It’s official. Rugrats is returning to Nickelodeon for new episodes and a brand-new Rugrats Live-Action Movie. Tommy, Chuckie, twins Phil and Lil, Susie, and Angelica are all about to get introduced to a new generation of fans. Original series creators Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csupo, and Paul Germain have returned to the new series as executive producers. Production for the new Rugrats TV series is already underway in Burbank, California, with Nickelodeon ordering 26 episodes.
The live-action Rugrats movie is going to feature CGI characters from Paramount Players and will be written by David Goodman. Plus, Nickelodeon and Paramount have already announced a release date of November 13th, 2020. Brian Robbins, President of Paramount Players says that now is the perfect time to bring the Rugrats back. He explains.
“Now feels like the ideal time to reintroduce this iconic cast of characters to a whole new generation of young fans. Kids who grew up with Tommy Pickles and the Rugrats crew will now be able to share that experience with their own children.”
The original Rugrats TV series launched in August of 1991 and instantly became a massive hit for Nickelodeon. The show quickly found a place in pop culture history through its iconic characters with their inventive imaginations, storytelling, and differnt visual style. Sarah Levy, COO, Viacom Media Networks and Interim President at Nickelodeon is excited to bring the iconic characters back for the new TV series as well as the live-action film. She had this to say.
“Rugrats is hands-down one of the most celebrated cartoons in TV history, and we are thrilled for a whole new audience to meet these iconic characters in brand-new adventures. What was true in 1991 when the original show premiered is still true today: kids are fascinated with the world of babies. We can’t wait for today’s kids to meet Tommy, Chuckie and pals.”
Rugrats was produced, on and off, for 9 seasons. Over the span of 13 years, the Nickelodeon series earned four Daytime Emmy Awards, 6 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, and even has its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was presented in honor of the show’s 10th anniversary. Although the new movie is live-action, this will be the fourth Rugrats movie, following 1998’s The Rugrats Movie, 2000’s Rugrats in Paris, and 2003’s Rugrats Go Wild. Each of the movies gained mixed reviews from critics, but made massive amounts of money at the box office.
Rugrats joins Nickelodeon’s already announced Blue’s Clues reboot as well as Rocko’s Modern Life and Invader Zim, who are scheduled to receive their own specials. While the release date has been announced for the live-action Rugrats movie, it isn’t clear when the 26 new episodes will premiere on Nickelodeon. However, as previously noted, the show is currently in production already, so we could see some new adventures with Tommy, Chuckie, twins Phil and Lil, Susie, and Angelica pretty soon. You can check out the original report over at Deadline.