Nickelodeon's Hit TEENick Comedies Erase Back-To-School Blues With Quintet of Primetime Fall Season Premieres

Nickelodeon's Hit TEENick Comedies Erase Back-To-School Blues With Quintet of Primetime Fall Season Premieres

Zoey 101 and Unfabulous Beguile with Second-Season Openers, Saturday, September 10, 8-9 p.m. (ET/PT)

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide Pulls out All-New Tips; Drake & Josh and All That Mix Mirth and Music Anew, October 1 (8-9:30 p.m. ET/PT)

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon expels back-to- school blues with fall season primetime premieres of five live-action TEENick comedies in September and October. First up, tween queens Jamie Lynn Spears and Emma Roberts rule Saturday, September 10 with second-season openers of their hit series Zoey 101 (8 p.m. ET/PT) and Unfabulous (8:30 p.m. ET/PT), encoring Sunday, September 11 (8 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. respectively). And on their stylish heels, a heavy-hitting lineup of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Drake & Josh and All That, with all-star players Devon Werkheiser, Drake Bell and Josh Peck, steals the night Saturday, October 1 (8 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET/PT respectively).

Twists, turns and character intros sprinkle the episode premieres. Zoey 101/"Back to P.C.A." finds take-charge Zoey (Spears) embarking on second- semester adventures at Pacific Coast Academy, where an eccentric new roommate promptly throws her a curve. Unfabulous' awkwardly adorable Addie (Roberts) spins new songs to navigate day-to-day life and in "The Rhinoceros in the Room" grapples with braces, new romance and a family crisis. As school bells ring on Ned's Declassified/"New Semester" & "Electives" the title tipster is primed for a first kiss. Too-strict student teacher Josh sparks rebellion in little sis Megan's class on Drake & Josh/"Megan's New Teacher" and nearly wrecks Drake's chance of recruiting a kid drummer for his band there.

"We can't wait for the next season of our tween hits to premiere," said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon Television. "Nick's new generation of Hollywood stars are telling stories that are relatable for our audience and most definitely funny."

TEENick shows (Saturdays, 8-10 p.m. and Sundays 7-9 p.m.) continue to dominate the tween landscape, outpacing all broadcast and cable competition and accounting for four of cable's top five shows with tweens (Zoey 101, Drake & Josh, Romeo! and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide). Instant hits since their premieres, every TEENick series has posted double-digit improvements among tweens over last year with Drake & Josh +41% (4.1/827,000); Ned Declassified +42% (4.4/891,000); Unfabulous +13% (4.5/916,000); Zoey 101 +81% (5.8/1,184,000) and Romeo! +38% (4.4/887,000).*

Post-season premieres, TEENick's regular lineup on Saturdays will include Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (8 p.m.), Drake & Josh (8:30 p.m.), The Amanda Show (9 p.m.) and All That (9:30 p.m.). Sunday's TEENick block will feature Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (7 p.m.), Unfabulous (7:30 p.m.), Zoey 101 (8 p.m.) and Romeo! (8:30 p.m.).

As the Emmy and Teen Choice Award-nominated Zoey 101 heads back to the books amid ocean breezes, Zoey and Nicole (Alexa Nikolas) move into a new dorm room and meet their eccentric new roommate Lola (Victoria Justice). This season the outnumbered girls still strive to survive and thrive at the newly co-ed boarding school, despite detractors like Logan (Matthew Underwood), and with the help of pals Chase (Sean Flynn) and Michael (Christopher Massey). Creator/executive producer is Dan Schneider (All That, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, What I Like about You).

Unfabulous' Addie Singer's penchant for sometimes silly, but poignant song-writing helps guide her through the trials of teendom, and new music by hit singer/songwriter Jill Sobule (90s hits Supermodel and I Kissed a Girl), performed by Roberts, is on tap again this sophomore season. Following the season opener, in which Addie acts on a crush and faces a family crisis, she'll attempt to balance new romance with Randy (Evan Palmer) with her friendships with Geena (Malese Jow) and Zach (Jordan Calloway). She'll also try to find a first job and to solve various adolescent puzzles, while her hunky older brother Ben (Tadhg Kelly) makes it all look like a piece of cake. Sue Rose (Pepper Ann, Angela Anaconda) is the series' creator/executive producer.

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide continues to chronicle the wacky adventures of Ned Bigby (Devon Werkheiser) and his best pals Moze (Lindsey Shaw) and Cookie (Daniel Curtis Lee) at James K. Polk Middle School, as "every-kid" Ned shatters the fourth wall to share tips and tricks on jumping school hurdles. Each episode features two 11-minute romps. In the second- season premiere, Ned seeks his first kiss from already attached Susie Crabgrass and enlists Moze's help in bringing it about. Upcoming Survival Guides offer tips in dealing with pitfalls and problems of career day, science fair, study hall, double dating, class clowns, tutors and much more. Scott Fellows (The Fairly OddParents) is creator/executive producer.

Drake & Josh's odd couple of teen stepbrothers (Drake Bell and Josh Peck) share shenanigans that somehow cement a brotherly bond. And it is singer- musician/ladies' man Drake who pulls responsible Josh into the high jinks. Miranda Cosgrove (School of Rock) hoodwinks them both as little sis Megan. In the season premiere, though, when super-strict student teacher Josh sparks revolt in Megan's class, Drake steps in to help her discredit their bro in order to recruit an amazing kid drummer in the class for his band. This season, too, a Drake & Josh TV movie is on tap. Bell, who penned the show's theme song, continues to perform his original music. Creator/executive producer is Dan Schneider.

The perennial hit All That premieres episodes for a side-splitting, musical tenth season as TV's only sketch comedy starring kids. Often dubbed a "pint-sized Saturday Night Live," the series features outrageous kid comedy along with musical performances of hot new, tween-pleasing acts. It has become a pipeline for showcasing and developing some of today's most talented young comedians, including Jamie Lynn Spears, Nick Cannon, Kenan Thompson and Amanda Bynes. Chelsea Brummet, Ryan Coleman, Jack DeSena, Lisa Renee Foiles, Christina Kirkman, Kyle Sullivan, Denzel Whitaker, Kianna Underwood and Lil JJ comprise the current cast. Dan Schneider serves as show runner and executive producer alongside Brian Robbins, Mike Tollin and Joe Davola. Tollin/Robbins Productions created All That.

Following are detailed highlights of TEENick's season premiere episodes (all times ET/PT):

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
8 p.m. - Zoey 10l: "Back to P.C.A" -- School is back in session at Pacific
Coast Academy, and Zoey and Nicole's eccentric new roommate,
Lola, is perhaps the strangest person they have ever met.
Meanwhile, Logan goes completely overboard on the entertainment
system for his new dorm room, forcing Michael and Chase to camp
outside. (Repeats Sunday, September 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT)

8:30 p.m. - Unfabulous: "The Rhinoceros in the Middle of the Room" --
Though Addie has a crush on Randy Klein, she's been avoiding
him because she doesn't know how he feels about her. To make
matters worse, Aunt Bertha informs her that kissing with
braces can be lethal. A family crisis forces Addie to face her
fears and provides relief from her "metal mouth." (Repeats
Sunday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1

8 p.m. - Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide: "New Semester" --
Ned seeks his first kiss from Suzie Crabgrass, but first he
enlists Moze's help to break up Suzie and Loomer. Meanwhile,
Cookie starts the new semester with a new super cool look.
"Electives" -- Ned, Moze and Cookie try out different
electives so they can finally get a class together and score
an easy "A."

8:30 p.m. - Drake & Josh: "Megan's New Teacher" - Josh nabs a student
teaching job in Miranda's classroom where Drake discovers an
amazing kid drummer. But when the class revolts against teen
taskmaster Josh, Drake rushes in to help Megan discredit him
-- perchance to snare the drummer for his band.

9 p.m. - All That -- Side-splitting, outrageous new comedy sketches
feature kid cast Chelsea Brummet, Ryan Coleman, Jack DeSena,
Lisa Renee Foiles, Christina Kirkman, Kyle Sullivan, Denzel
Whitaker, Kianna Underwood and Lil JJ. Musical guest is
Morgan Smith.

Nickelodeon, now in its 26th 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 89 million households and has been the number- one-rated basic cable network for ten consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

*(Source: Nielsen Cume Data - July 2005)

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Margo Zinberg, +1-310-752-8207, or Jennifer Musselman,
+1-310-752-8205

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

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