two great comedies like Friends and Yes, Dear to Nick at Nite fortifies our proven roster of current and relevant programming," said Pete Danielsen, Executive Vice President, Programming, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group.  "Friends brings us one of the most celebrated and iconic sitcoms in TV history while Yes, Dear is the quintessential modern-day sitcom that offers something for every member of the family."

Friends, an ensemble comedy that made Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow household names, follows six friends as they navigate their way through life in New York City and adulthood as they inch toward their thirties.  Often hilarious and frequently moving, the series, which ran for 10 seasons on NBC (from 1994 to 2004), addresses universal themes like falling in – or out of – love, launching a career and dealing with (as well as becoming) parents.  The critically acclaimed series was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and received six Primetime Emmy Awards.

Originally airing from 2000-06 on CBS, Yes, Dear follows two young couples and their wildly divergent parenting styles.  First-time parents Greg and Kim Warner aspire to be the model of parenting.  Greg (Anthony Clark) is a successful movie studio executive who must also keep Kim (Jean Louisa Kelly) – a neurotic, stay-at-home mother – calm as she strives to be the perfect mother and wife.  Meanwhile, Kim's sister, Christine Hughes (Liza Snyder), and her ambition-challenged husband, Jimmy (O'Malley), are down-to-earth parents living in Kim and Greg's guest house, continually reminding them that life will never be perfect.  The series, distributed by Twentieth Television, was created by Gregory Thomas Garcia and Alan Kirschenbaum.

Nick at Nite is Nickelodeon's nighttime programming block that features popular modern-day family comedies, including My Wife and Kids, Everybody Hates Chris, George Lopez, The Nanny, Full House, Family Matters and the Emmy Award-winning series Home Improvement.  Year to date, Nick at Nite ranks as the number-one cable network in total day among women 18-49, averaging a 0.8/426,000 and 1.6 million total viewers (Source: Nielsen Media Research, Live + 7 Day data thru 2/6/11, Live + Same Day data thru 2/20/11, Mon-Sun 6a-6a, all cable).

Nickelodeon, now in its 31st 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 and feature films.  Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years.  Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc.  (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

SOURCE Nickelodeon