Nickelodeon's Superstar Duo Drake Bell and Josh Peck Reunite to Make Holiday Memories in Original, Primetime Television Movie Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh, Premiering Friday, December 5, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (ET/PT)

Nickelodeon's Superstar Duo Drake Bell and Josh Peck Reunite to Make Holiday Memories in Original, Primetime Television Movie Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh, Premiering Friday, December 5, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (ET/PT)

Henry Winkler and Kimbo Slice Guest-Star in High-Stakes Holiday Comedy From Hitmaker Dan Schneider

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2008 holiday season could be the best ever for Drake & Josh fans, as Nickelodeon reunites two of the most popular stars in kid TV history -- Drake Bell and Josh Peck -- to deliver a brand-new, two-hour original television movie, Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh, premiering Friday, December 5, 8-10 p.m. (ET/PT). At once a high-stakes comic adventure and a poignant story for the season, the primetime present guest-stars Henry Winkler and MMA fighter Kimbo Slice respectively as a fair-minded judge and good-hearted ex-jailbird who help Drake and Josh keep their Christmas promise to a family of foster kids. Merry Christmas Drake & Josh is written and executive produced by series creator and tween hitmaker Dan Schneider (iCarly, Zoey 101).

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081111/NY45347 )

"Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh will showcase the classic buddy comedy viewers have come to expect in a big, bright, music and heart-filled holiday package," said Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon's Executive Vice President, Development and Original Programming, adding, "Drake and Josh are back in top form delivering the unique buddy comedy that was a signature of the show. We expect this movie to be a contemporary holiday classic that families will be able to enjoy together for years to come."

Bell and Peck wear co-producer hats for the project, which reunites the whole Drake & Josh cast of regulars, including tween queen Miranda Cosgrove (Nickelodeon's iCarly, Yours, Mine & Ours, School of Rock)) as the boys' mischievous, prank-pulling sister Megan and Jerry Trainor (iCarly) as Josh's co-worker, erratic movie theatre usher Crazy Steve. And on a merry, musical note Bell rings in the season -- and engages the foster kids and his band -- with rocking renditions of Jingle Bells and The 12 Days of Christmas.

The comic adventure unfolds as a mall Santa and his sack of toys -- alias Drake and Josh -- promise an adorable little girl that her foster parents and siblings will have "the best Christmas ever." It's a pledge that will change their holiday and their lives -- and one that's tough to keep after Drake's antics at a holiday party land responsible Josh in the slammer. Both boys are hauled into court after Drake tries to break his brother out of jail, and the Christmas Promise prompts Judge Newman (Winkler) to rule that if little Mary Alice (Bailee Madison) and her family don't have the best Christmas ever, it's back behind bars for Drake and Josh. Little sis Megan's clever pranks keep a heartless parole officer at bay, but the guys bump heads and clash on the path to make good on their unbreakable promise, leaving kids to expect the unexpected -- including Josh's ex-cellmate Bludge (Kimbo Slice) making an appearance as a rather unusual Santa.

Nickelodeon's multi-platform offerings will include a special playlist of dedicated Merry Christmas Drake & Josh content. TurboNick and Nick's wireless and online syndication partners will feature sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes "Extra Scoops," Vlogs, and a replay of the special post premiere. Nickelodeon also will highlight the movie in its November/December VOD offering with a special bucket dedicated to the series and featuring, three "new to VOD" episode premieres and Drake & Josh "Extra Scoops". A special ad-free, stand-alone site, www.nick.com/merry, features new movie-based games-of-the-week, a tournament of Drake & Josh games competition, sneak peeks, holiday e-cards and various downloads. Kids may create their own Drake & Josh holiday e-card and their own Drake & Josh holiday homepage at MyNick. A series of video podcasts will show Drake and Josh in action with their personal cameras, as they document their experience producing and acting in Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh.

Hailed by critics as a "Martin & Lewis" for their generation, Drake Bell and Josh Peck ascended from Nick's The Amanda Show ensemble to become series headliners. A top-10 series with its demo and weekday afternoon and TEENick staple, the show won its second Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite TV Show this year, while Bell clinched his third consecutive prized blimp for Favorite TV Actor. It first broke records in January 2004 as Nick's highest rated series premiere in almost 10 years and continued to skyrocket, at times ranking as the number-one regularly scheduled live-action show with kids 2-11 and 9-14 -- and reaching as many as 28 million total viewers monthly.

In the series, Bell plays charming, work-averse ladies' man Drake Parker, who pulls his responsible and sensitive stepbrother Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) into hi-jinks. Both are hoodwinked by Cosgrove's Megan. Shared antics cement a growing brotherly bond, while perennial teen issues and dilemmas come to light. Nancy Sullivan (The Amanda Show) and Jonathan Goldstein play their loving parents Audrey Parker and Walter Nichols.

Peck starred opposite Sir Ben Kingsley and Olivia Thirlby in Jonathan Levine's The Wackness this past summer for Sony Classics. He recently completed production on the ensemble The Safety Glass, opposite Steve Coogan, Olivia Thirlby, Amber Tamblyn, and Amanda Peet. He received critical acclaim and a Special Distinction Award with his co-stars at the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards for Mean Creek, opposite Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, and Trevor Morgan. His other film credits include Barbara Kopple's Havoc with Anne Hathaway and Hal Haberman's Special, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. He has also voiced the character of Eddie, in the animated hit Ice Age: The Meltdown, and its sequel Ice Age 2. Peck started his acting career at age 7 and launched a stand-up comedy career at 9 by appearing in New York clubs including Catch a Rising Star and Stand Up, New York. Peck was inducted into the Friar's Club as its youngest member.

Bell recently starred in the feature films Superhero Movie and College. He taped his first commercial at age five and appeared soon after opposite Gena Rowlands in the feature film The Neon Bible. He grabbed attention in a featured role in Jerry Maguire and followed with a co-starring role -- and private music lessons -- with Roger Daltrey in Chasing Destiny. The experience inspired him to start his own band, and his music and vocals are featured in his solo album from Universal Music, Telegraph, on which he wrote, performed and produced all the tracks. Recognizing his immense talent, Universal Motown signed him and released It's only Time in 2006. He composed all the music his character performs on Drake & Josh, including the show theme song. Bell has been selling out concerts all across America, recently embarked on a world tour and is currently working on his third album, due out in 2009. Bell's other film credits include playing John Cusack's son in the HBO feature The Jack Bull and Cusack's character as a kid in High Fidelity. More recently, he voiced characters in the Weinstein DVD animated films The Nutty Professor and Tortoise and the Hare and co-starred in Nick Movies/Paramount Pictures' Yours, Mine & Ours with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo.

Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh is executive produced by series creator Dan Schneider (Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly), Marjorie Cohn and Lauren Levine (Bridge to Terabithia, Gym Teacher: The Movie). Michael Grossman (Grey's Anatomy, Dirty Sexy Money) directs a script by Schneider and Steven Molaro. Scott McAboy is producer.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 29th 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 more than 96 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than 14 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B).

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081111/NY45347
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Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Jennifer Musselman, +1-310-750-8205,
jennifer.musselman@mtvstaff.com, or Jodi Davis, +1-212-846-5981,
jodi.davis@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon

Web Site: http://www.nick.com/merry

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/583050.html

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