Viscardi to develop Nick originals

Nickelodeon has appointed the co-creator of children’s show The Adventures of Pete & Pete to develop series based on the US net’s classic properties, including SpongeBob SquarePants.

Chris Viscardi

Chris Viscardi takes up the newly created role of senior VP of content development for Nickelodeon Franchise Properties and will oversee the creative strategies for the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.

Viscardi, who also co-wrote Alvin & The Chipmunks and The Tale of Despereaux movies, will be tasked with mining the network’s originals to re-imagine and develop shows.

He will work closely with other Viacom divisions including Paramount Pictures to explore partnership opportunities and will be based in Burbank, reporting to Russell Hicks, president of content development and production for Nickelodeon Group.

Viscardi, who was most recently an executive producers on Nickelodeon’s animated series Sanjay & Craig, will first be tasked with developing a Hey Arnold! original TV movie, with the show’s creator, Craig Bartlett, returning as writer and executive producer.

The movie will feature a storyline that picks up from where the original series ended in 2004 and will resolve unanswered questions and plotlines.

“Chris is a creator who innately understands the Nickelodeon DNA and our audience because of his long history with us,” said Hicks.

“As someone who has worked on two generations of hit Nickelodeon shows, Chris is the perfect person to manage our most important franchises and reimagine stories and characters from our library for today’s kids and for the millennial generation who grew up on them.”

Earlier this year a number of senior and long-serving development execs were laid off at Nickelodeon’s animation divisions as part of parent company Viacom’s restructuring https://www.c21media.net/nickelodeon-cuts-top-staff/ efforts.