Bee Prepared To Catch the Buzz When The Mighty B! Flies to Nickelodeon Saturday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT)

Bee Prepared To Catch the Buzz When The Mighty B! Flies to Nickelodeon Saturday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT)

All-New Half-Hour Animated Series Created by SNL and Film Star Amy Poehler, The Fairly OddParents' Staff Writer Cynthia True, and SpongeBob SquarePants' Emmy-nominated Storyboard Artist Erik Wiese

Series Regulars Include Amy Poehler as Bessie, Andy Richter as Benjamin and Kenan Thompson as Rocky

BURBANK, Calif., April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Co-created by comedian Amy Poehler and Nickelodeon animation veterans Cynthia True and Erik Wiese, the all-new animated comedy series The Mighty B!, premieres Saturday, April 26, from 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon, the number-one producer of television animation in the U.S. The half-hour series set in San Francisco follows the adventures of a proud Honeybee troop member as she strives to pursue her goals of obtaining all of the Honeybee badges so she may become the mysterious superhero, The Mighty Bee. A second all-new episode will premiere on Sunday, April 27 from 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. The Mighty B! will air regularly on Nickelodeon Saturdays from 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT).

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080408/NYTU065 )

"Nickelodeon is absolutely thrilled to have a comedy team the caliber of Amy, Erik and Cynthia create this iconic character for a new generation," said Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. "Bessie is certainly a character who demonstrates that with the right blend of optimism, enthusiasm and fun, every kid can be a superhero."

"I am thrilled that the world will finally meet the funny and sweet girl-tornado that is Bessie Higgenbottom," said Poehler. "Erik, Cynthia and I are so pleased to be working with the wonderful people at Nickelodeon. In the words of Bessie, it's been AwESome!"

Bessie Higgenbottom (voiced by Amy Poehler) is the world's most ambitious and loveably unhinged 9-3/4-year-old member of the Honeybee troop for girls. As a member of the Honeybees, Bessie wears her uniform every single day, leads her troop with a zeal General Patton would have admired and has earned more badges then any other Honeybee in history. Bessie is sometimes accompanied on her adventures by her ever-loyal younger brother Benjamin (voiced by Andy Richter), her very opinionated and somewhat reluctant dog Happy (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), one of her closest pals, her imaginary friend Finger and Rocky Rhodes (voiced by Kenan Thompson), the cool, older skater kid who works part-time at the counter at Bessie's mother's eatery, Hilary's Cafe.

In the first half of the premiere episode, "So Happy Together," the Honeybees are having a dog show, which presents the perfect opportunity for Bessie to finally get the Animal Appreciation Badge. The only problem is she doesn't have a dog. Once Bessie convinces her mom Hilary (voiced by Megan Cavanagh) to let her have a dog, she sets off in search of the best show dog ever and finds Happy, a stray mutt with a torn ear and the biggest appetite in San Francisco. Bessie puts Happy on a strict training schedule to learn all the essential dog show skills: obedience, tricks, and of course, ballroom dancing. But Happy is a free-spirited pooch who may not willingly settle down to his new life as a show dog.

In the second half of the premiere episode, "Sweet Sixteenth," Bessie has been practicing for a very momentous occasion -- her first ride on a real roller coaster. However, when she gets to the front of the line she is disheartened to learn that she is a sixteenth of an inch too short and not permitted to ride. Bessie won't take no for an answer and is determined to get on the ride regardless of the height restriction.

The first half of the second episode (premiering Sunday, April 27 at 10:30 a.m.), "Bee My Baby," follows Bessie and Penny as they get tricked into babysitting Gwen's five rowdy little brothers. Bessie is convinced that babysitting will be a piece of cake. However, she quickly learns that this job may be more than she can handle. And in "Bee Afraid," Bessie is the only one in her troop who doesn't have the Happy Camper Badge. This year will be different, though; she'll stop at nothing to get her badge.

Nickelodeon will offer additional short-form videos of The Mighty B!, Bessie-themed playlists, and instant replays of episodes on TurboNick, the network's broadband video service on www.nick.com.

Clips of The Mighty B! will also be available on Nick Mobile through its wireless partners. Following its premiere, The Mighty B! episodes will stream on Video-on-Demand and will be available for purchase through downloads on various Nickelodeon partner video distribution platforms.

www.nick.com/mightyb is the online destination for The Mighty B!, featuring the antics and pranks of Bessie and her friends with in-depth information on the series, games, downloads, podcasts, e-collectibles and more. Additionally, prior to the show premiere, Nickelodeon will launch a fictional companion Honey Bee site with membership cards, Bee-Mail and tips on ways to earn badges.

Co-Creator, Executive Producer and voice of Bessie Higgenbottom, Amy Poehler is currently in her seventh season of Saturday Night Live (her fourth as the co-anchor of "Weekend Update") and will star in the upcoming Universal comedy Baby Mama opposite Tina Fey. She also lends her voice in the upcoming animated film Horton Hears a Who! with Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. Last year, Poehler starred in the ice-skating comedy Blades of Glory, alongside Will Ferrell and Will Arnett, and lent her voice to the box office hit Shrek the Third as "Snow White."

Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Story Editor Cynthia True has written for a number of shows, including Nickelodeon's Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and My Life as a Teenage Robot; The N's O'Grady and WB's Johnny Test. She was also a staff writer for Nickelodeon's The Fairly OddParents. True is formerly a journalist (Time Out NY, Rolling Stone, Texas Monthly, Harper's Bazaar) and is the author of American Scream: The Bills Hicks Story (Harper Collins and Macmillan UK), now in its 7th printing.

Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Creative Director Erik Wiese is an Emmy and Annie-nominated storyboard artist and writer who worked on SpongeBob SquarePants for four seasons. Wiese's other credits include The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Danny Phantom, Samurai Jack, Sammy and the animated Bjork music video "I Miss You."

The Mighty B! is produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, in its 28th 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 almost 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)(NYSE:VIA.B).

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080408/NYTU065
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN3
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Press: Nicole Parker, +1-818-736-3613, nicole.parker@nick.com,
or Maria Poulos, +1-212-846-6283, maria.poulos@mtvnmix.com, or Photo Contact:
Michelle Hernandez, +1-212-258-7722, michelle.hernandez@nick.com, all of
Nickelodeon

Web site:

http://www.nick.com/
http://www.nick.com/mightyb

-------
Profile: intent