Nickelodeon is adding another animated comedy to the schedule: The Loud House.
Developed through the Viacom-owned network's Animated Shorts Program, The Loud House marks the first short from the 2013 class to be given a 13-episode pickup, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Nickelodeon is aiming for a January 2016 debut for the series.
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Inspired by first-time creator Chris Savino's (Rocko's Modern Life, The Powerpuff Girls) childhood growing up as one of 10 siblings, The Loud House centers on 11-year-old Lincoln as he gives an inside look at what it takes to survive in the bedlam of a large family, especially as the only boy. To get a better sense of the series' proposed tone, visual look and characters, watch the three-minute short above.
"You really get the opportunity to put the execution first in a creator-driven way of developing. The most important thing is the execution of how that individual writer, artist or director sees that world," Jenna Boyd, senior vp animation development at Nickelodeon Group, tells THR of the Animated Shorts Program."Instead of spending all that time developing it on paper in theory and plotting out all these future episodes, we put the execution of the short first, let it tell us what it is and then expand it out to a series and work on building out the world."
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Boyd noted that there are still several shorts from last year's class, which consisted of 17 finalists, "that are very much alive" for possible series pickups. "It has become this legitimate pipeline for us for shows," she says, citing FX/FXX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as an example of trumping the traditional TV development process. (It's Always Sunny was originally a short film idea.)
Identifying a potential new series meant picking "ideas that have legs for more," Boyd says. And while the premise for The Loud House has been done before, it was the "personal" flavor Savino infused into the story that made it stand out from the rest. "He managed to, in two minutes, really define 10 characters," Boyd says. "All of those girls pop."
The Loud House marks the second series to come from the Animated Shorts Program, which began in 2012, following the pickup of Breadwinners, already renewed for a second season, in February 2013.
Additionally, Nickelodeon announced the 11 finalists from this year's Animated Shorts Program. The shorts will be produced by the end of the year and will enter the development pipeline.
• Francine by writer-comedian Katie Crown – The story of a strangely brilliant girl who battles a robot version of herself for her life and a slice of pizza.
• Meat Pie vs. the Dark Ages by Nickelodeon director Gabe Swarr – Crusty boar Meat Pie is about to pull off yet another amazing con when he accidentally sells his beloved cousin to an axe-wielding wolf.
• Shelf Life by Nickelodeon storyboard artist Robert Iza – While working at a warehouse full of everything, overprotective cat Ashley is driven to the brink of madness after her oblivious best friend Max gets himself fired.
• Summer Memories by writer-director Adam Yaniv – Jason has 24 hours to find his missing tooth after a parachuting accident caused by his loyal but questionable friend Ronnie.
• Ice Station Zedonk by Nickelodeon director Tom Parkinson – Stevo the Cheese Weasel’s peaceful day of ice fishing is rudely interrupted by his slacker best friend, Bigbogs the Ice-Troll, when he invites the whole town to join in.
• Night Crew by independent animators Caitlin Boyle and Tara Helfer – Two rat best friends, Buck and Lou, pursue a legendary giant hoagie to celebrate the anniversary of their friendship.
• Planet Claire by Nickelodeon executive producers Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb – Claire is a girl who has her own personal superhero and knows 27 different dazzling dances.
• The Outsiders by writer Eric Bravo – When Miles drags his pal Gerald into the woods for a dance emergency, he has no idea it will lead to a sticky run-in with a hungry bear.
• Leander, Dre and Cyppy by Nickelodeon storyboard artist Monica Ray – Leander is a young boy thrown into a world where magical creatures don’t understand his odd human ways.
• Ugly Mutt by PUNY Entertainment’s Shadi Petosky and Dave Hagen – Ugly Mutt, an eternally optimistic dog, takes on an unlikely challenge: getting a human baby adopted.
• Bad News Bunny by California State University, Fullerton, graduate Tarryn Henderson – A stuffed toy bunny stuck babysitting two bored kids will stop at nothing to entertain them.
Email: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
