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via Nickelodeon press release:

New Nickelodeon Series Premieres With A BIG TIME RUSH of Comedy and Music On Monday, Jan. 18, at 8:30 P.M. (ET/PT)

Four Best Friends from Minnesota Trade in Hockey Practice for Vocal Lessons in New Nick Comedy that Chronicles the Making of a Music Group

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 5 — Four fun-loving best friends from Minnesota are given the opportunity of a lifetime when they get a chance to be part of the glamorous L.A. pop music scene in Big Time Rush, Nickelodeon’s new live-action comedy series premiering on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 18, at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The new series – produced in partnership with Sony Music – is from producer Scott Fellows, creator of the top-rated Nickelodeon comedy Ned’s DeClassified School Survival Guide.

“Big Time Rush is about what happens the day after you win American Idol,” said Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon. “This series will chronicle the wild and hilarious journey that follows after these guys get that life-changing, first big break and we think our viewers will enjoy going along with them for the ride.”

Almost 3.5 million viewers tuned in for a November sneak peek of the series and were introduced to Kendall (Kendall Schmidt, AI, Gilmore Girls), James (James Maslow, iCarly), Logan (Logan Henderson, Friday Night Lights) and Carlos (Carlos Pena, Ned’s DeClassified School Survival Guide) – four hockey-loving teenaged best friends who move from Minneapolis to Hollywood after Kendall is discovered by eccentric record executive Gustavo Rocque (Stephen Kramer Glickman) during a nationwide casting call for a new boy band. The foursome travel with Kendall’s mom (Challen Cates) and younger sister (Ciara Bravo) from the snowy Midwest to sunny Los Angeles, where they move into the Palm Woods, a swanky temporary housing development where entertainment companies house their budding new talent. But the boys soon learn that life in Hollywood is not all about hanging at the pool and attending late-night parties: they quickly realize they have a very short window to prove to themselves and their record label that they are serious about their new career choice.

In the premiere episode, titled “Big Time School of Rocque,” the guys get a dose of reality when Gustavo tells them that they are required to go to school in addition to recording their new album. While they prefer to attend school at the more fun-friendly Palm Woods, Gustavo has other ideas and arranges to have their teacher located at the recording studio. After their awful first day at the “School of Rocque,” Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan hatch a plan to take down Principal Gustavo so they may soon join their friends at the Palm Woods school.

Big Time Rush will feature original songs performed by the group under the guidance of Sony Music with music by some of today’s most successful songwriters and producers, including Desmond Child (Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith), Matthew Gerrard (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne), Charlie Midnight (Hilary Duff, Britney Spears), Kevin Rudolph (Let It Rock) and Eman (David Archuleta). The Big Time Rush theme song had a strong debut on iTunes in November, and more original music will be made available to download throughout the season.

For the launch of the new series, Nickelodeon will give viewers an all-access pass to Big Time Rush both online and on demand. The Big Time Rush show page will feature exclusive video clips from upcoming episodes, photos, music and games. The one-hour preview, which aired in November, is available now through Jan. 24 on Video on Demand plus beginning Feb. 1, a Big Time Rush category will launch with bonus content, including music videos and episodes. Also, a sneak peek of the new series will also be available on Mobile on Demand.

Show creator and executive producer Scott Fellows began his career as a production assistant on America’s Most Wanted and has since become a prolific writer, producer and creator. A prop job on Nickelodeon’s puppet-variety show Weinerville blossomed into his first writing break where he eventually became head writer/voice actor/puppeteer on that show. Fellows gravitated naturally to kids’ TV and proceeded to write and produce many live-action and animated shows, including Nickelodeon’s The Fairly OddParents, Doug, 101 Dalmatians and Kablam. He served as show runner for Nickelodeon’s live-action comedy series 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd and has written many of Nick’s Kids’ Choice Awards as well as the Teen Choice Awards, the Billboard Awards and the Country Music Awards. The creative mind behind Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified Survival Guide, Fellows also executive produced the hit live-action series. In addition, he is the creator and executive producer for Cartoon Network’s animated sci-fi comedy Johnny Test.

Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre, including American Recordings, Arista Nashville, Arista Records, Aware, Battery Records, Beach Street Records, Black Seal, BNA Records, Cinematic, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Epic Records, Essential Records, Flicker Records, Fo-Yo Soul, GospoCentric, Hitz Committee Entertainment, J Records, Jive Records, LaFace Records, Legacy Recordings, Masterworks, Polo Grounds, RCA Records, RCA Nashville, RCA Red Seal, RCA Victor, Reunion Records, Slightly Dangerous, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Verity Records, and Volcano Entertainment. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.

Nickelodeon, now in its 30th 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 almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. ( VIA, VIA.B).

SOURCE Nickelodeon