Aug 19, 2015

Nick, "Pinky Malinky" in the spotlight.

Recent animated shows have covered all major food groups. Disney has added pickles and peanuts, and Nickelodeon has added meat to its lineup.

Nick today announced the greenlight of 20 episodes of Pinky Malinky, a "social media-inspired comedy."

The series was created by Chris Garbutt and Rikke Asbjorn, the European artists behind Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball. I wrote about their project "Little Rikke" in 2009.

Their new show actually has a veteran history: Pinky was originally created for a Cartoon Network Europe short program, and in 2009, they created their own pilot version; Garbutt documented the experience on his blog. The Cartoon Network version is here:

The project was redeveloped for Nick with the help of executive producer Scott Creamer ("Kung Fu Panda: Legend of Awesome"). The main additions to this new version are mockumentary and reality show techniques, such as characters speaking directly to the camera.

The series will also include additional short-form video and social media content beyond the episodes as part of Nick's shift to multi-platform property production. Russell Hicks, Nick's president of content development and production, said, "In this fast-paced digital age, the online expansion in this all-new series is another example of how Nickelodeon is meeting the needs of children who want access to content anytime, anywhere."

Produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, California, Pinky Malinky is slated to premiere in 2016.