Nickelodeon has ended its relationship with Dan Schneider, the prolific producer behind many of the channel’s signature scripted series.
“Following many conversations together about next directions and future opportunities, Nickelodeon and our long-time creative partner Dan Schneider/Schneider’s Bakery have agreed to not extend the current deal,” a Nickelodeon spokesperson told Variety in a statement. “Since several Schneider’s Bakery projects are wrapping up, both sides agreed that this is a natural time for Nickelodeon and Schneider’s Bakery to pursue other opportunities and projects.
“Dan and his Schneider’s Bakery team have created a string of lasting, groundbreaking hits over the years including ‘iCarly,’ ‘Drake & Josh,’ ‘Victorious,’ ‘Kenan & Kel’ and the current number-one hit show on Nickelodeon, “Henry Danger.” We thank Dan and his Schneider’s Bakery producers, executives and social media team for their immeasurable contributions to Nickelodeon, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors. And Dan and Schneider’s Bakery are proud of the work they did together with Nickelodeon and will always remain big fans of the network.”
“Henry Danger” is moving ahead with a fifth season. Nickelodeon, however, has canceled another of Schneider’s current series, “Game Shakers.”
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“After three seasons and 63 episodes, Nickelodeon has wrapped production on its live-action series ‘Game Shakers,'” a Nickelodeon spokersperson said. “We are proud of the show’s success, and our dedicated and talented cast and crew. Premieres will continue to air throughout 2018.”
Deadline first reported news of the split between Schneider and Nickelodeon.
Schneider has been one of the most prolific and successful children’s television producers of the last three decades. He began his career as an actor, playing Dennis on the 1980s ABC sitcom “Head of the Class.” There he began writing with another actor on the show, Brian Robbins, who went on to found AwesomenessTV and is now a top executive at Paramount. Together, Schneider and Robbins created the Nickelodeon series “All That.”
Over the nearly 25 years since “All That” debuted, Schneider has produced more than a dozen youth-skewing series, including “Kenan & Kel,” “The Amanda Show,” “What I Like About You,” “Drake & Josh,” “Zoey 101,” “iCarly,” “Victorious,” and “Sam & Cat” — most of them for Nickelodeon. In the process, he helped launch the careers of Kenan Thompson, Amanda Bynes, Josh Peck, Victoria Justice, and Ariana Grande.
A 2007 New York Times article about “iCarly” billed Schneider as “The Norman Lear of children’s television.” In 2014, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards gave Schneider a lifetime achievement award. Peck, Justice, and Grande were among the stars on hand to pay tribute to Schneider at the show.
