Monday, June 22, 2020

Nickelodeon South East Asia to Premiere New Episodes of 'Henry Danger' from Thursday 25th June 2020

Nickelodeon South East Asia will start to premiere brand new episodes of Henry Danger every Thursday at 6:00pm on Nickelodeon Malaysia (MY) & Nickelodeon Philippines (PH) and at 5:00pm on Nickelodeon Indonesia (WIB) from 25th June 2020! New episodes will include "Rumblr".


More Nick: Nickelodeon Asia to Air 'DAYU', Chinese 3D Animated Series from Zhejiang Radio & TV Group!


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Even Marvel Heroes Are Fans of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'

Some of Marvel's most notable young heroes are big fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as a comic showcased their passion for the TV show.


Even in the Marvel Comics Universe, some notable heroes are big fans of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender series. In a fun panel from the pages of Champions, a group of teen heroes including Miles Morales, Kamala Khan, Viv Vision and Amadeus Cho watched the iconic animated TV show together.

Avatar: The Last Airbender followed Avatar Aang the Airbender and his friends trying to stop the Fire Nation and the war surrounding them. Originally airing on Nickelodeon, Avatar: The Last Airbender lasted three seasons and won numerous awards, including multiple Annie Awards, A Peabody Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. The show has spun-off into a sequel series, The Legend of Korra, been adapted into a live-action film, as well as into several tie-in comic books, and is getting its own Netflix live-action series in the future. The show is so popular, that even in the Marvel Universe some of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are big fans.


In Champions #9 (2017) by Mark Waid, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado, and VC's Clayton Cowles, the superteam can be seen in their Olympus Base all gathered around together watching television. The team consists of Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, the Totally Awesome Hulk, Cyclops, Nova, and Viv Vision. The teen heroes are enjoying some junk food, pizza, and popcorn as they watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on TV. Amadeus tells the group "God, I use to love this show!" as Miles says "honor and self-worth come from within. That was my takeaway. Still learning." "Remember the cactus juice?" Nova asks his fellow teammates.

The conversation turns to Cyclops, as Amadeus asks the time-traveling mutant what his favorite show was growing up. Scott responds, that he didn't watch much at the X-Mansion as he didn't have time for TV, but he did like Seinfeld. The response gets a some looks from the team, as Nova tells him "you're an old man." Cyclops takes offense, as this young version of the characters is from the future and can't return to his timeline (it was a confusing time for the X-Men).

The panel of Marvel's teen heroes eating junk food and watching Avatar: The Last Airbender was a fun reference to the animated series. Even superheroes need some escapism when they're not trying to save the world. It's not surprising to see the Champions heroes are fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as the reveal makes them even more relatable despite their costumes, powers, and amazing abilities.

Subscribe to the NEW official Avatar: The Last Airbender YouTube channel!: https://at.nick.com/AvatarSubscribe

Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix and The Legend of Korra on CBS All Access!

More Nick: Netflix to Host Open Casting Call for Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series!

Original source: ScreenRant.
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'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Remains One of the Purest Portrayals of Fighting Fascism on Modern TV

Nickelodeon's 15-year-old animated series came to set fire to Netflix at a time that we needed its lessons most


Among the rare series with an evergreen, timeless appeal, Avatar: The Last Airbender is particularly special. Despite having originally aired on Nickelodeon, and despite being marketed as a children's title, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created an epic with an appeal that spans generations. Fifteen years after its premiere, all 61 episodes of the animated series arrived on Netflix in May.

Since that day – May 15, to be precise -– the adventures of Aang, Sokka, Toph, Katara, and their enemy Zuko (and his gentle uncle Iroh) have held on to a spot among the streaming service's Top 10 most popular, holding the No. 1 slot in the earliest days of its tenure.

Ordinarily a series' or film's ranking on Netfix isn't worth noting unless its popularity adds context to the discussion, and Netflix famously doesn't release demographic data to break down the ages or backgrounds of who is watching. In this case, though, the sustained popularity of Avatar gives me reason for optimism. It may be the purest, smartest, and most heartfelt portrayal of the crucial importance of fighting fascism that exists in the modern era of television.

The world of Avatar rests on a philosophy of a balanced, harmonious world split between peoples who construct their cultures around the four elements: the Earth Kingdom; the Northern and Southern Water Tribes; the Air Nomads, who congregate in Eastern and Western mountain temples; and the Fire Nation, centered on a large island to the west of the Earth Kingdom.

A small percentage of each nation's population has an affinity with their home element that enables them to manipulate it, a talent known as "bending." Into each generation is born one person in all the world who has the ability to bend all four elements, who is assigned the title of Avatar. This mantle rotates between nations as part of this world's natural inclination toward balance, and each Avatar has the ability to access the knowledge and experiences of his or her past lives. But Aang - an Airbender - was lost for 100 years due to an accident that locked him in ice.

When he returns, he's still a 12-year-old boy, but the world is at war, and the Fire Nation has transformed into a fascist society bent on total conquest, ruled by the cruel Fire Lord Ozai with no regard for the value of other cultures or the rights of people who live in other kingdoms. Not even his own people receive that much in the way of special favor; to teach his own son Prince Zuko a lesson, the ruler scorches and scars the boy's face, banishing him until he returns with Aang.

In the meantime, with the Fire Nation's aggression nearing crisis levels, Aang discovers that he has to learn how to bend the other three elements in a matter of months, whereas previous Avatars had years to master their unfamiliar skills.

So.

Today's Avatar viewership likely consists of the adults who watched as children when its three seasons first aired between 2005 and 2008, as well as people who enjoy intelligent epic fantasy. By the time it debuted, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy had run its course, but the Iraq War had just gotten started when Return of the King hit theaters. And if you're wondering what these pieces of trivia have to do with anything, then you don't understand geekdom.

The simple explanation is in the overall appeal of high fantasy, particularly that of the J.R.R. Tolkien strain. Tolkien did not appreciate this work being interpreted as a parable for World War II and gave no credence to Sauron being a stand-in for Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin, preferring for the book to serve the purpose of championing the struggle between good and evil as never-ending and therefore universally applicable.

This did not prevent the trilogy's famously progressive star Viggo Mortensen, fated to be known as Aragorn for the rest of his days, from telling the press that he believed George W. Bush and Sauron to be of like minds. A person didn't need to know this to embrace those movies as stories in which we might take heart during dark times and watch again and again in the years since.

Avatar: The Last Airbender takes a message similar to Tolkien's and goes a different route, making the heroes of its Asian-influenced fables children instead of leaving the task of restoring peace and harmony to hardened adults.

Again, this isn't a unique tactic, and neither is the notion of sending four children, one of them a heralded Chosen One, on a dangerous adventure to save the world without the supervision of parents.

Aang also is an orphan, just like Harry Potter. Unlike Hogwarts' greatest student, however, Aang didn't merely lose his parents – he is the survivor of a genocide. Sokka and Katara, the brother and sister pair who find him, lost their mother in raids resembling those of slavers in scope and brutality. We find all of this out within a few episodes of Season 1, which is titled "Book One: Water".

The second season, "Book Two: Earth," introduces Toph, a blind girl whose Earth bending skills are formidable enough to scare grown and incredibly strong men. Toph hides her talents from her parents, who would rather lock her away under the guise of protecting her. She runs away and joins Aang team to be his Earth bending master.

Season 3, "Book Three: Fire," holds the darkest chapters, including the imprisonment and torture of a major character and couple of episodes where Aang and Katara are tested by the opportunity to wreak vengeance upon those who wronged them.

In contrast with other serialized animated fantasies, Avatar: The Last Airbender is consistently responsible in its presentation of armed conflict as an ill that corrupts all parties, regularly makes the case of mercy and forgiveness over wrath and revenge, and promotes benefits of unity through the celebration of differences over assimilation.

The sobering difference between watching Avatar in its time versus seeing it now is that life in America looks and feels a lot like life in the Fire Nation as Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and eventually Zuko experience it. It is a place addicted to its increasingly hollow sense of greatness and even superiority, steered by a leader more concerned with his own glory than caring for his people.

Still, the lessons about reckoning, forgiveness, reconciliation and rebuilding following a time period of destruction, exploitation, and chaos, are an apt allegory for the present. Netflix greenlighted a live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender some time ago, with its original creators signed to usher it into existence. Maybe by the time it's ready the world will be in a better place. Until then, the original stands as a stalwart example of allegory's power to inform and inspire instead of merely offering escape.

Since the original series, the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender has lived on in the form of sequel, The Legend of Korra, following Korra, the next reincarnation of the Avatar, along with comic book spinoffs, novelizations, video games, and a live-action movie adaptation from M. Night Shyamalan.

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From Newsweek:

'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Creator 'Schooled' About His Own Show by a Fan

vatar: The Last Airbender has been holding steady on Netflix's Top 10 charts since it was added to the streaming platform, and the creator has a suspicion of why. Michael Dante Dimartino connected Avatar to current events and America's political climate.

The kid's animated show aired between 2005 and 2008 on Nickelodeon. Dimartino explained there's a political reason why the show may still be so successful. He quoted a paragraph from an article by Salon on his Facebook which reads:

"The sobering difference between watching Avatar in its time versus seeing it now is that life in America looks and feels a lot like life in the Fire Nation as Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and eventually Zuko experience it," the article reads. "It is a place addicted to its increasingly hollow sense of greatness and even superiority, steered by a leader more concerned with his own glory than caring for his people."

The last line appears to point to President Donald Trump, whose leadership has been controversial. His critics often compare his personality to that of a narcissist, while his fans adore his bluntness and lack of past political ties.

Many comments praised the ability of Avatar fans, now adults, to think deeper about the Fire Nation, and 2020 America's potential similarities. Some fans didn't love the political spin, though, and one responded to Dimartino directly.

"Just let people enjoy the show," wrote a Facebook user named David. "Stop trying to make it into some political circus. Especially because it wasn't created to be a political tool. It's a d*** kids show. Figger [sic] it out."

David's comment was shared on Reddit's r/dontyouknowwhoIam, a subreddit that's "for instances of people not realizing who they're talking to is who they're talking about." It appears David did know he was talking to the co-creator and executive producer of Avatar because he was on the creator's Facebook page. But that didn't stop him from claiming the show wasn't ever political.

Reddit didn't necessarily agree. "There was a worldwide war for 100 years. How can you not see that it's absolutely political?" wrote u/tmarie1135.

Telling the creator about how his show wasn’t made to ‘be political’ from r/dontyouknowwhoiam

Another responded. "What? Did David even watch the show? It's political as f***," explained u/Iksbrown. "War, genocide, imperialism, censorship, discrimination, oppression... to name a few themes."

Some comments even compared the main characters to Antifa. "Star Trek has the same problem - a subset of fans, usually conservative, refuse to view the shows as political and turn a blind eye to all of the political messaging in the franchise," wrote u/indyK1ng.

The general consensus seems to be that Avatar fans were ready to compare America, or other political states, to the plot of Avatar because of some modern-day similarities they claim echo 2020.

Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang, the living Avatar, who can control all four elements. Each element represents a nation, and the Avatar is the only person who can potentially save the world from the Fire Nation, who is trying to take control of all. With his loyal friends, Aang ventures throughout the nations to learn to control all of the elements.

###


Subscribe to the NEW official Avatar: The Last Airbender YouTube channel!: https://at.nick.com/AvatarSubscribe

Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix and The Legend of Korra on CBS All Access!

More Nick: Netflix to Host Open Casting Call for Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series!

Originally published: Saturday, June 13, 2020.

Original source: Salon.
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Black Female Animators Launch Call for Action at 2020 Women in Animation World Virtual Summit

“If ever there was a time to reimagine the future then we are in it,” said Jamal Joseph, kicking off the 2020 Women in Animation World Virtual Summit by addressing this year’s overriding theme.


Annecy’s Women in Animation Summit
Courtesy of Women in Animation

The Columbia professor, activist and former Black Panther member moderated Wednesday’s first panel, Black Women in Animation: Looking to the Future.

Taking place on the third day of Annecy’s online festival and running in the festival’s Carte Blanche section, the panel examined the personal experiences of four women working in the industry.

British-Nigerian screenwriter Misan Sagay – best known for the 2013 film Belle and now working on her first animated feature for Netflix – said that the lack of diversity in popular film and TV series of her childhood left her feeling “erased from the narrative.”

She added: “Think about all the fairy tales that you’re not in. It’s not as though you were not allowed a happy ending – you weren’t even allowed to be there.”

Sagay argued that diverse storytelling leads to a healthier society – with audiences raised on content that reflects a diverse range of characters less likely to be racist.

“They don’t see harmony or peace as my absence, which is why it’s important to tell those stories early on,” she added.

Fellow panelist Karen Rupert Toliver – a former Disney exec who now works as executive vice president (EVP) of creative at Sony Pictures Animation – told the panel that she grew up being the only Black child in her class at her private school and summer camp.

She observes that it was harder for her white friends to assimilate into her world than the other way around, and she grew up seeing this experience reflected on screen, where Black characters were generally cast as the sidekick.

Toliver urged the industry to be bolder and have more faith that audiences can identify and empathize with non-white leads.

Following the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent discourse that has followed around systemic racism, it is essential, she added, to start pulling white audiences into different experiences.

“It speaks to what is going on now. White people are starting to see pain and learn about different experiences - and we have to pull them into our experience in a way that might not be comfortable or confusing for them.,” she said.

The panel also went onto address the paucity of Black females in the animation industry.

Jade Branion, a promo producer-turned-scriptwriter (credits include an episode of Showtime’s coming of age drama, The Chi) observed that, with the exception of one writer’s room, she’s always been the only Black woman in the room.

Her industry call for action is simple: “Hire us! There’s so much talent – hire Black showrunners, animators and directors,” she urged.

The panel agreed that more Black women were needed at executive level too, to help kick down doors, nurture careers and retain Black female staff.

Camille Eden – vice president (VP) of Animation Recruitment and Talent Development at Nickelodeon Animation Studio – recalled being given her first break by a Black female VFX artist, where she landed a role in the security department of an animation company.

“It took me a long time to get to the role that I’m at now and it took a lot of hard work and believing in myself. The door got kicked open for me and now I‘m going to help get more people in the room – there are stories that need to be told, that want to be told – and it’s good for business,” she said.

Misan likens the experience to walking into a meeting at Warner Bros recently and pitching to a Black female executive to “having lead boots taken off and being told I could fly.”

The writer explained that during pitches she usually spends the first half hour trying to justify why a certain character needs to be of a specific racial origin.

“Which is why walking in there pitching to a Black woman was such a magical experience – there was no fight, it was so different that when I walked out the room I thought to myself ‘This must be what it’s like to be white.’”

From Animation Magazine:

Black Women in Animation’s Call to Action at Annecy

One of the most powerful events of this year’s online Annecy and MIFA program was the Women in Animation panel titled “Black Women in Animation: Looking to the Future,” which went live on Wednesday (and is free to watch at online.annecy.org). Featuring Camille Eden, Nickelodeon’s VP of animation recruitment and development; Karen Rupert Toliver, exec VP of creative at Sony Pictures Animation; screenwriter Misan Sagay (Belle) and writer Jade Branion (The Chi), and moderated by Columbia University professor of film studies Jamal Joseph, the panel was an honest discussion of the challenges of breaking into animation as a Black woman, and what animation executives can do to improve the landscape in terms of diversity and representation.

“We would like to see parity in the field of animation, where we have 50 percent men and 50 percent women, but women of color have a much lower number in the field because of their oppressed history,” said Joseph in the intro. “The face of animation is mainly the face and positioning of white men, and we’d like to reimagine the future through the lens of women of color in animation.”

Each panelist told stories about how she got into the entertainment field, and shared the difficult experiences of starting out being the only Black woman in the room.

Eden recalled that after she graduated from film school in San Francisco State, the opportunities were few and far between. “I applied for a year to get a job at a visual effects company, and even then, I got my foot in the door by getting a job at the security department,” she noted. “I had to literally pitch myself to the producers to take a chance on me. When I moved into animation and recruiting, the number of people of color working in the business was very low. You never saw anyone who looked like you, so I decided to do something about that and reach out to those artists — because there are out there. I embraced the mission to focus on inclusive hiring even before we talked about it as a word. There is so much untapped talent out there.”

Tales of Assimilation

Toliver talked about growing up being the only Black girl in a private school in Dallas, and how she had to accommodate all her white friends, while they told her that they felt uncomfortable being around black people. “I was used to being the only Black person in the room, and I came to Hollywood wanting to make Black films,” she said. “I stumbled into Disney Feature Animation, and I knew how powerful those animated movies were. I was enamored with them, but I could see that there was a big problem with representation. Before Princess and the Frog, there were not any real Black stories told. I remember writing a memo to my boss about how difficult it was to be the only person in the room who thought that was important. Cut to today, and the discussion has quite evolved although we still have challenges. But I was grateful to be in a role that I could make an impact.”

Sagay, who grew up in Nigeria, said she felt very lucky that the first script she wrote was sold and made into a movie. “It used to be that you had to convince people in charge that your voice was relevant and interesting and that there’s an audience for it. Now, the audience is crying out for it. I am currently working on an animated script for Netflix and I find it very exciting, because animation gives you a lot of freedom as a writer.”

She went on to discuss how important it is for children to see themselves represented in animated shows and movies. “I never saw that as a child,” she recalled. “Films are the family portrait of humanity, and it’s like you are looking at a family photograph album and you’re not there, and you’re asking yourself, ‘Where am I?’ It’s feeling completely erased from the narrative as if one doesn’t exist. I feel we minimize the depth of the wound that this creates for the child. Thinking about all the fairy tales we saw, it wasn’t that you weren’t allowed to have a happy ending — you weren’t even allowed to be there.”

‘People Who Look Like Me’

Toliver, who received an Oscar last year for producing the acclaimed short Hair Love, said, “When I had the chance to produce Hair Love, it was such a cathartic, personal experience to be in a room of creative people like me. It’s incredibly important to get [inclusive] images like that out there. We need to bring more people in. Artists write about what they know. We need to create a platform for bringing in new filmmakers where we can tell diverse stories and support them.”

Eden shared the experience of taking her then two-year-old daughter to see Disney’s Princess and the Frog. “I was worried that she may not be able to really enjoy the movie because she was so young, but she was so into that story. She actually shushed me! This was the first time she ever saw a Black princess on the screen. I had never experienced that when I was growing up. We had The Proud Family and Bébé’s Kids, but you are so hungry for more images. I can imagine the fight involved to get those shows on the air back then.”

She added, “In my position, I am going to use my ability, skills and knowledge to help more people get in the room and have a seat at the table … The world is not one color. When you look at the makeup of this world, the majority of people are something else. These are stories that need to be told.”

Sagay pointed out that it was only until the last few years that she got to pitch her projects to a person of color. She remembered a time that she was told by a TV executive that her project (which featured a Black protagonist) wasn’t suitable for Sunday night viewing in the U.K. “They told me this show feels like something that would be shown on Sunday night, and you’re really not Sunday night people! Which meant: Your presence doesn’t make people feel comfortable.’”

Things were much better years later when Sagay got to pitch to a Black woman executive at Warner Bros. “It felt as if I had been walking in lead boots and someone had taken them off, and I could fly,” she said. “It was a magical experience. I walked out of that meeting thinking, ‘So this is what it’s like to be white!’”

The panelists agreed that things started to change about three or four years ago, where authenticity became more important. Toliver said, “We started to have this consciousness that white savior stories were not going to be the only stories being told … Now that we see an opening, we should prove and show to them that when these authentic stories do get out, they’re going to be well received and we are going to need more. The more stories that are told the better because they don’t get scrutinized. You just get to embrace them all, just like you with any mainstream project.”

So what needs to be done? “They need to hire us!,” said Branion. “It must seem like a daunting task, but there’s so much talent out there. Bring us to your writers’ room. Hire Black showrunners, animators, directors.”

Eden also emphasized the importance of making Black employees feel comfortable and welcome at studios. “If someone comes into your organization and they don’t feel comfortable, they’re going to turn around and leave. There’s enough room at the table for others to have a voice. But you need to have an understanding of how to have an inclusive workplace and that comes from the top.”

You can watch this panel and several other important Women in Animation panels featured in the Carte Blanche section of online.annecy.org.

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More Nick: Nickelodeon Upfront 2020 Roundup!

Originally published: Thursday, June 18, 2020.

Original source: Variety; Additional source: College of Liberal & Creative Arts.
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'SpongeBob SquarePants' the Most In-Demand TV Show for Week Ending June 20, 2020

SpongeBob SquarePants was the most in-demand TV series for the week ended June 20, according to Parrot Analytics, which reports that Nickelodeon's beloved animated series seeing a demand 100.3 times higher than that of the average television show.


The news comes as ViacomCBS announces plans to add all episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants, along with The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which is foregoing its theatrical release due to the on-going COVID-19 (coronavirus) and heading straight to digital, to a bulked-up and relaunched CBS All Access during early 2021.

Parrot Analytics provides readers with a weekly top 10 of the most popular digital original TV series in the United States, based on the firm’s proprietary metric called Demand Expressions, which measures demand for TV content in a given market through a wide variety of data sources, including video streaming, social media activity, photo sharing, blogging, commenting on fan and critic rating platforms, and downloading and streaming via peer-to-peer protocols and file sharing sites. Results are expressed as a comparison with the average demand for a TV show of any kind in the market.

More Nick: Nickelodeon Announces Voice Cast for 'Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years', First-Ever 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Spinoff!
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Yolanda T. Cochran Joins ViacomCBS Kids & Family Entertainment Group as Senior Vice President, Live-Action Long-Form Production

Yolanda T. Cochran Joins ViacomCBS Kids & Family Entertainment Group as Senior Vice President, Live-Action Long-Form Production


ViacomCBS has named Yolanda T. Cochran as Senior Vice President, Live-Action Long-Form Production, ViacomCBS Kids & Family Credit: ViacomCBS

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--June 22, 2020--ViacomCBS has named Yolanda T. Cochran as Senior Vice President, Live-Action Long-Form Production, ViacomCBS Kids & Family, responsible for managing all aspects of live-action physical production for the Nickelodeon brands – Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick and Nicktoons – and for Gen Z-focused brand Awesomeness. Based in Hollywood, Cochran will report to Megan Ring, Executive Vice President of Production, ViacomCBS. She began at ViacomCBS in May.

“Yolanda is a talented producer and creative executive known for bringing bold, original stories and important voices to the screen,” said Ring. “Her considerable expertise in production will only strengthen our ability to make content that truly resonates with young audiences and families. I’m also excited to welcome Yolanda for her incredible advocacy in addressing gender and race inequality in entertainment – leadership that will help reinforce our own commitment to greater diversity and inclusion.”

In this role, Cochran will manage budgeting, scheduling, location scouting and staffing, while working closely with producers and key department heads to ensure that Nickelodeon shows and Awesomeness series and films are produced at the highest quality provided for within their budgets.


Cochran joins the ViacomCBS Kids & Family Entertainment Group from Freeform (Walt Disney Television Group), where she most recently served as Vice President of Production, overseeing scripted series such as Good Trouble, The Bold Type, Siren and Motherland: Fort Salem. In 2016, Cochran produced a documentary short and podcast mini-series entitled Radio Film School: Breaking the Glass, highlighting and seeking solutions to challenges specific to gender and race in film and television.

Cochran previously served as Executive Vice President of Physical Production at Warner Bros. affiliated Alcon Entertainment, overseeing production and production finance for the company’s slate, project managing all aspects from green light to delivery. In that time she executive produced the feature Beautiful Creatures and coproduced several others: The Book of Eli, Dolphin Tale 1 & 2, Something Borrowed; Joyful Noise; Lottery Ticket, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, Point Break, and the Academy Award®-winning film The Blind Side. In 2005, Cochran co-wrote and produced an independent thriller entitled Paved with Good Intentions. Prior to joining Alcon in 2002, Cochran worked freelance, below the line on feature films including Life, Blue Streak, Nutty Professor II, Coyote Ugly and Dragonfly.

Cochran is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Television Academy of Arts & Sciences, Board of Directors of the Producers Guild of America and National Co-Chair of the PGA’s Women’s Impact Network (WIN).

ViacomCBS has been focusing on live-action growth at Nick and Awesomeness recently as lockdowns begin to lift, and production returns to normal. Earlier this month the media company hired Syrinthia Studer to oversee feature-length content for both Awesomeness and Nick as the studios build out their film slates.

About Yolanda T. Cochran:

An experienced and skilled producer, creative executive and consultant, Yolanda T. Cochran currently serves as SVP, Live-Action Long-Form Production, ViacomCBS Kids & Family. In this role, which she assumed in June 2020, Cochran manages all aspects of live-action physical production for the Nickelodeon portfolio of brands – Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick and Nicktoons – and for Gen Z-focused brand Awesomeness.

Before joining ViacomCBS, Cochran was VP Production at Freeform (within the Walt Disney Television Group), where she oversaw original scripted series such as Good Trouble, The Bold Type, Siren and Motherland: Fort Salem. In 2016, Cochran (USC alumna) produced a documentary short and podcast mini-series entitled Radio Film School: Breaking the Glass, highlighting and seeking solutions to challenges specific to gender and race in film and tv.

Cochran previously served as EVP Physical Production at Warner Bros. affiliated Alcon Entertainment, overseeing production and production finance for the company’s slate, project managing all aspects from green light to delivery. In that time she executive produced the feature Beautiful Creatures and coproduced several others: The Book of Eli, Dolphin Tale 1 & 2, Something Borrowed; Joyful Noise; Lottery Ticket, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, Point Break, and The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock which was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture. In 2005, Cochran co-wrote and produced an independent thriller entitled Paved with Good Intentions.

Prior to joining Alcon in 2002, Cochran worked freelance, below the line on feature films including Life, Blue Streak, Nutty Professor II, Coyote Ugly and Dragonfly. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Television Academy of Arts & Sciences, Board of Directors of the Producers Guild of America and National Co-Chair of the PGA’s Women’s Impact Network (WIN), Cochran has been a CPA, is an oenophile and is a native of Texas with familial roots in Louisiana.

About ViacomCBS:

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, CBS All Access, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the US television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.

For more information about ViacomCBS, please visit www.viacomcbs.com and follow @ViacomCBS on social platforms.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 41st 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 and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC).

More Nick: Nickelodeon Upfront 2020 Roundup!

Originally published: Monday, June 22, 2020 at xx.xx BST.

H/T: Kidscreen.
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An Undercover Restaurant Review! - Listen Out Loud Podcast Season 3, Episode 1 | The Loud House

An Undercover Restaurant Review! - Listen Out Loud Podcast Season 3, Episode 1 | The Loud House


On this Listen Out Loud Podcast, Lincoln and Clyde decide they want to review their favorite food spot, Gus’s, but they need some disguises first. Not everything runs to plan and some problems start popping up!

Subscribe to the official The Loud House & The Casagrandes YouTube channel!: https://at.nick.com/LoudCasaSubscribe

Listen to more Listen Out Loud Podcast episodes here: http://bit.ly/ListenOutLoud

More Nick: Nickelodeon Releases The Loud House “Really Loud Music” Digital Album!
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Korra vs. Zaheer 🌪 FINAL Battle | Legend of Korra

Korra vs. Zaheer 🌪 FINAL Battle | Legend of Korra


In one of Korra's biggest challenges yet, she faced Zaheer and the rest of the Red Lotus as they tried poisoning her to end the Avatar cycle forever. Fortunately, Korra not only took on Zaheer with the full force of the Avatar state, but also many of her friends and mentors! Watch this epic battle and (spoiler alert) Zaheer's failure to destroy Korra and the Avatar cycle!

Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix & CBS All Access and The Legend of Korra on CBS All Access!

More Nick: Netflix to Host Open Casting Call for Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series!
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Squidweek on SpongeBob! | YTV

Squidweek on SpongeBob! | YTV


It's everything Squidward! Show your favourite Bikini Bottom Octopus love all week long! Join The Zone for Squidweek!

Watch SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon and YTV!

CALLING ALL GOOFY GOOBERS! (ROCK!) Are ya ready for a deep dive into the world of SpongeBob SquarePants? The SpongeBob YouTube channel is THE PLACE for all fan-favorite SpongeBob moments! We’re serving up everything from legendary scenes to remixes of classic songs to deep dives into Bikini Bottom lore. Be sure to check back every week for Music Mondays, Wumbo Wednesdays, and Flashback Fridays! Subscribe now at https://www.youtube.com/SpongeBobOfficial!

Shop SpongeBob!: https://www.spongebobshop.com

More Nick: Nickelodeon Announces Voice Cast for 'Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years', First-Ever 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Spinoff!
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The Pride Flag Explained | Nickelodeon

Proud to celebrate Pride month with the LGBTQ+ community 🌈 Did you know the meaning behind every stripe in the Pride flag? Check out Nickelodeon's handy guide below!:


The original flag, made in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, was created to fly in the San Francisco Pride parade. Its colors were meant to represent aspects of the LGBT movement.

Inclusive: Recently, black and brown were added to be more inclusive of people of color. The flag could continue to evolve!

Red is for Life
Orange is for Healing
Yellow is for Sunlight
Green is for Nature
Blue is for Serenity
Purple is for Spirit



More Nick: Nickelodeon's Declaration of Kids' Rights!

Originally published: Thursday, June 11, 2020.
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Sofia Carson and Wolfgang Novogratz Guest Star in New 'Group Chat', Premiering Saturday, June 20 on Nickelodeon

Annie LeBlanc and Jayden Bartels throw marshmallows, dream of deserted islands and stack confetti with special guests, actress and singer Sofia Carson and Hollywood heartthrob Wolfgang Novogratz in the brand new Group Chat with Annie & Jayden episode "Confetti Clean Up" (#105), premiering Saturday, June 20 at 8:30p/7:30c following an all new Young Dylan at 8/7c, only on Nickelodeon! Check out an aweslime sneak peek below!:

Update (6/22) - What did you think of this weeks brand new episode of Group Chat with Annie & Jayden? Vote in the poll here!: http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2020/06/what-did-you-think-of-group-chat-with_21.html



More Nick: Nickelodeon Greenlights 'Group Chat: The Show' and 'Game Face'; To Premiere Summer 2020!


Originally published: Friday, June 19, 2020.
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'Go Figure' by Aria Brooks | Black Lives Matter

In the wake of the horrendous murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police, and widespread Black Lives Matter protests, Nickelodeon All That star Aria Brooks has shared a powerful and beautiful poem titled “Go figure”, in which she expresses her feelings and about how she feels about the whole situation.


"MANY WANT OUR CULTURE BUT NOT OUR STRUGGLE. I’m sick of the stereotypes and how we’re viewed by people. I’m tired of BEAUTIFUL BLACK PEOPLE being treated like we don’t have value, being killed in the streets..." Aria captioned the video on Instagram.

Remember, continue to speak out, your voice matters #BlackLivesMatter.

BOOM! Studios Unveils First look at 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #50'

YOUR FIRST LOOK AT MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #50

June 18, 2020


BOOM! Studios, under license by Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), today revealed a first look at MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #50 by the all star team of acclaimed writer Ryan Parrott (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), artist Daniele di Nicuolo (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), colorist Walter Baiamonte (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), and letterer Ed Dukeshire (Angel), the shocking final chapter in the epic Power Rangers event, Necessary Evil, arriving in June 2020.

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the Omega Rangers – along with surprise new allies – team up to face The Anointed in this epic conclusion to the Power Rangers event: Necessary Evil! Everything has been leading to the shocking return of a fan favorite character so big that we needed a last page gatefold to contain it! But what does it mean now that [SPOILER] is back?

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #50 features a connecting main cover and variant cover by Jamal Campbell (Naomi), a collectible Trading Card variant cover by Kris Anka (Runaways), an exclusive Story Variant cover written by Ryan Parrott and illustrated by Dan Mora (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), as well as a special foil variant of the connecting cover art by Jamal Campbell.

Currently, Power Rangers is celebrating 27 continuous years on the air, making it one of the longest running kids’ live-action series in television history with nearly 900 episodes aired to date. Created by Haim Saban and launched in 1993 with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the franchise continues with the 27th season, “Power Rangers Beast Morphers” currently airing on Saturdays at 8 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon in the U.S.

Print copies of MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #50 will be available on June 24, 2020 exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the one nearest you) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers like comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire. Softcover collections of MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS, and other Power Rangers releases from BOOM! Studios are available now, everywhere books are sold.


Connect with Power Rangers: powerrangers.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

More Nick: 'Power Rangers' Season 28 to be Titled 'Power Rangers Dino Fury'; To Premiere on Nickelodeon in 2021!

H/T: But Why Tho?.
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